Ice wasn't an element he saw himself controlling in the foreseeable future.

He could currently control 3 elements fire, wind and lightning... and technically earth too he supposed.

Wind had been the easiest for him to learn. He had first absorbed a Breath Dial, giving him access to the features of the weapon, before absorbing the significantly stronger Jet Dial.

Now, his winds were truly formidable. They were lacking in cutting power at the moment, but that was something he could fix in the future.

They would never have as much freedom of use as his fire and lightning but that was fine.

How unfortunate that Skypiea didn't have an Ice Dial. Did any Ice weapons exist that would be properly assimilated into his body?

He wasn't sure. Perhaps he could have one created but Rosan didn't want a weapon that could shoot ice, Rosan wanted to shoot out ice.

Lightning had been a core part of him that he never realized he had. If he had delved deeper into exploring electricity, he'd have seen that he could always use it. Hell, he had been passively using it all these years.

His control of electricity did not stem from any weapons or dials. It stemmed from the fact that he was a Computer Man. Modification enhanced the electricity that the body naturally produced inside him and he had managed to weaponize it to an incredible degree.

It was why he thought so fast, had near perfect memory, felt so much. His control of electricity was already on par with Fire because this was a natural part of Modification.

So it was very unlikely he could unlock ice the same way he unlocked lightning.

That left the fire route.

Rosan had unlocked the ability to use fire the moment he unlocked his draconic transformation. It was a dragon's right to breath fire and if it couldn't, then it wasn't a dragon.

Simple as that.

But Rosan used to have a lot of difficulty using fire outside of Ragnarok. It was something that he rectified with training, but even producing the flames had been a task, unless he was channeling his transformation.

Now, he had a great better control over it… but couldn't use it without using Ragnarok to some degree.

At least that was before.

Rosan had actually absorbed a flame dial during the Skypiea adventures. The flames didn't hold a candle to Ragnarok's own… but he didn't absorb it for the power.

He absorbed it for the utility it could offer and he had not been disappointed at all.

The redhead could use his draconic fire far more efficiently through the absorption of the flame dial, without the hassling task of channeling Ragnarok.

It's not like he channeled a lot of Ragnarok. Normally, he only needed to use enough to turn his eyes into slits but that was still seconds longer than he wanted it to be.

But he digressed. Was the only way for him to control ice, learning another transformation?

He pursed his lips in annoyance.

What creatures were associated with ice?

Off the top of his head, he could only recall the Yeti, Sasquatch and Ice Giants.

Did he want to transform into any of those?

Judging by the way his body shuddered in disgust, the answer was no.

Rosan frowned. His partially draconian physiology, was not making this easier.

Quite frankly, his pride (that was heavily enhanced by being a dragon) was refusing to learn another transformation and judging by how much a dragon already altered him, he didn't want to throw another form into the mix.

The Ice Giant might have been his best bet but Giants were indomitable creatures too most likely. They would hate to bend to the will of something else so that would clash hard with Ragnarok.

It was why Shinigami had been so easy to learn. No clashing at all —

Wait a minute…

Shinigami… Come to think of it… had Rosan ever truly explored the depths of Shinigami? He had dwelled on it earlier at Water 7 before everything went down...

Was there more to it then just the angelic wings? His transformation was tied to death after all…

When Rosan had first activated Shinigami, he had channeled righteous fury but Rosan never once felt that in that form. Shinigami chilled his temperament instead of making him hone in on justice. You would think he was actually a Shinigami, over what he had intended it to be based on.

Fallen Angel… He wondered how true that was... Was Rosan, actually transforming into a corrupted Angel? Did something cause his wings to turn black instead of white?

Perhaps his mischaracterization of the technique, meant he never mastered it. It's not like he went out of his way to further master it, considering Shinigami had always been for a throwaway disguise.

He wanted to explore his more mysterious technique now. What could have caused his technique to actually turn corrupted —

Rosan's eyes suddenly burned in interest.

Controlling or building resistance to ice, had become a major priority.

After his encounter with Aokiji, and the man's focus on him, he needed to build up some immunity to the chilling element and fast because the Admiral had expressed an interest in him that terrified Robin.

Rosan would not allow Robin to be terrified anymore. He would be her shield and to be her shield, he needed to be able to do everything.

Alright, he had a goal in mind now. It was a good thing he did because he was horrendous at meditating like he was currently attempting to do —

Rosan grunted, as his soaked body was tackled to the floor by three figures. The redhead's eyes snapped open as he was brought down to the wet floor.

Robin, Mod and Ram were all hugging him and he let out an amused sigh as he eagerly returned it.

"I guess you guys missed me, huh?" He asked in amusement, trying his best to crush all three to his frame.

"I missed you lots and lots," Ram muttered, snuggling him with a pleased grin.

"More then I'd like to admit," Mod nodded, tucking herself into him with a relieved smile now that she could feel him again.

"I had fun but I kept involving you in everything without thinking about it… I saved you a plate of food too so we can eat together," Robin mumbled.

The redhead grinned fondly and planted a kiss on all their foreheads. "I missed you all too. I hope you had a good time."

Ram grinned with rosy cheeks and smooched his cheeks repeatedly, pleased by his surge of affections.

She wasn't the most affectionate but that was a different story when Father was involved.

"Father it was so bad! Mother dressed me and Auntie for so long! S-She bought me new outfits but I don't wanna wear anything else," she whined.

"P-Please stop her, Rosan! She's gone mad! S-Some of the outfits are so lewd!" Mod whimpered pleadingly.

Rosan rolled his eyes at the exasperated look on Robin's face. "Robin went through the effort of buying the both of you your own outfits. Now you don't have to buy them yourselves. Stop crying so much," he said with an amused smile.

"I'm sure you guys look great and if you really have a problem, just modify em. That's the beauty of our ability," he snorted.

"T-That's true," Mod mumbled, thinking back to some of the outfits and going atomic.

"W-Well if you both say so… but what if someone is staring at me?!" Ram asked in concern.

"Then I'll kill them," Rosan replied easily.

Robin sweatdropped but smiled at his support and leaned into his hold. "I can't believe how much I missed you… but I did have a good time. Maro and Angel are amazing hosts and I never felt bored."

They had so much fun! Despite how much she had missed him, Robin had a blast deepening her relationship with so many of the females and it was surreal to know that she had so many friends now.

The redhead looked pleased by the fact that they had so much fun and Robin took the chance to marvel at the glowing eyes of his.

The way they shone every time he looked at each of them... they really were so strange.

"Tell me all about it," Rosan requested. He hoisted all three of them up and brought them out of the pleasant rain.

Ram cheered happily and clambered onto his back.

Robin smiled at his energy and let him carry her. "We can't tell you about it, Rosan. It's girl time."

Mod giggled at that. "Yes, they'd get upset if we told you about it," she grinned.

Rosan snorted in amusement, not remotely bothered by what they were saying.

"Alright, then I'm not telling you guys what I did in here. It's only fair."

He was satisfied to hear the instant complaints but he was set in his ways now. The redhead radiated a smug aura as he walked them into their home.

"You're annoying," Mod complained.

"Very annoying," Robin agreed.

"The most annoying!" Ram nodded furiously.

"Go back into the real world and leave me be then. I was enjoying my time here," Rosan smirked easily.

The three tightened their grips on him and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"And you guys say my possessiveness is a problem. You're all just as bad as me," he remarked with a pleased smirk.

"W-We just missed you!" Mod remarked, refusing to be compared to something as terrible as Rosan's possessiveness.

"Only to you," Robin and Ram replied easily.

The Devil Fruit spluttered at their response.

Since when were they all so unhinged?

----------------------------------------

It was finally time.

Emotions had been high after he showed them his perspective of all that happened at Water 7.

Robin and Mod had completely broken down at his perspective, unable to bear witness to what had happened to him mere days ago. Combined with Izumi's torture, Pestilence's presence and Rosan's erring emotions... it had been actual torture to watch his memories.

Rosan had been holding off on this because they were very vulnerable. He had made his peace already and it did not phase him but they were a whole different story.

He wanted them all to have a bit of fun and downtime to distract from what they had seen…

But now it was time for the serious business. He could not push back any longer and he could already tell that things were going to be difficult.

Ah well, he was done being nice. It was time to ruffle a bit of feathers.

Mod nervously bit her lip as Rosan inclined his head and she nodded shakily, letting out a timid smile as Robin placed a palm on her shoulders.

To say she had been a mess was an understatement.

Mod had already been nervous when the memory began with Rosan tied up, but she had turned ashen when Pestilence began actively speaking to her son.

The things they said… the mix of hate and respect they had for Rosan…

The way they spoke about Mod herself… she never knew that was how Pestilence saw their relationship. How could she ever know that? This Pestilence acted even more different than the one Mod had known!

Pestilence viewed things in such a disturbing way and just the thought that they even thought Rosan had stolen her in such a way was deeply disgusting.

Mod would never see Rosan like that and vice versa. Rosan was her son and Pestilence would dare to tarnish their relationship in such a way?

What was their plan? Why… did they help Rosan out? Didn't they hate him…?

How could they be so sure that Mod would protect them?

She just didn't get it… They had even offered to give Rosan some of their power, when it made no sense to do so. He was helpless and powerless, with no access to Modification, yet Pestilence themselves offered to give him power... and they hadn't corrupted him either.

Why did they not wish to break Rosan anymore? Why were they helping him? Was the idea of being locked away in the castle that disgusting to them? If so, why not just kill him?

What was Pestilence's goal…? She didn't know anything about the virus anymore…

At the very least, Rosan was content to keep his word and allowed her to take lead…

But based on the memories, this was going to get out of control fast. Rosan and the virus despised each other and if there was one thing that trumped Rosan's infamous anger fueled more than anything else, it was his vengeance filled streak.

She shot Robin a pleading look, unseen by Rosan and Ram and hoped her daughter would be able to contain him for at least a little.

Robin caught her gaze and smiled to reassure her, feeling a bit nervous herself.

After all, she was the reason Rosan and the virus made contact when no one was prepared for such an event. The virus struck first and it was because she led him right into their arms and she saw the terrifying result when they met in the mansion.

That terrifying and amorphous creature, glaring at her with such palpable fury after she abandoned him…

Now she understood why Rosan was so wary of the virus. It was smart. To a dangerous degree.

And it wanted Rosan. That much was clear. Mod thought the Virus was still more interested in her... but that was very far from the truth. Pestilence's eyes were on Rosan, that's why they had been so helpful to him. They didn't want him to break for a reason but Robin didn't know what.

Robin didn't know what it wanted from him but she'd be damned if this Pestilence got what it was looking for.

She'd keep Rosan safe at all costs. Nothing would get their hands on him.

Ram pursed her lips and said nothing, just gazing at the back of Father's head.

The ring would not let any harm befall Father. She would not let a single threat against him go unpunished.

She loved everyone in her family, but her loyalty was first and foremost to Father, her creator.

Ram hoped everyone understood that her loyalty to him, preceded everything else. At the end of the day, she was his weapon and that was a title she would uphold forever without any shame.

Rosan walked at a steady pace, not commenting on any of the things he picked up from all of them and letting them stew in their own turmoils.

For now, he'd keep his thoughts to himself. The ball was in Mod's court, so he would be a bystander...

For now.

The four walked in silence through the forest, until the massive drop in temperature slammed into them.

The forest turned frozen mid walk, seamlessly transforming into it's cold counterpart… and showing off the crystalline castle that loomed down at them.

Not a single chain was wrapped around the castle. All that remained, were the shackles rooting it to its spot.

The beautiful, pale imitation of the castle in Rosan's mindscape, cast a shadow over them all.

The four stopped in front of it and Mod took a deep breath.

"Pestilence, please don't make things difficult and come out," Mod said in a measured and even tone.

Nothing, the castle just gleamed in the never ending winter.

"Pestilence! I'm serious!" Mod said with a firm glare. "Let's talk like adults. There's no need to hide in there. We mean you no harm."

…

Mod bit her lip.

"Pestilence."

She went still at that deep voice and glanced nervously at the expressionless Rosan.

"Come out," he said simply.

There was a small amount of silence after that statement...

"Mmm~ So demanding. Fine fine, I'm on the way. How could I ever say no to someone wanting to see me so badly?" a voice purred suddenly.

Mod watched the castle shudder in a bit of shock, before the door cracked open a few inches.

And then a figure sauntered out as if they owned the place.

They weren't very tall, standing about 2 inches shorter than Mod herself, with a strange black cloak, that looked as unnatural as Rosan's amorphous transformation, covering their entire figure from head to toe.

"All these people for little ol me?" they crooned, slowly taking off their hoodie.

Wavy hair, as white as snow, was freed as it cascaded down the person's back, stopping right above their butt.

"I'm so honored to finally meet you all in the flesh, especially you Rosan~!" Pestilence grinned mockingly. Their red eyes gleamed wildly, standing out starkly due to the black sclera it rested on.

True to Rosan's words at Skypiea, Pestilence looked just like his late mother, Portgas D. Rouge to a disturbing degree.

There were exceptions of course, such as the hair and eyes, but other then that… the virus had taken his mother's body.

They even had freckles.

Rosan's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"So? How do I look?" Pestilence crooned, doing a little spin before pausing. With a snap of their fingers, the cloak they wore, transformed into a tight fitting dress that showed of the curvy feminine figure underneath.

The strange black material hugged them like a glove and they pushed out their assets, grinning innocently at the group as they turned and presented her back to them as well.

"How is it? Rouge was quite the hottie don't you think?" Pestilence grinned, eyeing Rosan innocently.

"…" no one said anything. They just continued to stare at them with a neutral expression though Rosan's expression darkened into something dangerous.

Debasing his mothers image...

Pestilence pouted, not having stepped away from the door that led to the inside of the castle.

"You guys are no fun," they complained. "Especially you, Modification. It's been so long since we last saw each other… and you're staring at me like I've killed someone! Is this really how you should treat your old partner in crime?"

Mod flinched back as Pestilence sneered at her.

"What? Was locking me away without any warning not good enough for you? After everything we've been through… you threw me away without a second thought for some boy who seduced you with a few words. Aren't you just a traitorous little whore for opening up so easily to the first person who looked at you like you were human?" The virus hissed venomously.

Mod reeled back, hurt in her eyes at the harsh words used against her.

Rosan's mouth formed into a snarl but Robin placed a hand on him and gazed at him pleadingly.

"Please don't do anything yet!"

"..."

He took a deep breath and stood still.

"What? Not gonna say anything?" Pestilence asked aggressively. "We've been partners for how long now? We've had each other since the first moment you could think… and the moment some boy gets in the way of that, you discard me without a thought. He didn't even have to touch you and you were mesmerized! You're so easy Modification."

"T-That's your fault that I was forced to lock you away, Pestilence!" Mod retorted, witling a bit at words that were never directed towards her.

S-She was not a whore! Pestilence was wrong!

"Time and time again, you've stated how you don't want anyone controlling us! You've killed every single one of our wielders without fail while I let it happen but I refuse to let you do that to Rosan. He didn't deserve to become another one of your victims because he was a good boy!"

Pestilence crossed their arms. "So instead of telling me to spare and work with him… you locked me up?!" they hissed.

"You think I'd believe you for even a second?!" Mod rebounded in return, scowling at the virus. "I know you Pestilence! You wouldn't have dreamed of working with Rosan! You would have agreed and you would have still corrupted him! I would never let you get your hands on my baby boy!"

"…" The virus said nothing, but then they smiled sardonically.

"Well, you aren't wrong about that," they admitted. "I did hate Rose at first… but the more I learned about him, the more I realized we have a lot in common," Pestilence cooed, shooting Rosan a suggestive glance.

The virus smiled at the scowling Rosan with a gleam. "We make a pretty good team don't we, my little Rose? You managed to harness my ability instantaneously. At the very least, you can admit that I helped you out the most at Water 7, correct?"

Rosan's scowl deepened for a moment, before slowly vanishing. "I'm not immature enough to discount you. Yes, your help proved invaluable to me," he admitted quietly.

Pestilence felt their grin widen.

Mod's brows furrowed in anger at being disregarded by the virus.

"You see? Rose here was able to trust me because I have no reason to hide things from him… but you do Modification," they preened smugly. "Go on Rose, ask her the question you've been pondering since that illusion whore tied you up."

Mod's eyes went wide in confusion and she gazed at Rosan.

"Stop distracting us, Pestilence. That's not why we're here," Robin interjected with a firm glare. "We're here to learn if you are a threat to our safety or not."

Pestilence grinned mockingly at Robin. "Aww, look at you! Acting like you care about Rosan when you're the reason we met up in the first place!"

"Act?" Robin said with a furious glare. "Don't you dare ever claim that I act like I care for Rosan!"

The virus laughed at that. "You're the one who thinks he thinks that! It's a crime all of a sudden that I'm saying it outloud? I like you Nico Robin because you make my life so much easier when you decide to mess up Rose's mind!"

Robin flinched back harshly, stunned silent by the words said.

"Enough."

Everyone stilled at that commanding tone and Pestilence felt their admiration grow, as a sliver of fear crawled down their spine.

"Pestilence, your motives," Rosan asked calmly, stroking Robin's hair slightly to calm her.

The virus smiled slightly, Rouge's pretty features looking unsettling on her. "Since I'm here, I'll answer your questions… but only after you ask Mod the question you've been contemplating the whole time."

Mod nervously glanced at Rosan. "What question…? You have... a question for me?"

Rosan stared back at her and closed his eyes with a deep sigh. "Mod-chan… How did you know the Virus' name was Pestilence?"

Mod went stark white.

Pestilence grinned wildly.

"Pestilence told me that the reason they named themselves, was because Reaper signified Death and in their eyes, Rosan signified War. Not to mention, you didn't know about the castle until after Meiko died… so how did you know their name if they've been in there since its creation?" The redhead questioned.

Ram and Robin both looked at the woman in shock at how nervous she was.

"I…" Mod looked stunned. That was...

Sometimes, everyone forgot that Rosan was a genius.

Rosan closed his eyes sadly for a brief moment.

Then they snapped open and Reaper took his place.

"Mod. Answer the question," he demanded coldly.

Mod trembled as those chilly eyes stared at her without a hint of warmth in them.

He… he called her just Mod… That meant he was...

She held her head.

"Pestilence has… on occasion communicated with me in a similar fashion to how they spoke to you on Water 7," Mod admitted quietly.

…

Pestilence whistled.

"Oh no," Robin thought. Not even she could defend Mod-chan on this one.

Ram's eyes narrowed but she held her tongue.

"…" Rosan said nothing for a moment. "That's why you're so hellbent on saving them from me despite seemingly having no reason to do so," he said neutrally.

"…" Mod stared a hole into the floor. "It was… I didn't mean any harm hiding such information I just… I was afraid of what you'd do if you knew… I've never replied to them, I promise! But… they have used our connection to send me vague messages and that's how I learned their name."

"…"

The redhead gazed at her with an expressionless face. She hesitantly glanced up at her son and watched as he simply shook his head.

Then, he turned away from her and Mod felt the breath get knocked out of her by that simple action.

Tears surged in her eyes and she glanced down in defeat, as Rosan didn't even deign to further question her.

Pestilence had a gleam of satisfaction in their eyes at that and also turned away from her to regard the redhead.

"What are your intentions, Pestilence?" he asked calmly. "We have no love for each other… yet you went out of your way to assist me at Water 7. Your actions there have contradicted what you've done to me before."

"That's not all true," Pestilence shrugged immediately. "Sure, I used to hate you… but you never even knew I existed. To be completely transparent, I do love you but… I just don't love you," they stressed their point by raising a finger and landing it on Rosan.

Rosan's brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Hold on now… I haven't even answered your first question!" Pestilence grinned mockingly. "My motives are ensuring that you don't die no matter what, because you are the perfect host for me… and I want you to regain all your emotions."

…

...

...

!

Pestilence felt a well of terror as Rosan's expression turned completely murderous.

Before they could even think, a hand was gripping them by the throat and slamming them into the freezing castle walls with such force, the virus' head bounced against the ice cold surface.

Mod gasped at the violent action and surged up.

"R-Rosan, you said you'd let me handle this!" Mod shouted. The Devil Fruit took a step forward but froze as those blazing eyes pinned her in place.

Rosan sneered at her and she stepped back in shock. "Ram, restrain Mod for the time being until I get the answers I'm here for. I'm tired of playing these games with her."

Ram followed his order without hesitation and Mod could only watch in shock, as the ring's hand transformed into a long whip that wrapped around the woman completely.

"?!" Mod's eyes widened and she gazed at Ram with a betrayed expression on her face.

"Sorry, Auntie," Ram said apologetically. "But even I've been doubting you right now and this is too far. Don't resist until we find out what's going on… please. I don't want to get physical with you because you can kick my ass... and that would force Father's hand in stepping in."

The Devil Fruit stilled at that and bowed her head, tears beginning to fall at her errors finally catching up.

Robin could only watch in shock as everything spiraled out of control so very quickly.

"Rosan?" She questioned quietly, watching the virus' eyes transform into pinpricks of fear.

"Just watch, Robin. You won't want to miss this," Rosan said harshly.

She nodded hesitantly and glanced at the defeated Mod with sorrow in her gaze. The Devil Child tried to meet Ram's gaze but for once, the ring was gazing at the floor and avoiding everyone's eyes.

This was... Was this really the right thing to do?

"You must think I'm so stupid, Virus," Rosan said conversationally, gazing at the shorter figure with a deathly calm look as he choked the life out of them. "You thought that just because I allowed you to manipulate me during Water 7, I'd let you dictate the pace of this conversation? How stupid must you be?"

The redhead leaned in close to the lookalike of his mother. "I had more pressing matters to attend to. Robin was my priority but now that I have her back… you won't be playing your games anymore. I let you do whatever you wanted before, because you'd never be able to get away from me," he hissed.

Pestilence rasped and grew even more nervous, as his grip refused to loosen.

"You should know that right… how much Robin matters to me. It's why you caused me to turn on her right?" Rosan asked. "You were the reason I lost my emotions, but now you want me to get them back? Explain yourself or I'm going to destroy you on the spot. Whether you answer or not means nothing to me."

"What choice did I have?!" Pestilence gasped in terror.

?

Rosan and Robin both tilted their heads at that, caught off guard by their response.

"You're right, I did know how much she mattered to you. I also knew that whenever things got bad, you'd always believe in her to save you! So long as you believed in Nico Robin, you would never break to that man and find a way to escape. I refuse to be anyone else's plaything and that extends to you as well, so I turned you against her."

The virus was quickly realizing how terrible this situation was. Mod was not there to protect them because Rosan had immediately restrained her... and even though they had planned for Rosan to feel betrayed by Mod's actions, the way he was acting was completely out of character.

There was no vulnerability in his gaze... he didn't need a replacement, no there was just sheer rage.

Pestilence could die here… T-They could really die here!

"Because Mod spent every waking moment coddling you, you had no idea how to be a grown man. It's only right that I helped you out… I just didn't expect you to break to that degree," they admitted with a wheeze.

Robin's eyes widened at the reveal and she gazed at the virus.

That… that made far too much sense. Robin despised the fact that it made so much sense. She hated the fact that Rosan's unwavering faith in her, would have been a detriment to his safety.

She hated it so much and wish it never came down to that.

Mod listened to Pestilence explain themselves with a shocked expression.

Was that really what it was? They knew Rosan was never planning on giving up, as long as he believed Robin would save him?

Rosan's grip never lessened at their explanation. In fact, it seemed to get even tighter and Pestilence tried to let out a panicked yell, only to fail.

"You think what you were doing was helping?" He hissed. "No other methods to help? You already proved that you could communicate with me, so why this? Why didn't you just guide me like you did on Water 7?"

"Because I hated you," Pestilence hissed in return, clawing at his hands. "Since when are we friends? Since when do I adore you?! You think I cared about your feelings? I just chose the most effective way to get us out of that situation and it happened to be a method that I deeply enjoy."

The redhead sneered at them and Pestilence let out a squeal, as he hoisted them off the wall and slammed them against it again.

"He's going to kill me!"

"Tell me now. Do you pose a threat to me. Do you pose a threat to my family?" Rosan asked stonily, glaring at the virus with those boiling eyes.

Pestilence by now, had quickly gone red from the lack of air, terror rising inside of them.

"I want this prison of a castle gone… so my goal is to save you," they replied with a strained gasp.

"He's gonna kill me. He's actually gonna kill me!" Pestilence thought in horror, grabbing his hands with a desperate glimmer in their eyes.

"T-This psycho is actually gonna put me down! H-Help me R —,"

A truth.

Rosan stared expressionless at them and summarily dropped the virus to the floor, much to everyone's surprise.

Pestilence coughed harshly and gripped their chest, sucking in the air as they were allowed to breathe again.

"Satisfied, Father?" Ram asked.

"Yeah our plan worked. You can let her go," he said easily, terrifying expression gone.

"Thank Kami. I don't know how much longer I could hold out having Auntie look at me like that," the ring sighed in relief, releasing the stunned Mod from her grasp.

"W-Wha?" Mod muttered in disbelief.

Even Robin looked confused, looking between Rosan and Ram with a befuddled expression.

Pestilence looked up at the redhead with wide eyes, unable to believe he had pulled a fast one over them. "You… planned this?"

Rosan sneered at the virus. "You thought you had me figured out, Pestilence. You think I'm some mentally weak idiot, who would break if you revealed something about my loved ones… but I've changed. I'm not the same person I was before. I've become better."

"But I still don't know everything about you. I don't know your motives or your goals… and I don't know how much you can hear," he admitted.

"So I used the only connection I was sure you didn't have access to. The one between Ram and I," he revealed.

Mod's eyes widened to epic proportions at that.

"You're afraid of me," Rosan said without a hint of hesitation. "You refuse to meet me one on one, when I have access to my abilities because you cannot defeat me in a battle. Then, you fallback to Mod-chan protecting you. You don't want to die and when I gripped you by the throat just now, that confirmed it for me," the redhead guessed.

Pestilence glared at Rosan in hatred at the accurate assessment.

"You thought that because I was so zeroed in on Robin, I wouldn't realize the little things… but you underestimate me Pestilence. I used this opportunity to get answers out of you and I got what I wanted… now like I promised to Mod-chan, she can deal with you," he muttered.

The redhead brushed himself off and walked to the three he had come here with.

"I don't know how you did it… but you were truthful when you said you wanted to save me. For now that's good enough… but I don't trust you for even a second," Rosan said.

Pestilence seized up as those piercing eyes slammed into them.

"You will slip up. You will reveal your true colors… and when that day comes, no one will be more overjoyed than me because I will destroy you until not even an atom remains," he assured.

His eyes flickered black momentarily. "You thought it would be easy to manipulate me by controlling the conversation and shifting attention off yourself but you were wrong. I've grown up Pestilence and I'll show you just how much I've grown when you make a mistake."

With that, Rosan turned their back to the Virus.

"Sorry for being rough with you Mod-chan. I needed them to think you wouldn't be able to provide them safety and you couldn't know about it," Rosan said, pulling the woman into a warm hug.

Mod shuddered into his frame. "Y-You aren't mad at me?" She asked quietly.

Rosan gazed down at her with a tilted head. "About how you knew their name? Nah. I already had an inkling."

…

"W-What?" Mod stammered in confusion.

Rosan's cocky smirk vanished in favor of a frown. "You've seen what I'm capable of, Mod-chan… What made you think you could ever hide anything from me? You're underestimating me just like Pestilence did and you should be glad that I trust you with all my heart or else."

The woman shuddered at that and tightened her grip on Rosan. "I-I'm sorry… I just don't know how I could have ever told you that information… I swear to you, I never responded back after the first time when they made it clear they weren't going to confide in information with me!" She exclaimed, glancing pleadingly up at Rosan.

"I believe you," he said easily. "I trust you Mod-chan. I trust that you know what you're doing. I trust that you have my best intentions at heart. I trust you enough to heed your words and let you deal with this…"

"But if you somehow break that trust…"

Mod froze as Rosan's expression didn't turn angry or cold. No, it just turned sad and that broke her heart more than anything.

"If you break my trust, Mod-chan… I will break, I will cry, I may never recover… But I will not hesitate. I have too much to lose now, I cannot allow myself to fall."

She shuddered at the finality of that statement. He had given her so many chances because Rosan truly loved her with every fiber of his being…

To let him down would be the ultimate betrayal…

"I won't. I promise I won't, Rosan," she assured firmly.

Rosan smiled and ran a hand through her hair. "I know you won't. You're my Mod-chan after all."

Then he released his hand from her hair.

"Do whatever you want now, I'm done here," Rosan shrugged. "We're going. Robin. Ram."

Ram easily leapt onto Rosan's back with a pleased smile.

"You're super smart, Father. When you approached me I was like wow! You thought this far ahead?" she praised.

"I plan for a lot of things. You did good not betraying our intentions. I know it must have been hard," he replied, reaching back and patting her hair affectionately.

"It was but it was from you so I had to do it!" She beamed, snuggling him easily.

Robin shook her head. "Everything you said, was to divert us from your true intentions… that's terrifying, Rosan. You even had me completely fooled and I pride myself in knowing the most about you."

It was genius. Robin truly thought Rosan had forsaken Mod-chan and if the virus was as smart as it was… it knew what that meant.

Mod-chan was Rosan's pillar and if he forsake her, then their life was in more danger then they could ever imagine.

Everyone's life really. Mod was the core reason Rosan was still sane. A betrayal from her, would send him off the deep edge.

It was ingenious and he got exactly what he wanted from it.

Rosan kissed her cheek apologetically. "Sorry. Didn't want to risk the virus catching wind of my plan so I left you in the dark too. If I had a reliable way of telling you, I would've but they see even more than I do," he admitted with a contemplative frown.

"I understand… but take me out for dinner as an apology. Girl time made me realize that I'd love to have a proper one on one date with you," she smiled slyly.

"Anything you say, my Queen," Rosan bowed mockingly.

"Agh! Stop! This is so gross!" Ram whined, shutting her eyes as she saw them shooting mushy eyes at each other.

"Almost as gross as those romance novels I saw you buying at Maro's? When do you plan on reading them? When we're all sleeping so you can transform into human form?" Robin asked in amusement, watching the ring's face go pale in horror.

"Meiko loved romance novels. I guess Ram inherited it," Rosan mused. "Don't ask me to read them with you like she did. That's disgusting and as your father, I refuse."

"I'd prefer it if you read thrillers or history... but if you truly wish, I won't mind reading it to you... so long as it's not any of the inappropriate ones you managed to buy," Robin added.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Rosan raised a brow high. "Inappropriate one? You buy adult romance books, Ram? Color me surprised..."

Robin laughed and nodded. "I saw the cover of one before she stuffed it away in a bag I managed to buy her... Ram has very refined tastes I think."

Ram shut her eyes and moaned in defeat, as a red of mortification dominated her cheeks. "Please stop this misery. I don't wanna be treated like a daughter anymore. Treat me like a weapon."

H-How did they even know that… She had been so stealthy. How did Mother manage to see the entire cover of the book she bought?!

"You looked so good in your outfit, that I began worrying for anyone that was going to inevitably hit on you. I was keeping an eye on you the whole time," Robin smiled, running a hand through the silver strands with mirth in her eyes.

Rosan snorted. "My little psycho daughter, reading adult romance. How ridiculous. What next, you're gonna ask me to lift the ban on you dating? Nope, not happening."

"Let her live her life! If she wants to be more adventurous, let her do so! You know she finds Maro and Angel hot?"

Rosan's mouth opened in shock. "She does?! You do?!"

"S-STOP! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ram squealed.

Mod watched the three chat like and realized this was why Rosan wouldn't hesitate.

He had grown to care for so many things now… breaking once more or dying would negatively impact the people he loved.

He had so many things to live for now… and Mod wouldn't allow any threats to his person.

She turned towards the cornered Pestilence with a cold gaze.

The virus coughed and grinned sardonically at her. "What? Standing here to soak in how pathetic I look? You're a bitter ex, Mod," they crooned.

"Stop that. You know we've never had a relationship like that," Mod said firmly. "I don't know what you're planning Pestilence but I'll tell you right now… stop. You see the gap between you and Rosan. You cannot defeat him and he's aware of you too. Won't you cooperate and stop being so difficult?"

Pestilence scoffed and pushed themselves up. "I already told you. I want to save your boy toy. This is just who I am so don't expect me to suddenly become just another whore prostrating myself to him like you and everyone else."

Slap.

Pestilence felt their eyes widen, as a red bruise bloomed on their cheek, courtesy of the slap from the furious Mod.

The Devil Fruit's red eyes were wide in a blistering rage and took on a glowing look, much like Rosan's own.

"Do not label the love I have for my son as anything else but motherly you twisted perverted creature," she hissed. "I am not your ex. I have never felt that way about you and I never will because you sit here and you spew such hateful messages to my baby boy and you probably sat there and laughed as you ruthlessly broke him down along with that psychotic doctor by turning him against my daughter!"

Mod took a deep breath and stepped back. "I thought we could speak like adults and talk things out… but I see now. If you make a mistake, I will not protect you any longer. I will allow Rosan to do to you whatever he wants because you deserve it."

With that, Mod turned on her heel and walked away.

"Love does not have to be lust, Pestilence. I hope you realize that and can join our family but I severely doubt it with how set in your ways you are," Mod offered as her parting words.

Pestilence simply watched Mod vanish from their view, before sneering and heading back into the castle.

The moment the doors shut, they let out a roar of frustration and shattered the crystalline table with a massive fist of black energy.

"Little shit thinks he's so fucking clever," they snarled, red eyes pulsing madly with rage. "Thinks he can pull one over me?! Stupid bitch thinks she can trash and slap me to my face?! I'LL SHOW ALL OF THEM!"

The temperature of the already freezing castle, dropped even lower and Pestilence forced themselves to a coherent state as they stood up straight.

The freezing temperature behind them got closer and closer until strong arms wrapped around their waist and they sighed, turning to face the source with a pleased smile.

"You're upset," the person said neutrally, eyes flitting over to the broken table. With just a touch, the ice repaired itself effortlessly and looked as good as new.

Their smile was wiped away by a scowl instantly and they summoned another black fist to destroy it.

"You should be asleep," Pestilence stated firmly, enjoying the grip.

Pestilence was ignored, as the person repaired the table once more with a level of patience the virus envied. "You nearly died out there. I told you to take me with you. I'd have kept you safe."

Their expression turned uncharacteristically soft as they put a hand to the figure's cheeks. "I know sweetheart… but not yet. You're not ready yet."

"…" The person looked slightly annoyed.

Pestilence sighed and tiptoed, planting a chaste kiss on the person's cheeks before leaning into their ear. "Soon. Now that the castle is no longer being restricted by those impossible chains, we can really get started," they whispered assuringly.

The figure said nothing once more before nodding and crushing Pestilence's figure against their own.

Pestilence grinned as they soaked in this feeling with a pleased sigh.

This feeling of being loved.

It was intoxicating, to know that someone actually appreciated and loved you. They never had such luxury but now that they had it…

Well, perhaps they were just as lovesick as Mod and wasn't that a thought. They were unshakably loyal to their source of love and would maintain it at all costs.

Pestilence leaned into them with a pleased. "You have nothing to worry about, I will save you no matter what."

Bright purple eyes looked down at them, sclera just as black as their lover. "I know you will. You're my Pe-chan after all."

Nothing else needed to be said between the two.

----------------------------------------

"YOU UNLOCKED YOUR OBSERVATION?!"

Rosan nodded with a smug smirk, at the look of outrage on Maro's face. He idly wiped the sweat off his form and took his seat with the rest of the training group.

They were on the Thousand Sunny and for once, all the Straw Hats chose to join in training.

It was a surreal sight, considering Nami and Usopp normally refused to do so.

"Yeah, in my fight with Izumi. She blinded me and I couldn't touch her… but at some point, I could feel everything," he explained, before a deep frown formed on his features.

Maro sighed at the insufferable genius. Goddammit all.

"You don't seem happy to have unlocked it," Robin pointed out curiously, noticing his frown as she tiredly rested her head on his lap.

She knew why, considering she had seen his memories but it was more for them to know.

"Because I can't use it currently," he said bluntly, raking a hand through her hair.

"?!" Everyone tilted their head in confusion at that.

"You can't use it?" Sanji asked, being the most recent to unlock his Observation. He had no issue at all with his own haki and took to it like a fish in water.

He was surprised Rosan was struggling with something.

"...It's overwhelming," he admitted. "I feel too much… I hear too much… I see too far. It's headache inducing and I don't know how I can stop it."

The ones with Observation, furrowed their brows at that explanation.

"Not to mention, my emotions are so outta sorts that I can hardly maintain it for a minute," the redhead groaned, falling flat on his back from annoyance.

Robin huffed as he pulled her with him and said, "That is quite the problem… See too far? Hear too much… it's because of your electricity, right?"

He sighed and nodded. "My electricity is produced from my body. I'm thinking it's similar to Enel's except I can't hear conversations like he could. My electricity is automatically latching to other electrical sources in the vicinity and it increases my range by an overwhelming amount," he muttered.

It was awful. Rosan's Observation hindered him more than it helped.

Guess it wasn't meant to be that easy… At least his Armament was improving in spades and his Conquerors was usable again.

Now he needed to find a way to fix his Observation…

"Wait, if you can't hear conversations… what do you mean by you hear too much?" Nami asked, panting from the hellish workout that Rosan gave her after she reluctantly asked him to start training her.

That was a mistake that she was going to regret because now that she willingly asked, he would never let her go.

At least he was helping build her stamina like she wanted.

"I can't put it into words… but I can hear," Rosan said with a look of confusion. "It's as if voiceless things, suddenly have a voice but those voices are so goddamn loud."

Luffy's eyes widened. "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" He exclaimed. "Sometimes that happens to me too!"

Their captain had it too? Luffy never looked nearly as uncomfortable as Rosan made it out to be.

Rosan raised a brow at that and pursed his lips.

Ace never mentioned this. Sabo didn't either. But Luffy did?

What the hell was this? The redhead sighed.

"Um…"

Everyone paused and glanced at Usopp.

"I unlocked my Observation too?" He told them with a nervous smile.

…

"WHAT?!" They roared.

"Oh yeah! I learned Armament!" Luffy beamed, putting up a fist and showing off the black sheen.

"SERIOUSLY?!" Maro shrieked in rage.

----------------------------------------

"Maro… I ate three Rumble Balls."

Maro glanced down at Chopper with wide eyes.

"You did?!" she asked in.

She hadn't eaten three Rumble Balls since the first time, not willing to endanger anyone around without Master's supervision.

The reindeer nodded with a nervous expression. "I used three at Enies Lobby a-and I attacked the entire crew… I don't even know what happened to my opponent but he's probably dead…"

Maro saw his downtrodden expression and scooped the little reindeer up easily.

"Hey don't worry, Chopper!" She assured. "No one's mad at you and I'm sure you felt like you had to do it to save Robin. Don't beat yourself up about it and just get better so it doesn't happen again. That's what I'm doing!"

He nodded in determination at that. "You're right! Okay!"

Maro beamed at that and patted his hat. "You look like you discovered something! What is it?"

Chopper nodded eagerly. "While fighting the CP9 agent, he used a technique that I realized was the secret we needed to rely less on the Rumble Balls!"

Maro's eyes glittered in interest and Demon perked up at that.

"What is it?" They asked.

"...He called it Seimei Kikan! It grants a person full control over their body parts and functions… He was able to extend his hair and even could change his own weight!"

Demon tilted his head. "That sounds like a more advanced version of Biofeedback…"

Maro's eyes glittered. "If we learn this, we should be able to easily manipulate our Zoan and Human halves and get desired results!"

"Exactly!" Chopper grinned eagerly. "This is the secret to not overly relying on the Rumble Ball!"

"But how will you begin learning it?" Demon asked in confusion. "It doesn't seem easy…"

The two paused at that and pursed their lips.

"I can do some research on it," Chopper frowned at the conundrum.

"I'll help. I should have some books on Biofeedback," Demon muttered.

"No need! I have the perfect solution for our worries!" Maro grinned.

Demon and Chopper glanced at the queen in confusion.

"MASTERRRRR!" She screeched loudly.

Chopper and Demon sweatdropped deeply at that.

Right, they forgot about that option.

It didn't take very long at all for her calls to be answered.

"What, Maro? I was helping Franky with something," Rosan said, walking into view with Angel, Robin and Ram.

"Shameless pervert but his skills are insane!" Angel awed.

Franky was shamelessly using Rosan's abilities to help him out and Angel and him got along famously.

Rosan had just been chatting with Robin, while Ram read, as the two chatted with each other and exchanged ideas, all while abusing his abilities.

He never expected Angel to get along so well with such a shameless pervert, but you'd think the two were best friends with their shared interests.

Well, so long as they were happy bouncing ideas off each other. He wouldn't complain. Franky was actually tasked with something Rosan wanted him to do and Angel readily offered to help with it.

Maro let out a happy sigh at seeing the wifebeater wearing redhead and flashed him a thumbs up.

"Chopper and I need your help with a technique," she explained to the redhead.

"Sure," he replied easily, listening to their explanation.

The redhead hummed in contemplation at hearing them speak.

"Huh, interesting… It's kinda like how I have full control over my body with Modification," he mused.

Maro fucking hated his fruit. Not Mod-chan though, Maro loved Mod-chan.

"Unfortunately, that's me abusing my fruit… but I have a solution. Just gimme a few…" He muttered, having his armband wrap around his frame into a form fitting black shirt.

"I'll be back," he told them, after closing his eyes for a moment.

Robin raised a brow. "And just where are you going?" She asked calmly, making her own ring transform into her Raid Suit and adjusting the violet cloak.

Rosan, who had gotten to the door of their gym, glanced back at her with pursed lips.

Robin sighed. "Rosan, you are not going anywhere without me. I'll be more upset if you leave me behind."

She hated this more than anything, Rosan thinking he should give her more space. She didn't want that. Robin loved when he was being jealously possessive.

"Alright alright," Rosan muttered, wrapping an arm around her waist and carrying her away. "I'll be back with the info on that technique you three."

"Take your time!" Maro beamed. "No really, take all the time you need! My nephews and nieces won't be born from thin air! You guys aren't getting any younger! The faster you have yours the faster I can get min — mfhgm!"

Angel let out a sigh of misery as she dragged her deranged wife away with a short wave.

"You're not supposed to be saying that yet!" Angel hissed.

"He can practically read my mind anyways! No point sugarcoating it!"

"Is it possible that she's more perverted than Sanji?" Robin asked in disbelief, cheeks a hint of red.

"She's certainly more lewd. At least she's not perverted to every single person like Sanji is with women. It's usually just everyone in my body and Angel. You're the newest addition," Rosan muttered.

"I'm… honored?" She questioned in confusion as they vanished.

"Don't think about it," he offered gently, wings sprouting out of his back as he began floating off the Sunny. "We'll be right back Luffy, Nami."

"Alright!" Luffy waved.

"Be careful! You know how the Grand Line gets!" Nami warned.

Robin smiled, only to let out a shout of surprise, as Rosan tossed her further into the air without any hesitation.

She hastily activated her hovering function and glared down at the figure… confusion vanishing as she saw him begin to transform into Ragnarok.

"RAOGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The dragon howled its arrival and wrapped its tail around Robin, before depositing her on his back.

"STOP ROARING!" Nami shrieked in horror.

"RAOOOOOOOOOOGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared even louder.

"FUCK YOU!"

Robin smiled and watched the dragon flap its wings once, before soaring off at incredible speeds.

----------------------------------------

Izumi was in the main quarters of the ship she took from Enies Lobby. To her left, Kalifa was discussing a list of possible sources of where Blueno's Devil Fruit could possibly be.

She furrowed her brows nervously.

Finding a specific Devil Fruit was impossibly hard. It could be anywhere in the world right now or even eaten by someone!

Would Rosan kill her if… Izumi shuddered in fear.

A hand clasped her own and she gazed at the concerned Kalifa, forcing her expression to be neutral.

"It must be terrifying being the one who has to speak to the Red Devil in our stead… I don't know what he did to you in that fight but… thank you for fighting for our lives, Izumi," Kalifa smiled nervously.

Izumi glanced down at the hand clutching her own and gazed at the taller woman.

If only they knew she never once had their best interests in mind… but she supposed they would have died during the Buster Call.

Kalifa was attractive… Izumi hadn't felt attracted to anyone in years but perhaps she should try to feel such a thing…

A knock on the door interrupted the two and Jabra nervously walked into the room.

"Izumi… outside," he said shortly.

The illusionist furrowed her brows and stood up, making her way to the deck.

She went pale at the sight before her.

A snarling maw glared down at their ship, face so close they could see every terrifyingly sharp tooth of the Dragon that had made its statement at Enies Lobby.

With teeth so sharp, she was sure he'd chew through their Tekkai as an afterthought.

Kalifa went white in horror and immediately hid behind her, clutching the woman as if Izumi would be able to protect them from this apex predator.

Nico Robin walked off the dragon's back without a care in the world. She gazed coolly at them all with a calm smile, though it vanished into a short scowl as she made eye contact with Izumi.

Izumi flinched back, confusion on her face at the look of annoyance.

Why was...

"She must have seen me torture Rosan," she thought in horror, face going white at just how annoyed Robin looked with her.

If she saw all of that, then...

Thankfully, Robin gazed away from her and she let out a momentary sigh of relief.

At once, the obsidian dragon transformed back into their nightmare and Rosan glanced at them like they were insects barely worth keeping alive.

Despite the fact that they were fully healed, no one dared to attack the duo.

After all, Rob Lucci and Izumi had made it clear that there was no winning against him and they would rather kill the CP9 agents than deal with him.

They starkly realized that with that draconic transformation, he could sink their ship without hesitation and then pick them out of midair… while they floundered about.

Going after the Red Devil was the most grave mistake they had ever made in their life.

"Minions," Rosan greeted simply.

"R-Rosan," Izumi bowed shakily at him. "Do you… need something?"

He gazed down at her, eyes amused. "Yeah. Write down two of your little techniques for me."

The CP9 agents jumped at that, gazing at the redhead with wide eyes.

Izumi and Rob Lucci were the only ones who didn't.

"Which ones?" Izumi asked without hesitation. There was no point trying to deny or fight him. Rosan would kill them without any hesitation if they showed hesitation.

"Shigan and Seimei Kikan," he said easily, remembering Izumi's preferred technique.

Robin raised a brow and turned towards him. "Why Shigan?" She asked aloud, not seeing any reason to hide it.

"For you," he replied calmly. "I figured it'd compliment your style based on what I saw Izumi doing with it."

Izumi flinched back at that.

"...But it's quite a brutal technique. I don't want blood on my finger," Robin frowned at him.

Rosan rolled his eyes. "You're such a grappler. You have no problem punching me though."

"You deserve to be punched," Robin said bluntly.

The redhead snorted. "Just learn the technique and use it for a ranged option then. The power required to learn it, should at the very least help you in the long run and imagine if all your summoned hands could just barrage someone with air shots."

"You're already a grappler, might as well condition your fingers to give you more options."

With the boost in physical strength, Robin's Devil Fruit would be even more effective! Her grappling style would be way harder to escape from so even if she refused to stab someone, her fingers would still be ridiculous.

Not to mention those flick shots. She needed a ranged option that kept her limbs safe.

Robin sighed at the training maniac and nodded. "Fine, I'll learn it but only because you asked," she conceded. She didn't know if she'd use Shigan, but the training would help her in the long run.

"Good," Rosan said, pulling her into a hug with a pleased smirk.

"They aren't taking us serious at all," Kaku thought in disbelief as the two lovers conversed.

While they conversed with each other, Izumi wrote down the instructions needed to learn both the techniques and handed the two sheets of paper over to him.

"There you go…" She whispered.

Rosan grabbed the sheets and they watched his eyes rove over both of them with incredible speeds, before he nodded to himself.

"Seems right. I'll get you started on this regimen immediately," he muttered, pocketing both.

"Surely this will replace the training you already run me ragged through, right?" Robin smiled innocently at him.

Rosan snorted loudly and wiped the smile right off.

"Yeah right. You've gained a huge amount of stamina, you'll be fine," he assured.

"I hate you so much," she muttered in annoyance.

"I know," he said soothingly, ruining her hair with a pat.

Robin glared at him and sighed deeply, before turning towards Izumi.

The agent flinched as Robin's expression turned sour once more and she turned white as Rosan picked up on it.

Evidently, Robin understood how jealously overprotective the redhead was and removed the expression, lest Rosan decide to act out on her anger in Robin's stead.

Robin had to remind herself that Izumi had already suffered a crushing defeat at Rosan's hand so she stifled her anger to the best of her ability and said, "Is there anything you need?"

Izumi blinked in surprise at that. "Um… we don't have any funds and we're about to run out of provisions…"

Luckily, every Government ship was issued with a Log Pose but there was no money just lying around… because it was a Government ship.

Robin hummed and glanced at the perplexed Rosan. "They're our subordinates, Rosan. We have to make sure they are able to sustain themselves. You're the one who agreed to this when you could have just killed them all."

Rosan sighed. "Is that offer still on the table?" He asked blandly.

He watched Izumi seize up in fear and sneered at her, before Robin tapped him firmly.

He sighed.

The redhead waved a hand and brought out a briefcase, tossing it over to Izumi who caught it with a surprised look.

"There. That should last you a while," he muttered, gazing at Robin with an unamused glance.

He had no idea why she was so kind.

"I am upset with her but at the same time, I feel bad for her. She looks like she has no purpose in life. That's all," Robin said truthfully.

He simply grunted and the Devil Child rolled her eyes at his grumpiness.

Brat.

"Thank you... This should last us a very long time..." Izumi said with wide eyes, opening the case and having her jaw drop at the sheer amount being presented to her.

"Whatever," Rosan said simply.

Robin sighed in exasperation. "Rosan, you killed 4 of them in horrific fashion and you're still not satisfied?"

The redhead sneered at all of them rage mounting swiftly. "No, they tried to take you from me. They mentally tortured you. They made you do their bidding. They had the audacity, to make you ally yourself with the World Government. I will only be satisfied if they're suffering under my feet," he snarled, sparks flying off his body as his pressure began to leak.

The CP9 agents tensed at that, fear on all but Rob Lucci's face as they warily stared at the demon imposing his very presence on them.

Robin was touched that he was still so upset on her behalf and delicately put a hand on his arm. "It's okay. I'm here. You still have me. You will always have me."

Izumi let out a small shudder of relief, as Rosan took his eyes off them and gazed at Robin with his furious gaze.

Eventually, he calmed down and scoffed. "Just the fact that you're this close to Robin and alive, is a miracle. I've had a really short temper lately," he grunted.

"W-We're sorry," Izumi stammered in terror, eyes wide.

"We're the ones who came here to get something, Rosan. They haven't even done anything wrong except perfectly answering your request. Why even accept their request if you hate them this much?" Robin muttered.

"Adrenaline," Rosan replied honestly. "I lost a lot of blood and the thrill of battle slammed into me and I really wanted to save you. Of course I wasn't thinking straight when I accepted her offer."

Robin sweatdropped at that.

"But you're right. I accepted the request and I technically have no reason to go back on it…"

Rosan vanished and planted a fist directly on Kaku's stomach, sending the CP9 agent crashing into a wall.

"!" Kaku let out a rasp as he spit up blood and hunched over.

"So I'll drop it," Rosan huffed. "We're leaving."

The agents looked at the keeled over agent in shock, not believing how easily he felled the man.

"Why did you do that?" Robin asked with a suffering sigh.

"I needed to work my anger off a bit," he replied with a malicious smirk as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "You're being too nice to them, so I'll compensate."

"You're ridiculous, Rosan," Robin sighed, leaning into his protective hold.

"U-Um… about Blueno's Devil Fruit… it might take a very long time to find it," Izumi said quietly to him.

Rosan's gaze bored into her before he snorted. "Oh that. You don't gotta look for it. Do you know how impossible it is to find a specific Devil Fruit?"

Izumi flinched at that. "B-But then..."

"If someone eats his Devil Fruit… and they somehow get proficient in it, I will know and I will deal with them. For their own sake, they better remain mediocre in it for all their lives," he said assuringly.

They shuddered at that ominous tone of his and let the noise of Kaku coughing hellishly fill the air.

"Do whatever you want. Make sure it's useful to me or something… I'll call you if I need you but honestly, train up. You guys are weak and rely too much on your techniques. I barely put effort into that punch… how did Zoro struggle with you?" he shrugged.

"Right," Izumi and Rob Lucci nodded at his instructions.

The redhead vanished without another word.

Izumi sagged in relief as he vanished and Kalifa easily grabbed her up.

"Are you alright?" She asked the illusionist.

Dealing with the Red Devil was no better than resting next to a ticking time bomb. It was just a matter of when that bomb exploded and that terrified them.

"...I'm fine," Izumi replied quietly, shooting the woman a look. "...Thank you," she said after a short while.

Kalifa's eyes widened at that, not expecting Izumi of all people to show gratitude or anything of the matter.

"...You're welcome," she said eventually with a shaky smile, glancing nervously at the spot that Rosan was just at.

"Hmph," Lucci scoffed, marching off to train.

After that humiliating defeat from Straw Hat… the leopard refused to suffer such a loss again.

"Stupid giraffe, I would've dodged that," Jabra scoffed.

"Say that to his face," Kaku gasped.

Why was he the one who got punched…?

----------------------------------------

Rosan felt his cube ringing and pulled it out of his pocket, watching it go flat at a touch and seeing who it was.

"Hey Sabo," he greeted easily, picking up and greeting his younger brother.

"Don't hey Sabo, me! Rosan what the fuck?!" Sabo hissed in disbelief.

"Sabo!" Robin greeted with a smile.

"Hey Robin," the Revolutionary greeted easily.

"What the hell?" Rosan asked in confusion. "What did I do?"

"Is this Rosan and Robin?" a female voice asked on the other line.

"Yes, Koala," Sabo said in exasperation. Koala had asked quite a bit of questions considering he had been gone for so long so he had told her all about the Straw Hats.

Needless to say, she was very excited to meet them. Sabo had spoken quite a bit about them even without her questions.

"Koala? Your girlfriend?" Rosan asked in curiosity. "Hey Sabo's girlfriend. He really likes you. We hope you meet our family soon so we can properly be introduced."

Robin stifled a laugh at the spluttering on the other line.

"G-Girlfriend?! That's what he calls me?!" Koala asked in shock.

"Yep," Rosan replied easily.

Sabo's brow raised high in confusion at Rosan. "Now's not the time for games, Rosan! I just came back from a mission and I read the news! What happened?! You guys destroyed Enies Lobby?!" The Chief of Staff asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I did," Rosan replied calmly, nonplussed by Sabo. "Of course I did. They pissed me off so I made them pay."

"...What happened? Do you mind if Koala listens in? It's only me and her," Sabo asked.

Rosan contemplated the question, before nodding.

"Sure, she's your future wife so you shouldn't hide stuff from her," Rosan grunted.

"S-Sabo I think I hate your brother," Koala mumbled, face burning.

"Get in line… we all do," Sabo sighed.

"I regrettably can't hate him," Robin sighed in return.

"You all love me. Don't lie," Rosan smirked, pulling Robin and making exaggerating kissing noises over the phone.

"Stop Rosan, you aren't supposed to actually kiss me!" Robin protested, unsuccessfully pushing the physical freak away.

"This is oddly gross," Sabo muttered.

"You know... everyone says that," Rosan mused with a contemplative expression.

"Because you have no regards for other's eyes!" Robin exclaimed in disbelief.

The redhead shrugged. "I'm affectionate. I've hugged you dozens of times in a single day. Of course now that we're dating, I'm even worse."

To prove his point, he smugly pulled Robin atop of him and got comfortable.

"I change my mind, I hate you," Robin said with a tired sigh, watching him grip her in a way that prevented escape.

"Welcome to the club! I think we'll get along great," Koala smiled sympathetically.

"You haven't even seen my face yet and you hate me… what a terrible little sister you are," Rosan sighed sadly.

"S-Shut up! I'm not your sister!"

"Yet," Rosan smirked. Koala was just as easy to rile up as Nami and they hadn't even met yet.

The woman grumbled in defeat and Sabo held his head.

No wonder Ace didn't want to introduce any girls to them. Rosan was supposed to be one of the normal ones. How would Angel react to this if Rosan was acting so unhinged already?!

"Alright, lemme tell you what went on that caused me to raid and obliterate Enies Lobby," he said.

Sabo and Koala listened with wide eyes, as Rosan explained what happened to Robin during the events of Water 7.

Did all of this really happen? Running into an Admiral... running into an assassination group... then raiding one of the strongest Marine Strongholds on the planet all in order to get Robin back?

The Devil Child bit her lip as Rosan recounted the events and she bowed her head in guilt.

She would never be able to rationalize what she had been thinking when she made the decisions she made at Water 7. It had been more than just a lapse of judgment… Robin had practically committed an unforgivable sin.

"Robin… I'm sure Rosan already gave you the scolding you deserve so I won't do the same, but what were you thinking?" Sabo asked seriously.

"...I don't know I just… I thought I could keep them safe," she admitted quietly.

"There was no world where they would ever keep their word. The World Government lies to criminals all the time. In their eyes, you aren't even human, Robin. If allowed to have their way, they would have called a Buster Call on the Straw Hats regardless of if you went or not," the revolutionary told her.

Shit… if he had just stayed a little longer, he could have easily prevented all of this. He was so glad the Straw Hats got out safely but if they got destroyed just moments after he left…

Sabo would never be able to forgive himself if he lost them.

"I know and I should have realized that… but I was grasping at any hope I could," Robin replied as she shut her eyes. "Believe me, I've learned my lesson and… and I'm glad I get to live another day to take them to heart."

Rosan sighed and raked a hand through her hair. "I was more pissed then you could ever imagine… but I understand why she thought she had to do it so we've made up."

"Made up is one way to put it… I have no idea how you two were dating without officially dating, but I'm glad that's not a thing anymore," Sabo said dryly.

"You're doing the same thing with Koala. Just make it official," Rosan chimed over the line.

"I HATE YOU!" Koala roared.

Sabo put a hand to his head and let out a suffering sigh. "Do you mind if I tell Dragon about this? He was just as surprised when reading the news and knew they were hiding information about the whole thing."

"Feel free," Rosan responded with a smug smirk. "You should find time to meet up with us… though that's for later. Apparently, we should be heading to the Florian Triangle and then Fish-Man Island."

Koala perked up at that. "You're headed to Fishman Island?" She asked, a hint of melancholy in her voice.

"That's the plan. We need to go there to head to the New World," Rosan replied easily.

"Be sure to stop at Sabaody first. You'll need to get your ship coated," Sabo informed him. "And be careful about the Florian Triangle. I've heard weird things about it… Kami, I should have just let you put a Point on me. I find myself worrying way too much about you guys."

"Next time we meet," Rosan chuckled. "I want to increase the amount I have but it will take a bit… I still have one more left and since Ace doesn't want it, you can have it… if you really want one."

"It was a bit dangerous at first because I'm a Revolutionary… but I trust you with my whole heart so yeah, I'll accept it," Sabo grinned easily.

"Perfect. I really need to work on increasing the points," Rosan muttered.

"What's your Devil Fruit? I thought you were a dragon!" Koala asked in confusion.

"I'll tell you when you officially become my little sister. Don't tell her otherwise, Sabo," the redhead replied easily.

Koala let out a strangled yell before the call hung up.

"How are you so skilled at tormenting everyone you meet?" Robin asked fondly, tucking herself into his safe hold.

"Years of managing to torment two of the coolest people on the planet when I was a kid," he replied easily.

Robin blinked, before smiling brilliantly.

"You thought I was cool?" She asked with glowing eyes.

Rosan snorted. "Robin, do you even realize how much I looked up to you when we were younger? I called you Robin-nee for a reason. You and Mod-chan were the coolest two people to me. It always amazed me how calm and collected you both were in comparison to how hyper I was. Made you both seem super mature."

Mod lit up at that. "R-Really?!" she asked with a wide grin.

Robin turned away from him so he couldn't see how elated those words made her.

That failed when Rosan, who was still grasping her, forced the woman around.

"Aww, is my Robin-nee embarrassed? Not used to being called cool? It's because you're mostly a nerd!" Rosan teased, making sure she couldn't turn away.

His eyes lit up at seeing the dust of red on her cheeks and the redhead's smug grin grew wider.

"You should blush more, it's pretty adorable," he said.

Robin glared at him, before suddenly smiling in realization. "I'd say the same to you, but I already know how to make you blush," she stated confidently.

Rosan blinked before a look of shock overcame him.

"Wait," he said peacefully, watching her grip tighten.

"We're a couple, Rosan. I don't have to wait." She smiled peacefully.

Mod only had a moment to shut the connection before Robin lunged and began peppering the visibly embarrassed redhead.

"At least give us a better warning," she sighed to herself.

"They are so disgusting," Ram grunted in disbelief.

How was Rosan still weak to receiving physical affection? Honestly, her son was such an anomaly.

Maybe she should smooch him to get him to listen...

----------------------------------------

Aiko hadn't seen Rosan in a while and she missed him.

Naturally, she would never in a million years tell him that but maybe she should give him a call and check up on him.

After all, the jackass had a bounty of 310 million now and apparently he and his crew destroyed Enies Lobby...

Yeah, fuck that. He needed to give them a visit right now.

"Aiko. Akemi. Been a while."

Aiko shrieked at that unfamiliar and cheerful voice and gazed in confusion at the one responsible.

Her complaints died on her lips, as she saw Rosan smirking at her with a pleased glint, Robin next to him with an exasperated expression.

"Rosan! Robin!" Akemi jumped in joy and leapt on the duo, getting caught by the both of them. "Wow! Look at your eyes! They're so pretty!"

Aiko gazed at the shining orbs and felt herself get lost in them a little.

Was this how Rosan's eyes looked normally? They were glowing in a rather unnatural way but it was mesmerizing all the same. It was a far cry from the dim gaze she had known him for all his life.

"I haven't seen you guys since before we landed on Sky Island," Rosan mused, eyes glittering in amusement as he reached out and yanked Aiko into the hug as well. "I missed messing with you, Aiko. Did you enjoy the gifts I gave you?"

Aiko let out an uncharacteristic yelp that settled into an aggravated sneer as the redhead forced her against his frame.

Akemi giggled and settled for hugging Robin.

"I tried to call you on that weird cube you gave us but by the time I had the downtime to actually figure it out, I couldn't reach you."

Rosan frowned. "I was incapacitated. Sorry about that."

The sisters looked curious at that statement but they knew Rosan would tell them in due time so they ignored it for now.

"Hiroshi's having a field day with the new tech and I'm loving the fruits Maro managed to cultivate. I was the first to receive an entire new batch from her. She's gonna hit big with these because they are delicious," Aiko muttered, returning the hug and grunting at their height disparity that forced her head against his chest.

"Good to know, she has a whole greenhouse of those things that I had to build alone... oh by the way, I got my emotions back," Rosan said with a pleased smirk.

Both Akemi and Aiko gasped, heads shooting up at that.

"R-Really?!" Akemi asked her little brother in disbelief.

"You got them back?" Aiko repeated, stunned at hearing that. Rosan had been missing his emotions for so long, Aiko realized she didn't actually know how he acted with emotions.

In fact, the smiling redhead was such a foreign sight to her because he had been practicing fake smiles with them for... 12 whole years.

Now there was a real authenticity to his face. Not just that of a drone.

"Yeah, I'll tell you all about it over some drinks. I missed you guys alot," the redhead said affectionately, before glancing down at the leader of Fregate. "Aiko… what the hell? You need to learn boundaries, I have a girlfriend, y'know?"

Aiko felt a tick forming at his sentence, and attempted to bite his side, failing fantastically and glaring even harder.

"YOU'RE THE ONE FORCEFULLY HUGGING ME!" She snarled.

Akemi's eyes turned into stars and she looked at Robin. "Girlfriend?!" She asked excitedly.

Robin smiled and nodded her head.

"It's recent but yes, we've begun dating," she confirmed.

Akemi squealed so loudly, Rosan broke the hug with Aiko and covered his ears with a hiss.

"You're so goddamn loud," Aiko complained.

"KYAAA! HOW CAN I NOT BE?!" Akemi squealed, leaping on Robin without hesitation. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US ON YOUR LITTLE CUBES?! OH! OH! WHEN'S THE MARRIAGE?! AIKO LET'S GO BUY DRESSES!"

"I'm not buying a dress," Aiko shut down immediately. "But I am glad that you two stopped with all the sexual tension and just decided to make out," she praised.

"D-Don't be such a pervert!" Akemi gasped, rosily looking at the tall couple in matching outfits. "So?! How is it?!"

Rosan blinked at her starry gaze. "It's fun. Not much has changed really… but all of my hugs, come with a kiss now."

Akemi's mouth opened in shock. "Dear Kami," she whispered, shooting Robin a wide eyed look.

Aiko whistled. "Damn, seriously. I'm jealous of you. This guy is obsessed with hugging so your lips must be tired."

Robin closed her eyes and exhaled. "Everyone is so shameless. Is it such a novelty that Rosan and I are dating?"

"Yes."

Robin sweatdropped.

"Rosan hasn't dated or shown interest in anyone for the past 12 years," Aiko stressed.

"We watched him grow up from that cute and short little boy into this wife stealer hottie!" Akemi chimed.

"...Wife stealer?" Rosan asked in confusion. "I don't think I've ever stolen anyone's wife."

"That you know of," Aiko grunted with an amused smile. "I haven't dated a dude in forever because ever since you hit puberty, every guy has been demanding I stop interacting with you. They hate seeing you next to me."

Robin stifled her laugh at the dumbfounded expression on Rosan's face.

"I hope you don't wife steal anymore, Rosan," she said, amusement on her features.

The redhead's eyes snapped to her and he raised a brow incredulously. "Why would I do that? You think I stormed and destroyed Enies Lobby just so I could replace you with some civilian?"

Robin sweatdropped. "I thought you saved me because I was your best friend?"

Rosan snorted. "Don't flatter yourself. You're the only one dumb enough to put up with my nonsense so of course I wouldn't let you go."

The Devil Child felt her eyes twitch at that. "Perhaps I made a mistake accepting the offer to go out."

The redhead sneered. "Shouldn't have kissed me on the mouth then. You're in too deep. No such thing as breaking up anymore."

"Psycho," Aiko though in disbelief.

Robin scowled right back. "Good to know we're on the same page. But just because we're dating, doesn't mean I won't teach you a lesson," she told him, taking a step forward.

"We really are on the same page," Rosan growled, meeting her halfway.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Aiko sighed. "Speaking of which. Enies Lobby. Bounties. Give me the story. You raided it for Robin? What happened?"

Robin sighed tiredly. "I feel like Rosan's told this story a million times and I still feel terrible every single time for what I did," she admitted.

The redhead hugged her close and dragged her to the comfy couch. "Don't worry, Robin. It's over now… you can relax," he muttered in reassurance.

Robin hesitantly nodded and tucked herself into his frame, sighing as he ran a hand against her body soothingly.

"Robin did something wrong?" Akemi asked in concern.

"This is gonna be a lot to take in," Aiko muttered, turning around and pulling out a giant bottle of whiskey.

"Pour me a cup," Rosan requested, running his free hand through his hair.

"Me too please," Robin joined, closing her eyes in bliss.

Aiko grunted. "You guys are always drinking my shit. Fine, whatever," she complained, pulling out some cups.

"Don't be a pussy, make my cup bigger. Here, give it to me," Rosan demanded.

The leader of Fregate felt a tick forming. "Shut the hell up and accept the cup!" She barked.

Rosan grumbled and accepted the glass for him and Robin. Then, he grew his own cup and poured Robin's portion into it.

The Devil Child rolled her eyes as Rosan summoned a straw and offered it to her.

"Sharing drinks? I'm going to throw up," Aiko groused, taking a seat on a single couch and drinking her own glass of whiskey.

Rosan snorted before putting the straw to his lip. "You're always so grumpy. You need to get laid, Aiko."

"I wasn't done drinking that," Robin complained, moving his head out of the way with her own and capturing the straw again.

Aiko spluttered at the redhead's statement and glared harshly at him. "Do not say something like that! Kami, I never expected you to be saying something like I need to get laid and I hate it so much."

Rosan huffed as Robin continued drinking away. "I won't stop… it's even more fun tormenting you now that I have emotions, ya know? But, I'll take a break for now. I still need to tell you what happened with Enies Lobby."

Akemi giggled and took a small sip of her beverage.

"It's been so long since you visited us for just small talk… it's a really nice feeling," she said quietly with a fond smile.

Rosan smiled at the short sister. "I've… not been the greatest friend to you guys and I won't use my old disposition as an excuse. I know I don't say it much, but I do love you two for everything you did. Aiko could have stopped giving me money years ago and I never would have even batted an eye."

The two sisters reeled at that, before choking up at the sincere smile on the redhead's face.

"You're a fantastic friend, Rosan. I've never once regretted meeting you after I learned more about you," Aiko said sincerely, placing her drink down and moving over to hug the duo.

Akemi followed suit and fondly hugged the redhead. "You're the one who helped me recover from such a terrible ordeal… you helped me realize that they can't hurt me anymore and I'll forever love you for that," she said quietly.

"I know I don't need to give you the money anymore… but I worry for you and having you at least visit every 2 weeks let's me know you're fine," the leader of Fregate admitted.

Rosan sighed in disappointment at himself. "I'm sorry for that. I'll visit more often, promise. If you ever wanna just talk or something, you can hit me up on the cube I made you guys."

Robin smiled proudly at Rosan. "I'm so proud of you for making these improvements. I'll help you every step of the way," she assured.

Akemi beamed. "Keep a firm hold on him, Robin. You have no idea how many people want to snatch him up," she warned.

Aiko snorted. "Akemi was one of them. You should've seen the heartbreak when she realized how much older she was than him."

Her younger sister turned bright red in disbelief. "W-What is wrong with you?! It was hero worship! Hero. Worship! You have nothing to worry about, Robin. I won't be trying for Rosan's affections at all… BESIDES YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S OBSESSED WITH —"

Whatever Akemi was about to say, was cut off by Aiko herself who hissed violently in her ear.

Robin blinked, before glancing back at the exasperated Rosan.

"Obsessed with what?" the redhead mused.

"You really do like older woman don't you? Have you ever gotten with anyone younger than you?" Robin asked in amusement.

"...Robin… please shut the hell up," Rosan replied calmly.

...Had he?

"Nojiko."

Robin blinked. "Who's Nojiko?"

"Nami's older sister," Rosan replied with a sigh.

The Devil Child blinked even harder. "Perhaps I should take Akemi's warnings seriously."

"You're hot too, Robin. I'm not letting anyone near you," Rosan grunted.

Robin smiled and confiscated the straw once more, while snuggling into him.

"This is disgusting," Aiko complained.

"It's so cute!" Akemi gushed. "Let's talk wedding after this story!"

"Twisted woman," the gray haired leader sighed.

"Everyone's so obsessed with a wedding," Rosan sighed too.

"Don't forget the children," Robin joined with yet another sigh.

Aiko sweatdropped at that.

----------------------------------------

"So you destroyed Enies Lobby... because they took Robin?"

Rosan had to say, there was something ego boosting about all the looks of mortification he received, after telling a person he took down a stronghold for one person.

Robin let out a weary sigh and nodded slowly, before gasping as Akemi wrapped her in a tight hug.

"Are you okay?" The younger sister asked in visible concern. "I can't possibly imagine what was going through your head at the time but you must have been suffering the entire time."

Aiko nodded her head, leaning back and sighing. "I'll admit, you're really stupid for doing what you did... but your motives were so selfless and pure... it's no wonder you got tricked. You're a good person Robin, I see no sign of a Devil in you at all."

Robin blinked in shock before a watery smile made its way to her face. "I never thought I'd see the day, where so many people acknowledged me as human."

Rosan laughed at that and pulled all three in a hug. "You say I'm stubborn and see things bad... but we've never seen you as anything but human, Robin," he replied softly.

She nodded with a proud smile. "I'm glad I've finally learned my lesson. I'm fine being a Devil to other people, as long as my loved ones know I'm human."

"Of course!" Akemi gushed. "You be the biggest demon out there and then come back to your loving family! We'll always support you both!"

Robin loved them all. They were such a good support system and she was so glad that she got to meet them.

She would maintain this. Robin swore she would and for that to happen, she would need to get as strong as possible with Rosan.

They would protect all of this.

Rosan smiled fondly at the resolve in her eyes.

"Why didn't you guys go to that girl time trip?" Rosan asked suddenly. "Mod-chan would have picked you up easily."

"Busy," Aiko said immediately, downing the rest of her drink and letting out a sigh. "Akemi and I were off island handling business somewhere else."

"We'll come next time! Maro told me you guys had so much fun," Akemi gushed.

"Such a shame, I wouldn't have minded coming either," the gray haired leader grunted.

"I fucking bet," Rosan sneered. "Any chance to stare at my mother huh, filthy pervert."

Aiko and Mod spluttered at the exact same time, while Akemi began giggling.

"Rosan! Please don't be like this!"

"Out!" Aiko snarled. "I'm tired of you! Leave! I've had my fix of Rosan for the week!"

The redhead snorted mockingly. "Whatever you say. Just know she's off limits, you womanizer. It's a wonder you and Demon haven't done anything yet!"

"I'm pretty sure they did!" Akemi giggled.

"GET OUT! ALL OF YOU!" Aiko roared.

Robin couldn't help but laugh at that, as Rosan grabbed her and swiftly vanished.

----------------------------------------

Wanted: "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy – 350,000,000 Beris

Wanted: "Red Devil" Rosan – 310,000,000 Beris

350 million... 310 million. That was utterly...

Makino gazed at the two bounties with a mixture of pride and horror. After all, despite how proud she was of the both of them, the heaviness of their bounties was just...

They destroyed Enies Lobby? That was just... insanity... what was the story behind that—

"You've been staring at my bounty face for a pretty long time. I know I'm hot but it's just a picture."

Makino, who was in the process of closing her restaurant for the day, shrieked as someone spoke behind her.

The green haired woman jumped in terror and whirled around, wondering how the hell someone managed to get past her locked doors.

Anything she was about to say, died on her lips and Makino's mouth opened in shock instead.

"Makino!" Luffy beamed, no Straw Hat on his head as he waved ecstatically.

"Sup," Rosan smirked easily at the shellshocked Makino. "I was in the area so I figured I'd drop by. I asked Luffy if he wanted to come and he said yeah."

"..."

Rosan tilted his head and pointed at the amused Robin. "This is Robin, she's my girlfriend and best friend. Robin this is Makino, my civilian friend whos completely normal."

"..."

Robin giggled and said nothing, merely stepping to the side at the same time Makino lunged over the counter.

Luffy laughed and Rosan grunted, as the woman squeezed them both with tears in her eyes.

"R-Rosan! Luffy!" Makino sobbed. "I missed you both so much! I can't believe you're visiting!"

Luffy laughed and returned the hug.

"Realize how boring your life is without me spicing it up?" Rosan laughed mockingly, much to Makino's shock.

Rosan was... laughing?

Makino leaned back and gazed at the redhead, eyes bugging in shock at seeing the smug grin on his face and the utterly mesmerizing sight of his glowing eyes.

This was... Rosan?! Why did he look so different?!

His face was the same, his body was the same, nothing had physically changed about him besides the fact that he let his red hair down...

But the smile on his face... the mirth in his eyes... It made him look completely different. Just a shift in expression was enough to turn Rosan into this...

"Earth to Makino?" Rosan snapped a finger in her face. "Stop staring. I know I'm hot but I'm here to catch up with you."

Makino blinked in shock and shook her head. "I'm sorry it's just! I'm so surprised! I wasn't expecting to see you guys for such a long time and I haven't spoken to you in forever!"

The bartender wiped her tears and pulled them both into a deep hug once more.

"You have no idea how upset I am with you for not giving me any form of contact with you!" Makino said firmly, glaring at the redhead.

Rosan shrugged. "I thought you would have preferred Maro and Aiko's number more. Robin made me realize that you appreciated my friendship though."

Makino scowled at him, before perking up at the mention of Robin's name and glancing over to her.

Ohara's Devil was a beautiful woman and Makino smiled brightly at her.

"Robin-san! I heard rumors that you and Rosan were dating but to think that's actually true..."

Makino held out a hand and Robin easily grasped it.

"Thank you so much for helping both Rosan and Luffy!" She exclaimed, bowing at the woman.

"She is far too nice," Robin immediately thought. She felt a little bad that she didn't have Rosan fly over sooner to set up some type of connections with her.

"It was nothing, Makino-san. I'm just happy I get to be in a crew with them!" she replied with a small smile.

Rosan sensed that he was about to be grilled by Robin for being a dick (he might have deserved it) and immediately pulled out a Den Den Mushi for her.

"Recent sources have informed me that you actually would like to talk to me... and that I may have been a terrible friend so here," he said, before tapping the woman's head.

"And I will make you a better form of communication as well."

Makino jumped at that and gazed at Rosan with wild eyes.

She had been about to tear into the redhead about how inconsiderate it was of him to assume she wouldn't want to talk to one of her closest friends, but the voice going off in her head was doing a great job at distracting her.

Rosan rolled his eyes. He'd make her a cube by using the connection he had to her. He had been connecting to his crew far more frequently so as to better differentiate their separate connections so he would just add one for Makino.

He was not giving her a Save Point.

"What... did you just do?" Makino asked in shock, putting a single hand to her head.

"Used my Devil Fruit to connect to you," Rosan replied easily, mulling over the feeling of his connection with her.

Alright, he had a decent grasp of it. He could get started.

"I'm still going to give you an earful, but I'm just happy to see you guys!" Makino said happily.

Luffy laughed cheerfully. "It's been so long Makino! How are you?"

Makino looked at little Luffy, the boy she had practically raised and gained a teary look in her eyes again.

He really did look the same but just like Rosan, the boy just had something a little different about him.

He really did grow into his role as captain of the ship.

"I'm doing great Luffy! I've been a little bored since I've missed you all but believe it or not, Maro and Angel have been visiting me alot!" She exclaimed happily, unable to resist pulling the rubber boy into a hug.

She really did miss Luffy a lot. He was practically her son!

Rosan and Robin gazed at the two for a bit before the redhead nodded to himself.

"I'm gonna bring Dadan over here," he said suddenly. "I wanna see her too and you two should catch up a bit."

Makino nodded, just fussing over the easygoing Luffy and the redhead departed the restaurant he gifted her.

"I feel a little guilty," Rosan admitted to Robin as they moved through the village.

"Just a little?" Robin prodded in return.

The redhead frowned. "...I was kind of a terrible person without my emotions, wasn't I?"

She turned towards him. "I won't lie and say your emotional status had everything to do with it because you treated me incredible... so I think that's just how you are and your lack of emotions enhanced it."

Rosan frowned at that but Robin pushed on.

"You've been through a lot so you are naturally reserved to opening up to people, especially adults," she mentioned. "That's not something that has changed even when you lost your emotions. You've never quite cared about people outside your circle and you act accordingly."

Her scout looked contemplative. "I guess there's always still time to fix my wrongdoings," he admitted.

That was right. The bottom line was, he just didn't care about a lot of people and that remained true even with his emotions.

Without it though, that lack of care extended even to people who cared about him...

He'd be better. Rosan was an emotionally stunted failure, but he didn't have to remain an emotionally stunted failure.

Robin smiled at the redhead.

She may have set him back with her actions at Water 7, but Rosan was still willing to move forward.

Incredible. He really was admirable.

----------------------------------------

Dadan jolted at the loud banging on her door and whirled around at that.

Was Garp still mad that she let Rosan and Luffy go on their journey?! How the hell was she going to stop them even if she wanted to?!

As the bandit leader approached the door of her much nicer house (courtesy of Rosan), it was suddenly kicked open and Dadan's jaw dropped as it broke right off its hinge.

Her jaw dropped even further at seeing who was on the other side.

"You took too long to open the door. I got impatient."

Portgas D. Rosan grinned smugly at her.

"Hey Dadan, what's up?" He greeted with a small wave.

Dadan gazed at the redhead... then gazed at his bounty of 310 million... then gazed back at him.

"You're... smiling," she said numbly.

"...I'm happy to see you," Rosan said truthfully, still maintaining his smile.

Dadan blinked owlishly at the foreign sight.

"Who are you?" she finally asked, reaching for her axe as she gauged the unknown entity with narrowed eyes.

Rosan blinked in confusion as Robin began laughing.

"Portgas D... Rosan?" He said, not sure what she was looking for. "I'm that same 14 year old that was like seconds away from murdering you and everyone else after badmouthing Ace."

The redhead moved from his spot and pulled Dadan into a hug. "Now stop being so difficult. I came all the way over here to see you and you're acting like a stranger," he chastised.

Dadan's mouth hung uselessly as one of the boys she raised... acted nothing like how she was used to.

W-What happened to her little drone Rosan? Had he finally regained his lost emotions?

"Yes, I gained my emotions back. We've been through a lot," Rosan laughed, scratching his head. "Are you really not gonna hug me back? Pretending like you hate this stuff is adorable but c'mon who knows when I'll visit again —"

The redhead let out a tiny oof as Dadan squeezed him with all her might and he began laughing eventually.

"I missed you little brats!" She exclaimed, tears falling down her face as she crushed the redhead. "How've you all been? Why the hell do you and Luffy both have 300 million bounties?! First you beat a Warlord, now you're destroying Enies Lobby!"

Rosan was radiating amusement as she talked his ear off. "I'll tell you and Makino everything. We're gonna go back down to her and Luffy —"

"LUFFY'S HERE TOO?!"

"Yep."

It was impossible for Dadan to hide how excited she was at hearing that both Rosan and Luffy were here.

"By the way, this is my girlfriend, Robin," Rosan introduced, pointing at the utterly amused Robin.

"You look way too proud everytime you introduce me as that," Robin said fondly, holding out her hand for Dadan to shake.

Dadan's jaw dropped at the beauty and she gazed back at Rosan again.

"Him?" She asked in concern. "You chose to date him, right? He didn't... you know... do Rosan things?"

Rosan's smile vanished and Robin's got wider.

"Am I that undesirable? What the fuck is a Rosan thing?" Rosan mused to himself, scratching his head in confusion.

"You are certainly desirable in terms of appearance, but you're personality has left people... traumatized."

"Fuck you, Mod-chan."

Mod knew better than to tell Rosan to watch his language. "Don't say such inappropriate things to your mother, young man!"

Rosan blinked, before cringing back. "What the hell, Mod-chan? You know I didn't mean it like that!"

"You've been so vulgar lately, I don't know what you really mean!"

Robin let them argue and focused on the stunned Dadan. "I did choose to date him, yes. Despite how undesirable I find him, he did save me from Enies Lobby so I decided to try this out."

Rosan rounded on her incredulously. "Why the hell are you speaking about me like I've been chasing you for years? You initiated everything!" He exclaimed in disbelief.

Why the hell was he getting ganged up on right now by liars?

Robin shrugged helplessly. "I can't recall. I'm not the one proud to introduce you everywhere we go."

The redhead glared at her. "Fine, I'll stop then!"

Now it was Robin's turn to glare. "I didn't tell you to stop."

"Oh so you don't want me to stop huh? Go fucking figure!"

"Nevermind they belong with each other," Dadan sweatdropped.

----------------------------------------

Dadan and Makino practically took turns squeezing the life out of Luffy, who just accepted it all with that cheerful grin of his.

Meanwhile, Rosan explained all that they did so far, while they listened with enraptured gazed.

"You went to an island in the sky?" Makino said in awe.

"Yeah! It was really fun!" Luffy laughed.

"Next time we go, I hope we get to properly enjoy a vacation," Robin sighed.

Rosan laughed. "It helped me unlock my emotions so it wasn't all bad. It only took me nearly dying to do it," he said, amused at his life and death battle against Enel.

"Have you guys run into Ace?" Dadan asked in curiosity.

Luffy nodded eagerly. "We did! He's so strong now! He can even beat Rosan in a fight!"

Makino and Dadan's eyes widened at that.

Ace got that strong? He could beat Rosan now?!

"Yup," Rosan said, looking equal parts proud and annoyed. "A real monster he's become. He's the strongest now... and Sabo is the second strongest."

...

...

...

"WHAT?!" Dadan roared in disbelief. "DID YOU SAY SABO?!"

Luffy laughed happily. "Yeah! Sabo's alive! He's a revolutionary now!"

Makino's mouth opened in shock at that, tears coming to her eyes at the thought of the little blonde boy being well.

Dadan looked stunned as well, mouth opening at the news and she hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. "Does Ace know?" she asked quietly.

Rosan nodded immediately. "He does, Sabo has amnesia so he doesn't have memory of us but I can tell he's getting better."

The bandit leader sighed and nodded her head. "I'm glad... It makes me glad that you're all doing okay."

"Of course we are!" Luffy beamed. "We're strong!"

"Let her worry, Luffy," Rosan laughed. "It's not often we get a Dadan who's honest with herself. She loves pretending like she's all tough."

Dadan spluttered and felt a vein forming on her head. Rosan was always annoying but now it was almost 10 times worse. He almost permanently had a smug grin or smirk on his face and his eyes seemed to be filled with amusement...

She liked it despite all his annoyances. An expressive Rosan was quite the site.

"Ace said he misses you by the way. Next time I get my hands on him, I'll bring him over," Rosan mentioned.

Almost exactly like he predicted, Dadan burst into tears at that and the redhead cackled.

"S-STOP MAKING ME CRY YOU ROTTEN BASTARD!" Dadan roared through her tears.

Makino laughed. "You're so different now Rosan. It's a little incredible... you really do have a human aspect about you."

Rosan looked stunned by that and then he snorted. "Kahaha! I can't believe people can still call me human. Thanks Makino, that makes me feel a lot more normal," the redhead stated.

Robin rolled her eyes at his words. "It's getting late, we should probably head back now."

Luffy and Rosan nodded, standing up at once and pulling the other two into a hug.

"It was nice seeing you guys!" The captain of the Straw Hats beamed.

"I'm so happy to have seen you two again! I thought it'd be years," Makino admitted, unable to contain her tears. "We're still supporting you on your journey to be Pirate King so don't ever give up!"

The green haired woman pulled the surprised Robin into the hug. "Thank you so much for helping Rosan! He's one of my closest friends and he's been through a lot... and I know that I don't know anything about him, but I know you do and you're helping him so much!"

Robin smiled softly after a moment, caught off guard by that, before she pulled Makino into a hug. "Thank you Makino. I'll make sure Rosan calls you more. You're a good friend to him and you don't deserve his rudeness."

She nodded happily. "I'd love to talk to you as well! You seem just as intelligent as Rosan but far less insufferable."

"Almost true," Robin smiled. "I'm smarter than him."

"Okay, we're leaving," Rosan grunted flatly, tugging both Luffy and Robin to his person. "We'll come visit again when I have that better form of communication ready," he told Makino.

Makino nodded, visible interest in her eyes. "How much better is it?" she couldn't help but ask.

"You'll be able to immediately communicate with everyone that also has one," Rosan replied with a smug grin. "Aiko, Akemi, Maro, Angel, Demon... Luffy, Ace, Sabo... okay you get the point."

Her eyes widened and she was unable to hide the excitement. "That sounds incredible! Oh please don't be slow and make me one!" she practically begged.

Rosan snorted. "She really is bored. Fine fine. I'll try and get yours done next."

The redhead waved. "See ya Makino. Dadan."

With that, the group vanished.

Makino watched them go with a fond smile. She missed them already.

"Dadan, I'm in the mood to celebrate. How about I cook you and your boy a meal?" She said happily.

Dadan wiped the rest of her tears and nodded. "One of these days you're gonna have to teach me how to cook! I can't rely on your cooking forever!"

Makino laughed. "Since when did you start embracing being a mother so much? You must have really missed them huh?"

"S-SHUT UP!"

----------------------------------------

As Rosan's group appeared on their ship he furrowed his brows at the heavy fog seeping into the air and the gigantic ship opposite of the Thousand Sunny.

"What's going on here? Are we under attack?" He asked in confusion, noticing that his crew freaking out.

They were screaming their heads off at the moment and he tilted his head.

Were they alright?

What was that ship? What the hell was the singing going on? It didn't sound half bad.

"ROSAN! YOU'RE HERE!" Usopp sobbed gratefully. "PLEASE SAVE US! T-THERE'S A GHOST ATTACKING US!"

Rosan and Robin both blinked.

"Pardon me?" Robin asked.

"A ghost?" Rosan asked.

"A GHOST?!" Luffy shouted excitedly.

At hearing Luffy's excitement, the entire crew paused for a moment and let out dread filled groans.

Rosan scratched his head.

What the hell was going on?