14 year old Meiko hummed a jaunty tune Rosan taught her as she excitedly dressed herself.

Why was she excited you ask?

Well because she got to hang out with Angel and Demon today! Normally she got to hang out with either one or the other (it was mostly Demon, Angel preferred watching the ship) but today, she'd get to be with both of them!

It was a shame that Rosan was off doing his Reaper duties. She seldom got to hang out with the triplets but when she did it was always such a treat!

Watching the interactions of the trio never failed to make her laugh! It was always chaotic between the smug, confident Rosan, the haughty and proud Angel, and the kind, mischievous, Demon.

It was never boring with the 3! Though, that wasn't always a good thing. They were all incredibly overprotective of her and it showed when someone even looked at her the wrong way…

It was quite embarrassing, but Meiko secretly enjoyed all the attention they showered her with.

Still they could be a bit much…

Alas, it was only the twin clones this time. Meiko felt herself missing Rosan but, the redhead had said he'd try and wrap up his business as soon as possible so that the 4 of them could hang out together.

Rosan's blush after she had embraced him and planted a kiss on his cheek left her smiling hard enough to make her own cheeks hurt.

He was just so adorable sometimes!

Meiko looked down at herself and smiled in satisfaction. It was hard to imagine that it had already been 3 years since she began traveling with Rosan but she didn't regret a single moment of it.

At 14, puberty had caused the teens body to practically explode in growth. Probably the least noticeable change was her height and hair. She stood at 5'5 and her golden blonde hair flowed down her back in a simple ponytail.

Her body had begun changing to the point where bringing Demon to the clothing store was too embarrassing for the poor clone and she opted to take Angel instead.

The look on Demon's face when he saw the bra she was planning on buying, was priceless but she wouldn't put the clone through that again. Meiko was too kind to torment the gentle clone.

Her chest had began rapidly growing which is why she needed to buy a new bra and most disappointingly, she needed to update her wardrobe. Her cute sailor outfit had begun garnering unwanted attention whenever she went out and she did not want to be the reason Rosan committed homicide on civilians.

Meiko flushed at the thought. She was unused to getting attention and despite how much more confident she got hanging around someone as bold as Rosan, she still had a few insecurities left.

Her redheaded love interest was doing an amazing job at stamping it out.

Still, other people showing interest in her just proved his words that she was beautiful! Rosan wasn't just saying it to boost her confidence, he actually meant it!

...Which in hindsight, was a silly thought. Rosan was very honest and he wasn't the type of person to say something just to make someone feel better.

He was way too much of an ass for that! Even she wasn't spared from his ruthless teasing, though her fake tears up tended to always make him apologize.

Meiko looked at her fit body, kept in shape by Rosan bullying her into joining his hellish workouts (at least he never made her do the amount he did), and smiled at what she saw.

The blonde was glad that Rosan forced her to join him in his exercise. She complained every single time without fail but the Mod Mod no mi user was doing it for her sake and she appreciated that.

Meiko had embarrassingly confided in him about how her weight was getting to her. Looking back at it, she knew that she was overreacting and that it was just puberty doing its thing and her weight wasn't as nearly as big of a problem as she was making it out to be but… she couldn't help it.

The redhead had tried to reassure her of the exact same thing but seeing how badly it was affecting her, Rosan had taken the initiative and dragged her into his workout routine.

"If you really aren't satisfied then do something about it," he had confidently told her. "You're just going through puberty Mei, but if you are really set then I'll help in any way I can," the redhead finished, grinning at her all the while.

Meiko blushed at the memory and sighed happily as she cupped her cheeks. Thinking about Rosan never failed to keep a smile off her face. She missed him… she hoped whatever he was doing, he finished quickly.

Kami, she had it bad for him.

Shaking her head to try and get Rosan out of her thoughts, Meiko donned a long white sundress adorned with red roses all over it. It was a birthday gift from Mod-chan and the wink she got from the older woman, left her a stammering, red mess.

Mod-chan was as big of a jerk as Rosan was sometimes.

Still, she absolutely adored the dress the purple haired woman had gotten her. The blonde had made sure to show Mod-chan her appreciation and she was satisfied at how embarrassed the woman ended up when she showered her in kisses!

Serves the Devil Fruit right for teasing her!

She wiggled a bit in happiness before she managed to settle herself down. She didn't want to keep the twins waiting after all!

Meiko grabbed her favorite ruby earrings and clasped them on her ears. After all these years, she refused to wear any other type of earrings but the pair Rosan got her. She loved them too much to even consider replacing them because they were special to her.

It was the first gift anyone had gotten her in a very long time.

When Rosan realized that he gave her a bone crushing hug and told the blonde that someone like her deserved all the gifts in the world. She had whined embarrassingly in his grasp but deep down her heart was jumping for joy.

Truthfully, just being with Rosan was enough of a gift for her. The love they had for each other was something she appreciated more then he could imagine.

Thinking about gifts made Meiko blush an atomic red as she recalled one Rosan had given her.

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

"Hey Mei," Rosan greeted cheerfully as he suddenly appeared on their ship.

Meiko jumped in surprise before rounding on the boy with a glare on her face. "Rosan! Please don't scare me like that," she chastised the boy who just smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry sorry," Rosan apologized and he pulled the girl into a hug that she immediately melted into. "I was just excited because I wanted to give you something!"

Meiko looked down at him and quirked a brow in curiosity. "You wanna give me something?" She asked, pointing a finger at herself and Rosan nodded rapidly.

"I read somewhere, that a gift is better when you get it while you're eyes are closed," Rosan informed her, before commanding she do just that.

Meiko couldn't help but giggle at how enthusiastic he sounded. It was good to see Rosan acting like the child he was sometimes. The redhead was so mature that seeing him like this made her cheeks hurt from smiling.

Rosan's joy was really infectious! They had made so much progress with his personality that it was exciting

She hastily closed her eyes after Rosan shot her an impatient look and at his command, she extended out her hands.

Something small and cold was placed in them, making her gasp slightly and Rosan told her that she could open her eyes now.

When Meiko did so, the gasp she let out was far more audible. The blonde's free hand covered her mouth in shock as she stared at the gift given to her by the boy she loved.

It was a ring but not just any ring, it was the most gorgeous ring she had ever laid eyes on.

The oval stone was a brilliant shade of purple similar to Rosan's left eye and it was fashioned in silver. The purple stone was set amongst natural pear and marquise-cut stones that were equally purple to create an intricate floral motif. On the bottom of the ring, embedded in small letters, was the word RAM.

Meiko was rendered speechless as she laid eyes upon it.

"Gorgeous isn't it?" Mod sounded fond with a hint of amusement in her voice at the starstruck expression on Meiko's face. "I didn't even help him whatsoever, it was all his idea," she supplied helpfully.

"What do you think?" Rosan asked as his eyes shone. "It's amethyst! Since your earrings are red, I wanted to get you something purple next and this is what I decided on," he explained with an adorable smile on his face.

"I figured you would look pretty good in my colors!" he finished and the pure confidence in his tone, would have made her roll her eyes if they weren't suck gawking at the ring.

"Also you probably noticed the RAM right? It stands for Rosan and Meiko. I was going to put just your name but, I like this better," he added thoughtfully.

Rosan paused what he was saying as he heard Meiko sniff. His eyes furrowed in worry and he looked at her face.

Had he messed up? The redhead was sure that Meiko would have loved the gift, but maybe purple wasn't her thing?

He should have gotten white, it was Meiko's favorite color.

Stupid.

Meiko, sensing that his confidence had wavered a bit, rushed into the boy and knocked them both over. "Rosan…" she choked a bit on her words as she clutched the boy, "...I love it!" the blonde exclaimed and she noticed the boy relaxed immediately.

"But…why did you get me something this amazing?" Meiko asked and her voice was barely above a whisper.

Rosan forced the blonde to look at him and she felt her breath hitch at the pure tenderness in his gaze. "Because you're amazing, Mei," was his simple response.

"You deserve everything and more Mei and I want you to realize that. You're such an incredible person and the only one who doesn't seem to realize that is you," Rosan's voice was soft and he idly stroked her hair.

Meiko, even with tears forming in her eyes, blushed deeply at Rosan's words. She knew he was being honest because she could feel it but, it never failed to throw her for a loop when someone spoke highly of her.

"Why d-did you decide on a ring t-though?" Meiko asked slightly embarrassed at the implications.

To her great surprise, Rosan's cheeks turned red as well causing her blush to deepen. "For now it's just a reminder," he mumbled but she picked it up and Meiko felt like she would faint from the heat of her cheeks.

"I want to become the strongest so that no one will ever come after the ones I love," Rosan said suddenly. "After I become the strongest, w-we can settle down together… i-if that's okay with you of course!"

Seeing Rosan's face turn a progressively deeper shade of red, was definitely one of the most adorable things Meiko had the pleasure of seeing. She would have been squealing if her head was not spinning at what he just said.

Rosan… He… Did he really just say that?

Meiko looked at him once more and despite how deep his blush was, his gaze was utterly sincere.

She was getting overwhelmed with emotion at the thought that someone like Rosan wanted to spend his days with her.

So she did the first thing she thought of.

Meiko grabbed Rosan by his cheeks and kissed him.

On the lips.

The blondes brain short circuited as she realized what she had done. She had relied on instinct to guide her and it betrayed her when she needed it most.

"It's about time!" Mod squealed in joy at what she was witnessing, causing Meiko to wallow in embarrassment.

Her embarrassment only got worse when she realized that she had yet to break contact.

She was such an idiot.

Hastily, Meiko broke the kiss and pushed herself up. "I-I'm s-sorry! I-I don't know w-what c-came o-o-over me," the girl stuttered horribly and eventually she just shut her mouth.

No use talking if she couldn't even get the sentence out properly.

She took the chance to steal a glance at Rosan's face and what she saw stunned her.

The boy's mouth was open in shock and his eyes were a bit dazed in confusion. It only took him a moment to come to his senses and when he did, his face turned a shade of red that she had never seen on the Mod Mod no mi users body.

It was matching his hair in color!

"Y-you i-idiot! W-what are you doing!" He exclaimed in shock and he stared at her with wide bright eyes.

Meiko's jaw dropped at Rosan's reaction.

What was this?! Was Rosan… Was he embarrassed?! The same boy who teased her endlessly…was like this after one kiss?!

"Is this all it takes to cow Rosan?!" Mod-chan seemed just as shocked as her.

Rosan seemed to notice his mistake and he very quickly tried to salvage the situation. "W-what? No way!" He exclaimed, face still as red as his hair. "I was just caught off guard! That's it!"

Meiko smiled.

Rosan paled.

The blonde tackled the boy and though he protested, the older girl was unrelenting.

"The worst thing about this, is that you're just as embarrassed as I am but your still choosing to do this," Rosan said flatly. His face seemed to be permanently red now and Meiko was proud to know that she wasn't the only one on the ship who could reach those levels.

The teen let out an honest laugh at Rosan's misfortune before she hugged him tightly. "Thank you for the gift Rosy, I love it," Meiko said warmly as she embraced the boy.

Rosan smiled softly, injustice forgotten, and hugged her back. "Does that mean…?"

She giggled and said "Of course dummy! You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried."

Rosan let out a laugh of his own. "How silly of me. I shoulda known your answer was always going to be yes." His voice was tinged with amusement and Meiko couldn't keep the smile off her face.

The blonde paused for a moment before tentatively saying "Rosan?"

"What is it Meiko?" The redhead asked as he tilted his head.

"...I love you," she said softly, hesitantly.

Rosan froze as he heard that before a real grin broke out on his features. "I love you too Mei," he beamed as he kissed her on the cheek.

Meiko felt like her heart was gonna explode at the sheer sincerity in his tone. He didn't even hesitate to respond to her words and the pure adoration in his tone made her lightheaded.

"I want at least 2 kids and one of them has to be named after me in some way, preferably the girl" Mod chimed in causing Meiko to blush furiously. K-kids? But that was so soon!

"How do you know for sure I'm having a girl?" Rosan hummed in amusement.

"Your firstborn will be a girl I just know it!" The Devil Fruit grinned.

"M-Mod-chan please stop!" Meiko begged and Rosan just cackled evilly.

"Maybe one of them will have a mix of blonde and red hair," he teased, causing Meiko to snap her gaze towards him.

"Y-you remember that?" She asked, gawking at him in disbelief.

"It's hard not to with how happy you were after I confirmed that I'd like it," Rosan said, looking far too smug for her liking.

"You two would have the absolute cutest babies!" Mod gushed and Meiko hid unsuccessfully behind her twintails.

"You two are the worst," Meiko mumbled.

"Shouldn't have teased me," Rosan sang.

"I love you too~," Mod joined.

Meiko just grumbled.

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

Meiko squealed in joy with a rosy blush as she recalled the memory. The thought that Rosan wanted to spend his remaining days with her filled the blonde with so much joy she could burst.

Never in her wildest dreams did she think someone, especially a person like Rosan, would reciprocate her feelings.

Meiko was insecure. Anyone could tell you that after spending a moment with her. Years of neglect from her parents had burdened the girl with a slew of issues that she struggled to get rid of.

It was her biggest weakness. Meiko could not get out of her own head and it did nothing but trouble her at the worst times.

She wasn't good enough; too childish, too naive, too kind. How could she ever do what her parents did? The moment they had changed… the two had immediately written her off as useless.

It stung just thinking about it and more then once Meiko had been left staring at her ceiling at night wondering why she wasn't up to their standards. It had brought her to tears knowing that she wasn't good enough for anybody.

Yet she was good enough for someone. Someone who was incredible in comparison to how normal she was.

Ever since she had first heard of Rosan, she had known how special he was. The redhead had been able to capture the undivided attention of not just her father, but even her mother was completely enamored by the boy. Sachie nor Masaru weren't easy people to impress.

Meiko knew that personally.

It wasn't a surprise that something that interested both her parents, would be of interest to Meiko herself. The blonde couldn't help but feel a little resentful that one person had managed to effortlessly capture the attention of the two people who she desperately wanted attention from.

So Meiko went to see the one had managed to do just that. The blonde had been a nervous mess when she realized she'd be going behind her parents back to see the culprit, but the girl realized that they probably wouldn't even notice she was gone and that emboldened her as much as it saddened her.

She took her father's key to the facility and set off to find her culprit. All she knew was that it was the cell numbered 118. The blonde managed to make it into her father's facility without alerting anyone and she quietly looked around for their cell.

Meiko and Rosan hadn't met each other at the same time. When Rosan had first met her, she had already seen him before. The boy had been unconscious when Meiko had first sneaked into his cell.

When she laid eyes upon him, she couldn't help the startled gasp that erupted from her at the sight of the tiny child. She couldn't explain it but she felt a connection to this person as if they knew each other!

It was odd considering this was the very first time she had ever met them but for some reason, she felt drawn to them.

She naturally wanted to get to know them more.

It was a boy a very, very young boy by the looks of it. He looked even younger then her! His red hair was splayed messily and it covered most of his face, his clothes were ripped, and he had dried blood on him. His arms were handcuffed and despite sleeping, he looked distinctly uncomfortable.

He was injured. Disturbingly so and Meiko looked on in horror at the condition of his body, resentment all but forgotten.

This was the person that her parents were so fascinated by? He was so young! What had he done to gather the attention of both her parents enough to the point where they'd kidnap him? Why was he so injured?

H-had her parents done this to him? Surely t-they wouldn't do something so...

This was terrible!

The girl had gnawed on her lips as she looked at the boy who couldn't be older then 10 and made a decision. She had come in here occasionally, though her father only let her into the medical room, so she knew where said medical supply was.

She would try and patch him up without making it too noticeable in hopes that her father didn't find anything amiss.

The lights were barely on and Meiko struggled to find the room but when she did, she quickly spotted what she was looking for and excitedly grabbed a small amount of supplies.

The blond was happy that she had been studying medicine because it would be valuable.

She patched the boy up as well as she could without waking him. Besides a few noises, the redhead didn't seem remotely close to rising from his slumber.

Meiko finished quickly and when she did, she took the chance to look at him again. She couldn't help but blush at what she saw.

With his hair parted and looking a tad more healthy, Meiko could make out that the boy was cute…

Very cute.

She yelped quietly at the realization and fled the room in embarrassment. The girl didn't stop running until she made it to her home and she quietly snuck into her room and slammed her head into the pillow.

Meiko wanted to see him again…

So she did! She waited for a moment to escape her parents at night (not that it was very hard when she was largely ignored) and made her way over to where the injured redhead was.

This time, the girl had grabbed a special ointment she had been working on. She had overheard her parents talking about how rebellious Rosan (was that his name?) was after waking up and that he'd require additional discipline.

The way they said that filled her with an unexplainable dread. The blonde was briefly reminded of the condition that the boy had been in but there was no way her parents would make it worse...

...Right?

Meiko knew her parents were not great people. As she got older, that startling truth was made clear to her and it shattered her innocent view on the world a little.

She wasn't aware that their actions would extend to even children though. The thought that some poor child was being tormented by her adults, made her sick to her stomach and she couldn't believe they would ever do something like that…

Maybe the boy had done something terrible...?

The young blonde wasn't quite sure about that…

Meiko made her way to his cell again and entered without prompt upon arriving. She quietly made her way over to the sleeping figure and stepped back in horror at what she saw.

These injuries weren't present the last time she was here.

His skin was blistering from what seemed to be burns and the boy was red all over. Meiko turned green at the smell of burnt flesh and she tried hard not to throw up and make his living conditions even worse.

This… t-this couldn't have been done by her parents right? They would never do this to a boy who didn't even look old enough to be alone. She to refused to believe that her parents would ever do something like this. Her parents weren't good people but they wouldn't stoop to this level. T-they were better than that!

Yet here he was, in her father's facility, in a cell, handcuffed, with horrendous looking injuries. He couldn't have done this to himself… and Meiko recalled the conversation Mama and Papa had…

Her eyes welled up as she gazed at Rosan's unconscious figure and she fought hard to stifle a sob. Was he going to be okay? How could they just leave his injuries unattended to like this? That was so cruel!

If no one would help the poor boy, then she would try to help any way she could.

Dabbing a hand into her ointment, she gently began rubbing the cream onto the boy but the moment her hand made contact with him, the injured redhead shot up, surprising her greatly, only to let out a sharp gasp of pain.

Meiko jumped in fright at his sudden movement but her eyes softened in sympathy at the obvious pain he was in. The blonde pushed the boy back down and though he tried to resist, he was too weak and soon, he was resting on his back once again.

They made eye contact and Meiko felt her breath hitch as she stared into the most brilliant shade of royal purple eyes. The orbs were shining brightly and Meiko wondered how she could see them so clearly in the night.

They were one of the most gorgeous pair of eyes she had seen and they were in so much pain.

Meiko steeled herself and began diligently dabbling the ointment on the purple eyed boy. He whimpered in pain and Meiko's heart melted at the noise. She stared at him with a sad, sympathetic gaze that he noticed.

The blonde tried to be as gentle as possible, so as to not cause him any more pain, and eventually finished patching him up.

Admiring her handiwork, she got up and stepped back. The boy looked like he desperately wanted to say something, but he couldn't muster up the energy to speak and sagged as a result.

For some reason, Meiko just knew he wanted to show gratitude and the girl couldn't help wonder how someone could feel even an ounce of gratitude in a situation like this. Her heart fluttered at his kindness and after shooting him one last glance of concern, she fled the facility.

As she prepared to sleep, Meiko realized that she was becoming a little obsessed with the mysterious new boy on the island. The blonde really wanted to have a conversation with him and get to know him better. She wanted to understand why her parents were so enraptured with him and it was driving her a bit crazy that she was becoming like them in that regard.

Maybe it was because there was finally someone else her age on Daybreak island? Meiko was the only child here and as such, she had always felt a little isolated from everyone else.

She was homeschooled and largely self sufficient as a result. All the adults were really rude and cruel and she didn't feel comfortable talking to people who owned slaves and treated them so cruelly…

It was safe to say that Meiko had no friends.. which is probably why she wanted to get to know him more.

The girl tried hard to ignore the fact that he was a prisoner being tortured but she just couldn't. The boy was being brutalized nonstop and it was due to her parents…

Maybe she could make his stay more comfortable? To make up for the treatment the corrupt adults put him through?

She would try. She had to try.

And try she did! Meiko visited the injured boy as often as she could so that she could ease his pain as much as possible. His gratitude was obvious and she was left blushing at the unfamiliar show of affection. It made her feel guilty that she was deriving pleasure from a prisoner that was being tormented.

This went on for a bit, with her parents being none the wiser, and one day as she worked on him again, glowing purple eyes staring all the while, he suddenly whispered "T-thank you, for doing this when your not supposed too."

Meiko froze as she heard his squeaky, raspy voice. She had never heard anything more then a whimper or gasp of pain from the boy.

He sounded as young as he looked and he looked young. His voice came out in a rather hoarse tone that suggested he had been screaming earlier and Meiko couldn't help but cringe at how it sounded.

Despite the pain though… he had still managed to thank her of all people. The boy was being held prisoner and he had the capacity to still thank someone?

Meiko felt her heart pounding as enough blood rushed to her face to make her woozy.

She wasn't used to being thanked, so could you blame her when she, without responding, turned around and bolted from the room.

The poor blonde didn't stop running until she made it to her room and she slammed into her bed without hesitation. What she did had finally caught up to her and the girl moaned in embarrassment.

Running away from someone just because he thanked her? She was such an idiot sometimes. This just showed her startling lack of interactions with anyone her age.

There was no way he wouldn't take that the wrong way. Meiko sighed in misery and hid her face into her pillow as she berated herself.

She would just wait one week before apologizing to him. If she visited him now she might combust on the spot.

Decision made, Meiko went to sleep thinking of ways to apologize to the cute boy.

"Next week for sure," Meiko thought to herself.

It did not take one week. It took two months and Meiko wanted to slam her head into a wall at what she was doing.

Her embarrassment had taken forever to fade and to make matters worse, her parents had suddenly began acknowledging her existence, making it harder to escape at night!

The experience was far too surreal for her!

"Meiko," The voice of Sachie, her mother, called causing Meiko to jump up. She wasn't used to being directly spoken too at home so to hear her mother call her name was a shock.

"Y-yes, Mom?" The blonde replied hesitantly, as she looked over at her mother. The girl began fidgeting nervously at what she could possibly want from her.

Did her mother perhaps know what she had been up to? If she did, Meiko would be in a disastrous amount of trouble. After all, she had been tampering with their prized weapon and probably making it even harder for her father to force him into submission.

She shuddered at what her father may do. Clearly they weren't as innocent to children as Meiko thought.

Sachie seemed to notice Meiko's worry and the beautiful buxom woman was quick to reassure her daughter that nothing was wrong. "You aren't in trouble! I just wanted to…talk to you," her mother said a bit awkwardly and she looked away from the little girl who looked so much like her.

"Y-you want to talk to me?" The disbelief was clear in her tone. "A-about what?" Meiko asked and it broke her mother's heart how uncertain she sounded.

Sachie had never personally agreed with the idea of pushing her daughter away but Masaru had raised a good point. Meiko was exceedingly kind, even for her age, and introducing the girl to the activities they did would shatter her view of the world.

Much as she hated it, she wanted Meiko to remain innocent and so she stopped acknowledging her in order to protect her.

That had all changed with the addition of Rosan. Her husband had high hopes for the boy and she was inclined to agree with him. If things worked out well, they wouldn't need to stay on this island any longer.

The black haired mother wanted to try and amend their relationship before the family departed.

"Meiko…" Sachie began in a heartfelt tone and she saw her daughter instinctively relax at the tone she used. "I'm sorry. What we've done to you is unforgivable as parents but please understand that we did it for your own good!"

"I want to make it up to you in any way that I can so please, let me," Sachie finished with a bow of her head.

Sachie watched Meiko's eyes, the same color as her own, but pupilless, widen in shock and she felt her heart wrench as tears began forming in her daughter's eyes.

"U-um," Meiko stuttered before saying, "Okay… I'd like that."

She smiled hopefully up at her mother as she tentatively rubbed her arms. The sight caused Sachie to smile herself.

This is why they didn't want Meiko apart of their world. She was too kind. The fact that she so easily forgave the mother for years of neglect, spoke volumes of the type of person she was.

Sachie wanted to protect her daughter more then anything.

Mother and daughter spent time with each other whenever given the opportunity and before Meiko realized it, 2 months had passed by.

She was ashamed to admit that the joy she spent spending with her mother, had made her temporarily forget about the redheaded prisoner. It was so surreal to the blonde that her parents wanted anything to do with her and it temporarily hid the disappointment she felt in them for everything.

The blonde had gasped in horror as the thought of the boy suddenly slammed into her one night and she began tearing up at the shock of it all.

He had been suffering. For 2 months. Because of her parents. And she was not there to help alleviate the pain even slightly.

Oh no...

Meiko prayed that her father had shown even a bit of mercy but deep down, she knew better and the thought that she had been so happily enjoying herself made her let out a quiet sob into the pillow.

She needed to go see him immediately.

Making sure that her mother was not going to bother her for the rest of the night, Meiko snuck out to go meet the imprisoned boy.

The key she had grabbed looked unfamiliar and so, she deduced that he had been moved somewhere else in the facility.

No matter, she'd find him if it was the last thing she did!

It took her quite a while to locate his new room but finally, she had found the cell number matching the key.

The cell door clinked, a sign that it had been unlocked, and Meiko stepped through the door quietly.

The room was in a much better condition then the one he had been in previously and Meiko wondered what had happened for him to suddenly get an upgrade.

Had her father mercifully loosened up a little?

Somehow, she doubted that…

Rosan was no longer handcuffed to the bed and appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Nothing suggested that the boy was in any pain but she could never be sure because Masaru was a scientist.

The thought that he got used to it on his own, horrified her more than she would like to admit because no one should get used to torture.

She quickly walked towards the boy to ensure that he really was okay. As she finally reached him, she noticed that she was able to get a better look at him in this room and greedily soaked in his appearance.

He was in a much better shape then when she had seen him 2 months ago and she was able to verify just how adorable he was.

In the light, Meiko could see that he had bronze skin and that his hair was the most striking shade of red she had ever seen. She didn't even know some people could have hair this color!

And it was so spiky! Was that how it naturally looked?

Well it had to be. She doubted her parents cared enough to use hair products on the boy.

Meiko had an internal war with herself before coming to an important decision. Walking closer towards the boy, Meiko took a deep breath and hesitantly placed a hand into his hair.

The blonde gasped in awe at how soft his hair was. How did he manage to get his hair like this? Would he be able to give her tips? Wait, no he probably didn't use hair products.

This was natural?!

"So spiky, but so soft," she whispered to herself as she began raking her hand through his spikes.

Meiko eventually lost herself in her task. She was so distracted, that when Rosan said "Do you normally pet people in their sleep?" she jumped up with a squeal and quickly backed away.

The girl tried to compose her rapidly beating heart from the scare she had just received. Rosan was just staring at her and she felt her face heat up at how stupid she must have looked to the young boy.

They made eye contact and she was left gasping at what she saw.

"Your eyes, they're different! Are you okay?!"

The last time she had seen the redhead, both of his eyes were a brilliant shade of purple. Yet now, his left eye was a sinister shade of blood red and his purple eye looked positively frosty.

He was not a heterochromia last she checked.

Not only that, his whole demeanor seemed so wrong now. Even injured, Meiko could tell that he was a kind boy but right now, as he stared at her with a blank expression, she had a sneaking suspicion that he had been fundamentally changed and it made her frown sadly.

Just w-what had her parents done to him?

The small boy did not answer her. He just continued to stare and eventually he repeated his question.

Meiko had been shuffling uncomfortably at the intimidating gaze directed towards her, but she snapped out of it as she heard him repeat himself.

Hastily she pulled out her ointment to save further embarrassment and presented it to him.

"I-I wanted to help you heal faster, i-if you don't mind…" she whispered timidly. Rosan stared at her, face not shifting whatsoever, but she just knew what he was thinking.

"I'm not weird, I promise!" She reassured him quickly. The boy simply raised a brow and shot her a strange look as if she confirmed his thoughts by saying that.

Meiko held her head down and simply asked "Can I just rub this ointment on you?" to which he nodded. She felt a blush creep on her face at the faint amusement in his eyes.

As she rolled up his sleeves, Meiko felt her blush deepen at the close proximity between the two of them. She wasn't used to Rosan being so...active when she did this so to see him up and about, was doing wonders for her social skills.

Her very abysmal social skills…

She opted to stay silent, besides the little hum she let out as she worked, fearing that she would embarrass herself otherwise, and gathered her thoughts.

Gathering her thoughts brought her to the forefront of why she had come rushing here in the first place.

Rosan had been here for 3 months, getting tortured by her parents and it seemed like they finally cracked him.

The redhead was far more reserved now. Previously, he was so used to her presence, that he would let his guard down when she showed up. Now though, he was permanently on edge.

He didn't deserve to be help captive like this and she had been doing nothing to help him for 2 months and now he was like this…

"I'm so sorry about everything!" she blurted out and at Rosan's questioning glance, she continued by saying, "I didn't come here for a while because...I felt bad for running away from you after you told me thank you…"

Imagine her surprise when the boy suggested that she didn't like him! How could he even possibly think that?! Did he have any idea how much S-she was risking by coming here to make sure he was okay?! And he thought she didn't like him?!

The nerve!

"That's not true! I do like you! You just... s-surprised me a-and I didn't know how to respond, so I ran off," was her timid reply and she directed her gaze towards where she rubbed the ointment.

Looking at him, gave her a stark reminder that he was a victim of her parents. This young child was being held captive and being tortured endlessly by her mother and father.

He was a prisoner.

And he still thanked her.

"You're going through so much, but you can still manage to muster up the strength to thank me…it makes me so happy!" she choked out and she felt tears forming in her eyes as she regarded the adorable boy.

He was so kind but her parents had managed to corrupt him. Now the boy had such an empty expression and his gorgeous eyes, that shone in childish wonder, lost all the spark in them. Despite how empty he tried to look, she could feel it deep in her bones when looking at him. Rosan masked it well but she could sense it and it terrified her.

The boy had an unsettling amount of rage inside of him. Enough to shake her to the core and freeze her to this spot.

It was scary.

"B-but now, they c-changed you and while they did that, I was off being too embarrassed to even help!" She couldn't help but let out a choked sob as she spoke to the boy. "Despite everything you went through, your eyes always had so much determination and it was so inspiring to me! Now, you hide it well but, I can feel it…there's so much rage and it's so suffocating and I couldn't do anything to help,"

The girl sobbed as she thought about how much pain the redhead must be in. A look of shock appeared on his face as she spoke and she could feel how confused he was. It was startling how easily she could read him. For all intents and purposes, he displayed little to no emotion so how could she tell?

Who was he?

Whatever the case, Meiko knew that he didn't belong here. Something about seeing him caged like this just felt so wrong. He was supposed to be free and she wasn't sure why she knew that but she just did.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could help you more but…I'm really weak so all I can do is rub this ointment I made on you. That'll never be enough, though because you don't deserve to be here!"

It took her a long time to compose herself but when she did, she noticed Rosan staring at her with that same blank expression of his. Seeing that he had her attention, Rosan chose to say, "What's done is done. All that matters now, is how I handle the situation I'm in. I appreciate your concerns, but you don't need to apologize to me. You haven't done anything wrong. Thank you for helping me heal faster but, if you're done, you should leave. Something tells me, that you aren't supposed to be here and I wouldn't want you to get into any trouble after all."

Rosan's not so subtle dismissal wasn't lost to the girl but, she appreciated that he pretended to care. He raised a good point though. It was getting dangerously late and though her father certainly wouldn't notice, maybe her mother would.

She doubted it.

Meiko hastily got up so she could head home. "Ah you're right! I have to go… Although, I don't even think they'll realize I'm gone."

She got ready to leave before stopping herself. The blonde honestly really wanted to visit him again. Something about the boy just drew her in and it filled her with an unexplainable curiosity.

Meiko wanted to get to know him more.

Turning hesitantly to face him, Meiko asked "D-do you mind if I come back please? I'd like to talk a bit more with you…o-only if you don't mind though!"

The boy didn't even look at her as he said "Do whatever you want. I won't be going anywhere."

Her eyes lit up in joy at his easy acceptance and Meiko cheered.

"Yay!" The girl could jump in joy but she didn't want to creep the boy out even further. "I'll come back tomorrow night then with some more ointment, Rosan!" she assured him. She pointedly ignored the fact that the boy was barely injured and she was thankful that he didn't bother pointing it out himself.

Suddenly Meiko remembered her manners and she blushed brightly at her oversight. She bowed deeply and told the redhead "M-my name is Meiko by the way I hope we can get along."

With that, she quickly left the room.

When she finally made it to her room, the girl shoved her face into a pillow and screamed in joy.

She felt so proud of herself! Normally, she didn't have the courage to make requests or ask for things. The fact that she had managed to muster up said courage and receive a positive answer, left her beaming in joy.

It said a lot about her current state of mind, that she found such happiness in a prisoner who probably hated everyone and everything on this island…

Well whatever! Rosan didn't seem to mind her presence and he had said himself that she could visit so she would do just that! She deserved to be a little selfish for once because it made her happy!

That night, Meiko fell asleep with a smile on her face.

True to her words, Meiko visited Rosan the next night… And the night after that, and the night after that too, and the night after that…

The blonde visited the prisoner practically every day!

Despite her mother's sudden spike of interest in her, Sachie was still a busy woman and couldn't give Meiko her full attention. She was trying though and Meiko appreciated her efforts dearly, despite feeling like it was a little too late for this.

She had even heard her mother firmly telling Dad to stop hurting Rosan so much! The tone of the woman was threatening and if Papa was a smart man (which he was), he would not try to argue against her.

Speaking of Rosan, the blonde really enjoyed spending time with the redhead! He was a fantastic listener and he actually said things back! The 9 year old was so polite to her and Meiko loved the feeling of actually being listened to.

She still played it off as her wanting to apply ointment onto him but, Rosan hadn't been seriously injured for quite a while so she really didn't have a reason to visit him anymore.

Meiko found solace in his presence though. They meshed together in a way that she couldn't quite explain and she was sure Rosan noticed as well. The boy was quite stubborn however and tried his best to ignore the very obvious signs.

Meiko was not of the same opinion.

She chose to embrace it unlike Rosan and that's why she visited him so often! The blonde felt drawn to him in a way that was unexplainable and she didn't want to jeopardize their…sort of friendship?

It's why she he refrained from telling Rosan just who her parents were. His main tormentors, were the ones who gave birth to her and she couldn't imagine his reaction if he found out.

She didn't want to lose one of the few people who payed attention to her.

Yes, it was best if she didn't tell Rosan about her parents just yet…

Meiko didn't enjoy how isolated from the world Rosan was, so she told him anything and everything about her days and what went on outside of the facility. The boy often let her speak and provided some small words here and there which always left her beaming.

It rarely ever showed on his face, but she could feel his amusement whenever they spoke and it made her speak more confidently. The blonde knew she was rambling a lot and it would have embarrassed her more but, she could feel that Rosan somewhat valued their conversations.

Probably because it provided a small respite in this hell that he lived…

Meiko had to save him. At any costs.

She couldn't stand violence and she had made sure to let Rosan know that. She refused to own any slaves and the idea that they were having someone as young as Rosan, trained to be a weapon made her feel incredibly nauseous.

That had actually made the younger boy curious and he asked her why she was even here in the first place?

Reluctantly, Meiko told him that it was due to her parents and hearing how saddened she sounded, he mercifully let the topic drop, to which she was immensely thankful for.

It hadn't stopped him from asking if they were concerned about her frequent trips here, to which she dejectedly replied that they wouldn't even notice her missing.

She explained to him that her goals and aspirations didn't align with what her parents wanted and as such, they practically threw her to the side and ignored her existence.

Meiko blushed a pretty shade of red as Rosan bluntly pointed out just how talented she was due to her ointment.

She had made the unconscious decision to absolutely save him at all costs once she heard his compliment.

Speaking of which…

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Rosan…you seem a bit happier then normal today. No that's not right…you seem more relieved?" Meiko asked as she watched the boys gaze snap to attention.

Something about him was different. He seemed much more…alive? The boy looked as if he was practically thrumming with energy and she noticed that his eyes were shining much brighter then other days.

Could eyes even glow like that?!

Rosan stared at her in thought and she knew he was contemplating if he should answer or ignore her. Thankfully, he chose the former. "Relieved?" He asked. "I suppose I am a bit relieved. I was allowed to use my abilities today…it felt nice not being so restricted. Perhaps that's the reason?"

Meiko held her head in guilt at the reminder that he was a prisoner before slapping her cheeks in determination.

Rosan was handling the situation like a champ and here she was being completely pitiful.

That just wouldn't do!

"Your Devil Fruit right? Could you tell me what it is, please?" Meiko asked excitedly.

She knew he had the cuffs placed on to suppress his fruit powers but she didn't actually know what it was!

Devil Fruits were fascinating to her. She had never met anyone with one but just the concept of them was so interesting! A mysterious fruit that was able to grant users abilities yet took away their ability to swim? It was easily one of the most interesting topics in the world!

Naturally she would wanna learn about at least one of them!

Rosan immediately said "My devil fruit is the Saizu Saizu no Mi. It allows me to increase or decrease the size of myself and objects."

"A lie."

There was absolutely nothing wrong with what he said so why on earth did Meiko know he was lying to her. The blonde could not explain, but she knew for a fact Rosan was not being honest with what his ability was.

The older child narrowed her eyes at the prisoner and softly said "Y-you don't have to lie to me Rosan..." to which he raised a brow at.

"...I know the situation your in is really bad, b-but I've never lied to you so, please don't lie to me," she finished and Meiko was satisfied to see a look of shock appear on his face.

Part of her was hurt that he would lie so easily to her. Meiko understood why he was so guarded around anyone but she was trying her best for him! He could have at least said that he didn't feel comfortable telling her what it is but instead, he chose to lie.

But how was she so sure that he had lied?

Meiko noticed that the two of them were able to understand each other to a scary degree. No matter what Rosan did, she was able to glean into his true motives and vice versa. They could not hide anything from each other and the blonde had accepted it.

It seems that Rosan was still in denial. He didn't seem to appreciate how compatible they were and tried hard to keep his guard up (it never worked).

The boy in question was gazing critically at her and it was honestly pretty intimidating with the way they glowed. She shuffled a bit in nervousness at his heterochromatic gaze and her once confident gaze quickly reverted to the meekness she was used to.

She at least knew he was seriously deliberating what she had said. It seems that he had come to a decision because a sense of understanding came from him.

Her hopes were shattered when he bluntly said "I don't trust you."

Rosan wasn't done however. "Don't get me wrong Meiko, everything you do is genuine and normally I would have no problem trusting you, but I'm sure you know what happened to me. I can't allow myself to trust anyone. No... that's not quite right. I won't allow myself to trust anyone."

It hurt her more then she would like to admit, but she understood exactly where he was coming from. They had robbed the boy of his livelihood and kept him captive for months. His entire personality had shifted due to the stress and pain her father had inflicted upon him.

Who was she to assume that he would just trust her because she visited him in the dark of the night? As far as he was concerned, her being an inhabitant of this island, made her just as much to blame as anyone.

Her meager attempts to make him more comfortable, didn't take away from the fact that this was his own personal hell.

Evidently, Rosan knew exactly what her thought process was because his mounting confusion suddenly shifted into rage so quickly, that Meiko was caught completely off guard by the events that happened next.

The girl let out a yelp of pain as Rosan suddenly forced her to the floor. His eyes were laced with fury and Meiko sadly noted this was the most emotion he had shown since she had seen him.

Of course it was her who caused him to act like this. She just couldn't do anything right…

"You really think you understand me, don't you?!" He all but snarled and she began shaking at the raw hatred in his tone.

"You don't understand anything I've gone through so stop pretending like you fucking do! Don't try to relate your life to mine just because your parents don't love you and you have no friends," The redhead hissed and she flinched strongly at his harsh words.

Tears welled into her eyes, as the boys cruel words slammed into her. She sobbed and hiccuped as she said "T-that's cruel Rosan! Y-you don't have to say something like that!"

But he was right. How could she even begin to compare their situations? Rosan was being tortured. The injuries he sustained while here were horrendous and she could personally attest to that.

How could Meiko even begin to fully understand just how much pain he was in?

Seeing was so much more different then actually experiencing it.

She had been trying so hard to fully ignore it but with the boy bringing it to attention, the blonde saw just how terrible his life currently was. Did she really think just talking to him and slightly alleviating his pain was doing anything?!

That was hopelessly naive…

Meiko's sobs renewed at the boys obvious misery.

Why had they done this to him? Why was he not allowed to be free? Why couldn't they just release him?! Why? Why? Why?!

Rosan was about to swing at her and Meiko knew how much stronger he was then her. If the blow connected, she wouldn't be able to hide the bruise and the blonde was a terrible liar.

She knew though, that he wouldn't actually hurt her. Rosan was mad, but he wasn't mad at her. He was simply upset about his circumstances being brought up.

H-he would know that it wasn't her fault. She was sure of it.

The boy suddenly stopped what he was doing as they made eye contact and realization dawned on his features.

He could tell what she was feeling, right? T-that's why he suddenly stopped?

Maybe he'd really believe her then if she apologized to him…

"I-I'm s-so sorry R-Rosan," she sobbed "I'm so weak and pathetic that I can't even help you when you're in so much pain."

The blonde watched in a small amount of wonder as the rage quickly slipped off his face in favor of regret of all things. Meiko was shocked to see the boy slowly clamber off of her, allowing her to get up.

She hesitantly did and as she got another look at his face she saw anger but, it wasn't directed towards her. No in fact, it was directed towards himself.

He probably didn't like the fact that he had lost control. The boy had practically been a stone wall since they met and this was the only time she had ever seen such a burst of emotion from him. It was probably not up to his standards and his disappointment was rolling off in waves.

Rosan took a deep breath and said "You should go Meiko…and you shouldn't come back."

Her eyes widened in horror at that. Not come back?! B-but she enjoyed spending time with Rosan! The thought that she'd have to go back to a life of being mostly ignored, terrified the little girl more than ever.

She tried to argue but Rosan was firm in his decision and Meiko reluctantly gave up. The blonde walked, downtrodden, to the door. She was about to leave but seeing the regret on Rosan's face, solidified in her mind that he was not a bad person.

"I-I know you feel bad Rosan…but i-it's not your fault so I d-don't blame you!" Meiko said softly and she turned to face him. She stared into his dual colored eyes and marveled at the fact that they both seemed to display a different emotion.

"Rosan I just want to understand you!" Meiko begged quietly. "Please...I know you can't trust anybody, I really do, but that's why I want to earn your trust! B-because if you can't trust even one person in life then can you really call that living?"

Meiko knew her words resonated with Rosan because in true Rosan fashion, he ran away from it. "Get out," the boy said through grit teeth.

The blonde acquiesced and opened up the cage but not before leaving some last words.

"I knew you weren't going to hurt me Rosan. Deep down…you're kind Rosan I know it. I'm so sorry that they did this to you and...I'm going to make this right. You may not trust me Rosan, but I trust you."

"I-I'll find a way to break you out Rosan I promise," she finished before hurrying away. Part of her feared his response and so, she quickly left before potentially earning his ire again.

That night she cried herself hoarsely to sleep.

The next day when Sachie had first laid eyes on her, she had scooped her up into a hug and Meiko began crying in earnest again. Her mother didn't ask what was wrong, which Meiko was grateful for, and just hugged her daughter while rubbing her back soothingly.

Meiko had been crying a lot since her meeting with Rosan. Most of the time it was for the boy, other times it was because she replayed the conversation in her head.

She understood where Rosan was coming from, but that didn't mean his words hurt any less. The boy could be quite venomous when he wanted to and Meiko had been subjected to that first-hand. She replayed those words in his head over and over again and it made her heart shudder at the raw hate in his tone.

Eventually though, with the help of her mother, Meiko finally got over herself and stopped crying so much.

She had never seen Rosan cry, so she wouldn't be crying either.

Instead, the blonde focused her attention on other matters to distract herself.

Namely, freeing Rosan.

Meiko had thought long and hard on how exactly she was going to free the boy and she deduced that the perfect time, would be during Ash and Dust. The girl was not allowed to actually attend the event because she was too young and it was far too violent.

Personally, she was glad. If her parents had forced her to attend, Meiko was sure she'd have an empty stomach by the end of the first match.

So it was totally fine that she'd not be going. It would give her alot of time to prepare for helping set Rosan free. The boy didn't deserve to be here and Meiko knew that more then anyone. She would set him free and beg him to spare her parents from their actions.

The redhead was reasonable. If he found himself indebted to Meiko, she was sure that he would listen to what she had to say. She knew what type of person Rosan was. He would absolutely hate the idea of being in debt to someone, so he would try and pay it off as soon as possible.

Maybe he wouldn't spare her father and that thought made her choke up, but perhaps she could make a case for her mother since she was in the process of redeeming herself?

She was optimistic and maybe it was dumb, but she believed in Rosan.

The only problem, was that the boy in question would be participating in the tournament.

Meiko was awfully worried for him. It was rare for anyone that wasn't the favorite to survive the gladiator battles and Rosan was only 9 years old! The blonde had caught a glimpse of some of the competitors before and they had left her quivering in fear.

Some of those people tripled her height!

The smaller and younger Rosan could potentially be getting sent to his death and that terrified Meiko, who considered him the only person she could even remotely call a friend.

Only the absolute confidence Masaru (her father) had in him had stopped her from doing something completely reckless.

She needed to have faith that the boy would pull through or risk the both of them getting captured.

What would her father do if he found out she had been trying to free his prized weapon? Meiko shivered at the thought.

To avoid blowing her cover, Meiko spent the next 3 months doing exactly what Rosan wanted. She did not visit him whatsoever and instead started thinking of ways to sneak him out without causing a scene.

That's how she had come to the conclusion of waiting on Ash and Dust the high that people would be on after seeing the violence, would be good for her plan sailing smoothly. They would party themselves unconscious and she would take the opportunity to steal her father's key and free Rosan.

There would be many ships docked and Meiko was sure they'd be stocked with food so the redhead would be fine.

The only problem was that Rosan would likely be sailing by himself and she wasn't sure if the boy had any navigation skills.

He was also very young and likely suffering from trauma. Would he be okay by himself…?

A small part of Meiko wanted to travel with him…Just to see if he would be okay! N-not for any other reason… None at all!

Okay so maybe she had a slight crush on Rosan. It was perfectly natural! The 9 year old was one of the only people who payed attention to what she said a-and he was very close to her age. Of course she'd have a huge crush on him.

It also helped that he was good looking. Though that wasn't the reason Meiko liked him.

The two were just connected in a way that she wanted to explore in detail. She had never seen anything like it and it would be disappointing if, probably, the only person in the world she shared this with, just vanished from her life forever.

Meiko resolved to ask Rosan to allow her to travel with him. She was tired of being afraid and never standing up for herself and she deserved to be a little selfish! It's not like anyone from this island would miss her and Rosan needed as much help as possible to make it through the trauma he had!

He needed to have someone he could rely on. Even one person was enough.

Mind made up, Meiko diligently prepared for the day and every day was spend nervously hoping Rosan would be able to succeed in the tournament.

She dearly wished she could do more but as the event came closer, opportunities to visit Rosan became much more difficult.

Ever since her episode as well, her mother had become much more protective of the blonde. Whenever the woman was not busy, she would be spending time with Meiko and making sure she didn't break down.

Meiko appreciated the sudden attention that she had so desperately needed. Her mother was putting in an effort and Meiko wasn't the type of person to be rude about it, so she readily accepted her efforts.

She had missed hanging out with her mother. They were very similar and she felt safe around her. The damage she did, might have been irreversible to the young girl's mind but at least it seemed like she cared.

It hurt that she had to hide this info from her mother, but Meiko wasn't sure what Sachie would do to Rosan if it came out.

She couldn't be trusted with this after everything she had done to the child.

In no time at all, the day of Ash and Dust arrived and Meiko was buzzing in anticipation. She was incredibly nervous because today would decide whether or not Rosan would be able to escape or not. Either he'd win the tournament and make it out alive… or he wouldn't.

Maybe he wouldn't die from the injuries? She was sure her father would do everything in his abilities to keep the boy alive. Based on what she had seen as well, he was surprisingly durable and had a quick healing factor. It was very likely that he could make it out of this alive!

Meiko really hoped so.

Her parents had long since left to go get the star of the show ready and she was left to her own devices. Being used to this, Meiko didn't really mind and so, the girl made herself something to eat and got to preparing any medical supplies for Rosan.

Once she did that, she snuck into her father's office, careful to not make a mess, and opened one of the drawers in which he hid a spare key.

Despite the fact that she was the only one there, Meiko was mindful to not make any noise and eventually she retrieved it. Afterwards, she rummaged around some more until finding another key and the girl smiled triumphantly.

It was the key to Rosan's handcuffs.

She knew it was for Rosan because the boy was the only prisoner with a Devil Fruit and so they had to use special handcuffs to restrain him. It was only natural that her father would have a copy of them.

Seastone handcuffs were notoriously difficult to take off without a key and she knew her father was paranoid enough to have more then one.

Meiko waited with a bated breath in her room to hear the arrival of her parents. After what felt like hours, she finally heard the door to her house open and the sound of a conversation playing out.

Her parents must have thought she was asleep because they were trying to not raise their voice so Meiko had to strain to listen. What she heard left her beaming in happiness.

"He exceeded even my expectations," The smooth voice of her father, Masaru, whispered. "Never did I expect him to be able to deal with a Fishman of all things! He was truly the perfect choice to mold."

"Mhm," Sachie agreed and she sounded far more excited then the male. "He's so strong! To think he was able to achieve such results in such a short amount of time is incredible!" She gushed and Meiko heard something perverse in her mother's tone.

"Considering he was under the effects of Seastone a majority of the time as well. The fact he was able to perform at such a level, really leaves no surprise at what he was able to accomplish without them," Masaru concluded.

"Thanks to Rosan, we managed to secure such a huge amount of beri too," Sachie said proudly. "I'm so proud of him I can't wait to see him again!"

"Keep your perverted thoughts to yourself," Masaru grunted but Sachie completely ignored him.

Meiko resisted the urge to cheer loudly. Rosan, he had done it! Not only that, but he had managed to defeat a Fishman of all things?!

That was incredible!

She had heard about Fishman. It was very unlikely for an average human to be able to stand up to a fishman so the fact that Rosan (who was 9!) not only stood up to one, but managed to defeat them spoke volumes about how strong the child was.

She was so proud of him!

Meiko heard footsteps approaching her door and quickly, the girl feigned sleep. She didn't want her parents to know she was still awake. The girl wanted to make sure they didn't suspect her even a bit.

The blonde heard the door open and soft, dainty footsteps that could only belong to her mother approached.

She eventually stopped in front of her only child and seeing that she was fast asleep, Sachie smiled slightly. Bending over, she planted a kiss right on Meiko's head and adjusted her blanket.

"It will all be better soon, Meiko," her mother whispered before getting up and leaving, presumably to get ready for sleep.

Meiko smiled sadly at her mother's affections but did nothing to reciprocate them. She waited another 30 minutes before she moved.

Quietly grabbing everything, Meiko softly opened her room door and, after double checking that neither of her parents were in the living room, slowly departed.

All the lights in the house were closed but Meiko had been living here all her life. She easily navigated her home and in no time at all, the girl was outside.

The blonde knew by heart where Rosan was located and the best way to go while avoiding people. Soon she made her way to his cell door.

Meiko let out a nerve wracking sigh. Her last meeting with Rosan had not gone so well but, she at least knew that he regretted how he had acted towards her. She just hoped he didn't immediately kick her out.

Steeling herself, the 11 year old unlocked the door to his cell and quietly entered the room.

She had not been expecting to find Rosan sat up on his bed instead of sleeping. The boy was staring directly at her with that constant neutral expression of his.

Meiko resisted the urge to squeal as she saw that he had his hair put into a messy bun with some strands hanging and it allowed her to see more of his face.

It was really cute! Meiko gushed at how adorable it made the boy look.

She did prefer when he let his hair free however.

Realizing that she had been staring for too long, she quickly averted her gaze.

"Didn't I tell you to not come back," Rosan suddenly said and it caused her to jump in fright. It wasn't often that the redhead initiated a conversation with her and it had caught her by surprise to hear him first.

"U-um actually y-you said I shouldn't come back a-and I just chose not to listen," was her meek response. She immediately stopped talking at how unimpressed Rosan looked and, hoping to move the conversation forward, Meiko pulled the ointment and gauze she had been holding behind her.

"I heard you were in the tournament today and you won! I wasn't allowed to watch but I wanted to see if you were injured," was her soft response.

The way Rosan looked at her sent a strange feeling through her. Eventually, the boy sighed and said "I have some here actually. Mom patched it up a bit but she didn't do a very good job," before he pushed his shirt up.

Meiko blushed brightly at his sudden action and tried to cover her eyes. She shamefully peeked through said hands and what she saw had her reeling in horror.

His abdomen was littered with holes and though they were visibly closing up (which was amazing to see), it still looked painful.

A protective urge washed over her and within moments she had closed the distance. After shrugging in an uncaring manner, Meiko got to work on patching him up.

She eventually got immersed in her work and started to hum a small tune.

"I'm sorry," Rosan suddenly said, causing her to pause what she was doing.

Had she heard him right? He was apologizing? For what reason?

"Y-you're sorry?" Meiko cursed herself for stuttering but she couldn't help it.

Rosan nodded slightly. "The last time we met…I attacked you unprovoked and nearly struck you," Rosan began and his eyes were rather dim right now.

"I replayed that conversation in my head and I was completely out of line…" the younger boy admitted and her eyes went wide at that.

"It's just...everything about you is different and it irritates me in ways I can't explain. We hardly know each other but it doesn't feel that way and we can read each other like open books. No matter how hard I try to deny it, you can tell exactly what I'm thinking and that aggravates me but, that doesn't mean I should strike you. For the way I acted, you have my sincerest apologies."

He raised a good point. Meiko wasn't sure she had this synergy with any other person in the world.

Meiko stared at the boy and, despite how blank his expression was, she could tell he meant his apology.

"Rosan… you don't have to apologize because I know you weren't going to hurt me," she smiled at the boy as she said that. "This whole experience, I know it's jarring. I don't know if anyone has had to deal with a situation like this before. I know I haven't. To feel so exposed, is really weird and I can see why you reacted the way you did. That's why I'm not mad at you," Meiko said after a moment of deliberation, before she gained confidence.

"I meant what I said Rosan, I trust you completely. Deep down, you're a kind person and I hate that this had to happen to you because you don't deserve it. Even still… I know this is horrible of me to say, but I'm glad I met you."

Meiko flashed the boy a brilliant smile and he awkwardly held her gaze. She saw a flash of something in the boys eyes but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"Meiko- thank you. You're words, they mean a lot to me and I'm happy that some people still have faith in me," Rosan said quietly.

For a 9 year old to be saying something like this… it hurt her. Rosan was so young, it always caught her by surprise that he was just a 9 year old.

Rosan closed his eyes and said "I trust you Meiko. You not telling anyone I lied about my Devil Fruit is enough for me..."

She smiled brightly at that. The girl had finally earned his trust! She could do a happy little dance at the fact that she was breaking through to him!

"...which is why I'm sorry."

Meiko paused and let out a confused "What? You're sorry?" before she felt it.

Regret.

Her eyes widened in fear as she felt Rosan's muscles tense and she took a step back. The boy was planning on attacking her right then and there!

S-she didn't even get to explain herself ye-

"Modify Target: Rest mode," A voice behind Meiko said as a hand made contact with her. The blonde turned to face her attacker with a look of pure betrayal on her face.

H-he had said he trusted her… how could he?

The look of remorse on his face, only made her feel a little better as the boy said "I trust you Meiko. But you should never have trusted me."

Meiko sighed as the memory ended. After that, she had lost consciousness and the next time she had awoken, she had been on the White Rose with Rosan.

Sachie had tried to amend their relationship but it had been a bit too late and the damage had been long done. The death of her mother always hit hard but a small part of Meiko realized she had brought it upon herself.

Rosan was one of the worst people to mess with and they had found that out the hard way.

Still, a large part of her was glad that she got to meet Rosan. It sounded terrible, considering he had killed her parents, but she had never been happier around anyone else and Rosan truly made her feel alive.

Meiko couldn't imagine how she would have been without having ever met Rosan.

A knock on the door snapped her out of her musing and Meiko gasped in horror. "Are you dead?" Angel's ever confident voice rang out.

She had totally forgotten!

Angel and Demon were waiting on her to get ready and she was just daydreaming!

How embarrassing.

"S-sorry you two!" Meiko called back as she hastily finished getting ready. "I'm ready hold on!"

Meiko looked at herself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. If Rosan were here he'd tell her how good she looked!

Making sure that everything was in order and her earrings were firmly on, Meiko finally departed to meet up with the twins.

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

Meiko found it so funny that Angel and Demon changed in appearance more then the oldest of the triplets.

The 3 still looked very similar to each other now but they all had their distinctions.

Demon's changes were the most obvious. He was still practically a carbon copy of Rosan, standing at 5'2 just like him. Instead of red hair, it was now the same shade of purple as Mod's.

The conversation had been simple but really funny.

"You want me to make your hair purple?" Rosan had asked his male clone.

"Yes… if you don't mind," Demon replied while kneeling.

Rosan waved him off and told him to stand up.

"Of course I don't mind, purple is an awesome color," Rosan smirked before he tilted his head in curiosity. "I'm curious why you suddenly want the change though," He said.

"Well, Angel is very easy to tell from the both of us because she's a girl," Demon began and Rosan nodded along. "Me on the other hand, well I'm a carbon copy of you. Angel is as well but she's not male so I wanted a way to distinct myself without being too different from you."

"There's also the fact that you put me on a pedestal which is completely unnecessary," Rosan pointed out, which caused Demon to blush embarrassingly. "You should be more like Angel. There's no need to worship me like that because I really didn't ask for it!"

He was right, but he didn't have to be so blunt about it.

"So you want purple hair like Mod-chan," Rosan deduced easily and Demon nodded in confirmation.

"Alright, c'mere," the redhead said and Demon hastily made his way over.

With a simple "Modify," Rosan grabbed a strand of Demon's hair and they watched in marvel as his hair turned purple. The job was quickly done and everyone marveled Demon's new appearance.

Angel handed her brother a mirror so that he could inspect himself and she smiled happily at him. It was good that he gathered the courage to ask Rosan a question by himself!

His longer hair was a darker shade of purple then Mod's royal purple hair and it similarly flowed down his back in neat spikes. Other then that, he still looked like just like Rosan.

"I always knew you preferred Mod-chan over me," Rosan sighed forlornly as he admired his handiwork.

He looked good with purple hair. Rosan still preferred red, but purple was just as good.

Demon's eyes widened in guilt as he said "I didn't mean to offend you Master! It's just-"

"I'm kidding," Rosan interrupted in exasperation as he cut his clone off. "I can see why you would like Mod-chan more, she's pretty gorgeous," Rosan smiled mischievously.

"Don't you dare," Mod warned but she was ignored completely and the woman let out a miserable sigh.

"T-that's n-not," Demon tried to explain himself but Rosan was not having it.

"I mean just look at her," the redhead praised and the gleam in his eyes didn't look promising. "Mod-chan is the whole package. Long purple hair, brilliant red eyes, jaw dropping beauty and earth shattering curves! She looks like a supermodel! I don't blame you for wanting to look like her," Rosan explained and the boy had a full blown grin now.

"Y-you exist to give me a headache," Mod-chan sounded audibly embarrassed and they could just imagine the deep blush on her face. "Did you have to mention my curves?" She complained and Rosan cackled.

Demon didn't look much better. His face was beet red and he refused to look at anyone.

Angel, his dear sister, decided to not be his dear sister in that moment.

"No worries Master!" The female clone hugged Rosan cheerfully and he happily returned it. "Demon prefers Master Mod, but I prefer you!"

The two actual demons laughed at Demon's embarrassment and all the purple haired clone could do, was hide his face behind his hands.

All he wanted, was to mirror his sisters red hair and purple eyes and now he was being tortured like this.

Meiko laughed at the memory. She had been far too busy laughing back then as well to input her two cents but seeing the easy going Demon, so embarrassed, was too good to ignore.

Angel was the clone who had went through the most changes and the memory of how it happened made Meiko laugh even harder.

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

"Maaaaaaster," Angel's voice called from a distance, steadily getting closer.

Rosan and Meiko had been relaxing on the deck together when they heard her. The redhead looked up from the romance novel he and Meiko had been reading (it was not his idea) and waited for the female clone to appear in his sight.

It didn't take long and soon Angel, in all her glory, appeared in front of him. The more outgoing of the twins was looking at Rosan like she dearly wanted to ask him something and so he obliged.

"Greetings Angel," Rosan greeted and he sat up.

"Hi Angel!" Meiko waved and the female redhead smiled at them both.

"Master…I have a favor to ask of you," Angel said politely and the girl had a demure look on her face.

"About?" Rosan asked as his eyes narrowed in suspicion. The way she said that had his hairs up.

Angel was never polite and she was especially not demure. No in fact, Angel was the opposite of demure.

"I know you're a reasonable person so you'll definitely hear me out first, right?" Angel asked with a hopeful smile on her face.

"…" Rosan was on full alert now and he looked at Meiko, who simply shrugged her shoulders helplessly, just as lost as he was. "I'll hear you out but first, tell me what the topic is on at least."

"My appearance," she replied easily enough.

Rosan relaxed a great deal as he heard that but he still had his guard up. "What about your appearance made you decide to act like this? You wanna turn into a dragon? Back into a boy? Wait… You want purple hair too like Demon?! You traitor! You said I was your favorite!"

"Wait wait wait, Master!" Angel frantically stopped him. "It's not like that and you are my favorite! Just hear me out first."

"Mmm," Rosan hummed as he tilted his head. "Alright sure, I won't interrupt you."

Angel let out a sigh of relief as he conceded. That was step 1 done. She didn't expect him to give up so easily but then again he hadn't heard everything.

Now to get to the difficult part.

"Well Master, you know how Demon and I can't actually age right?"

Rosan nodded and Angel continued. "Because of that, you modify us constantly to match your age."

"It's easy for Demon because he's basically you but well as for me…"

Realization slowly began to dawn on Rosan's face but, like he said, he refrained from talking.

"Well because I'm a girl it's hard to actually determine how exactly I would look and now that you're going through puberty, Demon is being changed to match you and his change is very accurate…"

The middle triplet let out a deep breath and said "Mine on the other hand, can't possibly be accurate because well, gender differences—,"

"Absolutely not," Rosan suddenly said and Angel gaped at him. Meiko looked at him in confusion but she was a smart girl. It would only be a moment before she realized.

"You said you'd let me finish!" Angel protested angrily and Rosan sighed, but waved at her to continue.

It finally hit Meiko and the grin on the girls face was promising for his clone but not for him.

"I don't think it's fair that my younger twin gets to grow properly and you have to take guesses with me," Angel continued and Meiko nodded along in agreement.

"Puberty for girls is much different then puberty for boys," Meiko said helpfully, as a victim of puberty herself.

Rosan didn't look convinced. "Use Mod-chan or Meiko then," he said with a frown but Angel shook her head in denial.

"I can't use them both because they aren't you. You're the one who my appearance is based on. Master Mod based her appearance on you but that was mostly color scheme! She could pass off as your mother but she's still not you!"

Her redheaded counterpart let out an aggravated sigh and they were surprised to see that he looked flushed.

"So you want me to…swap myself into a female and use that to modify you?" Rosan asked hesitantly, dearly hoping that he was somehow wrong.

Angel nodded vigorously as hope flared up in her. "Yes! That's exactly it!"

"No."

Angel deflated.

Well she couldn't be too disappointed. It's not like she expected Rosan to say yes to her.

"That's not fair, Rosan," a voice called and Angel's snapped her gaze up as Meiko reprimanded Rosan.

"Angel doesn't deserve this, she's been nothing but loyal to you! You're the one who chose to base them off your appearance, so the least you can do it help them when they need help," she chastised him.

"I...but…," Rosan struggled to find a reason but Meiko was glaring firmly at him and truthfully, everyone on the ship knew he was extremely whipped.

Rosan eventually let out a small sigh of defeat. "Yeah yeah, you're right. It's just…"

"Didn't you say you transformed into a girl before," Meiko accused and Rosan looked at her in annoyance.

"How do you still remember that?" And after a moment he added "Yes I did… But I was 7 and I looked kind of the same as I did as a boy. And... it wasn't by choice. Mod and Robin practically forced me."

"That was so fun!" Mod beamed at the memory and Rosan scowled deeply.

"Well if you did it before then you should be used to it! What's the problem?" The blonde asked in curiosity, she so wanted to know what circumstances led to Rosan's first transformation but that was for another time.

"You know what the problem is," he replied bluntly, glaring at her now.

That was fair.

"So you'll…?" Angel asked in anticipation and she nervously wrung her hands.

Rosan looked at her. After a moment he let out a deep sigh and said "Yeah, I will. Even without Meiko's incessant badgering, I'd have eventually said yes."

"Hey!" the girl in question protested.

Angel crashed into her Master in a bone crushing hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Rosan laughed and hugged her back. "Of course. Now step back before I change my mind."

The female redhead hastily did so and Meiko followed suit.

Angel was based on how Rosan would look as a 9 year old and he was currently 12. He didn't expect himself to change that much until his later years so this would be quick.

She probably would not have to be modified too heavily.

The interesting thing about Rosan's gender swap technique was that it turned Rosan into an exact female version of himself. If Rosan was born as a girl, this would be exactly how he looked at that current age.

Rosan naturally had no desire of modifying his female appearance beyond that.

"Modification: Swap," the redhead uttered as he used the technique on himself.

The redhead felt the technique taking effect and grunted. It didn't hurt whatsoever but, it felt strange.

Rosan had expected the change to be quick and done in seconds. Why on Earth was he changing so much?

"Oh wow," He heard Meiko call in awe as the transformation ended and she had a huge blush on her face.

"What the hell?!" Angel responded in disbelief and her jaw dropped slightly.

Rosan heard their reactions and confusedly looked at them.

Demon chose that moment to show up and after taking one look at Rosan, his eyes widened considerably and his mouth actually opened at the sight.

Rosan frowned and quickly modified a random rock into a mirror. What he saw left even him surprised.

For one, his female form was taller and that aggravated him to no end. Whereas 12 year old male Rosan stood at a 5'2, 12 year old female Rosan was a whopping 5'7 and she stood taller than everyone else on the ship.

The pure confusion on his face, as he saw the stark height difference between his forms, nearly made everyone watching burst out in laughter. Mod actually was laughing.

The massive height difference also made itself apparent with how tight his clothes suddenly felt. Looking down Rosan felt his mouth slightly open. His shirt was form fitting so it did absolutely nothing to hide how much his chest had expanded.

W-what was this?! Had Mod-chan done something to the technique?! Last time he did this, his female form practically looked like a copy of his male one! Was this a prank on her end?!

"No I didn't," Mod laughed uncontrollably, much to his embarrassment.

"Looks like female Rosan started reaping the benefits of puberty way faster," Meiko said, admiring her boyfriend turned girlfriend. She had almost thought he further modified himself but the confusion and shock on his face proved otherwise.

There was also the fact, that he didn't want to do this in the first place so something like this, would be the last thing he did.

This was how he would naturally have looked? Meiko was pretty jealous. Rosan was kind of gorgeous right now!

"How blessed," Angel exclaimed, gawking shamelessly at her Master's chest.

Going through puberty faster was an accurate assessment. The difference between his male form and female form was way too apparent.

Her spiky crimson hair had not softened whatsoever, unlike Angel's and had gotten slightly longer, now reaching her back instead of stopping at her shoulder. Like previously said, she gained a solid 5 inches in height, towering over everyone currently on the ship and only being an inch shorter then Mod herself.

Rosan had been wearing a black short sleeved shirt which looked more like a crop top on his new figure. He didn't like showing his skin, so to see his entire bronze midsection shown so brazenly was a new experience. Similarly, his pants had gotten shorter showing a glimpse of some long legs.

This was really not what he had been expecting at all.

"I-I must have put too much power in the technique?" Rosan's was unsure and the fact that his voice was a bit deeper now, almost set him off.

This was bullshit.

"Just to be clear —," Angel began dryly "You are not making my boobs that big. As accurate as possible my ass, I don't need those things impeding me."

So, so bullshit.

"I have to admit even I'm surprised… I didn't expect you to change this drastically. I'm curious how you'll look when your fully matured because right now, you're the whole package," Mod said and she was laughing at the fact that she used Rosan's own joke against him.

"You performed the technique perfectly by the way," she cheekily added.

Complete and utter bullshit.

"Don't worry, Rosan!" Meiko reassured the, now taller, girl. "Girls tend to hit puberty faster then boys so just wait until you hit yours!"

His girlfriend stepped closer and admired his body and Rosan wanted to take a leap into the ocean when she said "I think yours are bigger then mine."

"I pray that you've seen everything you've needed to see, Angel," Rosan's smooth voice came out and it was impossible to miss the sheer annoyance in it. Even with all that frustration, the voice still managed to captivate all the listeners.

"Honestly, I saw more then I bargained for," Angel said cheekily glancing up and down.

"Who knew Master could be such a bombshell," she finished and Rosan instantly transformed back into his male form. He was tired of this unjustified teasing.

Rosan let out a deep, aggravated, sigh of annoyance before a thought occurred to him.

"Wait… Do I have to do this every year?"

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

Yes he did and the thought made Meiko cackle in glee.

Seeing the actual Rosan as a girl, was a treat she didn't know she wanted!

Seriously, Meiko hadn't expected him to look that good. Her younger self would have been demoralized looking at the attractive 12 year old.

Angel had put it perfectly. Rosan was blessed.

She was looking forward to seeing the boy go through puberty now!

Thanks to getting a look from the source, Angel had been properly changed and Rosan had quickly shooed the overjoyed girl away.

The redhead looked strikingly similar to Rosan's female form. She was 5'7 and bore the exact same features. Her long hair remained in a ponytail and like before it looked softer and more tame then both versions of Rosan. Unlike female Rosan, Angel had opted to keep her chest much smaller.

A snap of fingers snapped Meiko out of her daydreaming and she blushed as she looked into the impatient purple eyes of the girl in question.

"How long do you plan on standing there? Lets go!" Without further ado, Angel grabbed a yelping Meiko's arm and began to drag her off the ship.

"Wait wait! I can walk on my own you know!" Meiko complained but Angel was not hearing it.

Demon watched the two and simply shook his head in exasperation.

They were really unbelievable sometimes.

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

Meiko glanced around in confusion. The sun was beginning to go down and in all the excitement, she had managed to lose Angel and Demon.

They were at an amusement park and she had been having a lot of fun! The 3 had gone on multiple rides and Meiko had enjoyed every single one of them. Even the ones that the unfazed clones called boring!

But now they were nowhere in sight… she had gone on a water ride by herself (for obvious reasons) and they said that they would wait for her, but maybe something came up?

Well they were disguised at the moment and she knew how they looked so it wouldn't be hard.

She just needed to get dry first before going to find them. Luckily the ride had prepared for this and there was a machine that helped with drying.

Meiko pointedly ignored all the looks from the perverts and in no time at all, she was done.

What Meiko didn't realize, was that among those perverted gazes were another set of eyes that lacked all signs of perverseness. Instead, they were those of a hunter seeking its prey.

The blonde had made the decision to just go back to the ship. Angel and Demon would detect her the moment she boarded it and they'd make their way to her. She had contemplated waiting for them at the ride, but it was getting really dark and Meiko was not a fan of the dark.

The girl never noticed that she was being followed.

As she made her way to the White Rose, she gasped in shock as a hand roughly grabbed her. That shock turned into fear as she tried to scream and another hand covered her mouth.

Meiko struggled but the person was unrelenting. Thanks to her training with Rosan, she was actually able to break free for a moment and she took full advantage of that!

She swung her leg behind her as hard as possible and was satisfied to hear a squeal of pain as her foot connected with the perpetrators family jewels.

Without wasting another moment, she took off.

She didn't make it far as another person tackled into her and she collapsed. The impact made her lose her breath and she heard a feminine voice whisper "Sorry!"

The painfully slow footsteps of, presumably the first person she attacked, approached and Meiko's struggles renewed.

Meiko stared into the apologetic teal eyes of the girl holding her down. What was happening? Why were they doing this? She was scared. She was really scared.

She wanted Rosan —

The girl's thoughts were interrupted as a blow to the back of her head knocked her unconscious.

The last thing she heard was,

"What are you doing Izuki-nii?! Don't hurt her!"

"We need to transport her quickly Izumi, can't do that while she's awake."

"I-I guess…?"

And she blacked out.

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

Demon had been searching for Meiko for 30 minutes before he concluded that something was very wrong.

He needed to contact his Master now.

They had gotten separated while Meiko was on a ride. Something had happened to the ship that had immediately caught Angel's attention and, wanting to ensure that nothing bad was going on, his twin had gone to check it out.

Demon had opted to wait for Meiko but that option was thrown out of the window when he was suddenly attacked.

"Don't move," A low voice said suddenly appearing behind him. Currently he was disguised as the same form he'd taken when he had first went out with Meiko. On the back of his 6'0 frame was a gun.

Guns didn't work on him but to avoid causing a scene he would pretend like they did.

"Good," The voice said. "Now turn around and start walking," they commanded.

Demon obeyed.

It was likely that they were about to bring him to an isolated area so as to not cause a scene.

Smart.

Unfortunately for them, Demon wanted the exact same thing. He needed to glean their motives and this was the best way.

He was brought to a clearing where 2 other people were waiting, all equipped with weapons.

"Brought em already?" One of the individuals asked. He was a rather unassuming man with a sword in hand.

"Didn't even put up a fight! What an idiot," The weapon wielder laughed.

Demon's relaxed poster never let up. He was nowhere near his Master's strength, but that hardly mattered when these were his opponents.

Free from unwanted gazes, Demon decided he would eliminate them all now and quickly make his way back to Meiko.

This wasn't random. He was sure something was up. He needed to get the girl and they'd regroup on the ship before contacting Master

Demon suddenly tensed up and threw his head back. He was satisfied to hear a crunch as it connected directly with his hostage-taker's head.

The man let out an agonized scream as he collapsed and Demon turned around to silence him with a vicious stomp.

Job done, he knelt down to pick up the man's gun and quickly put his arm up to block the swing of a sword with it.

Quickly adjusting himself, Demon grabbed the sword and yanked down. The man could not keep a grip on it and it was promptly turned and skewered through his heart.

Demon didn't even wait for his body to drop before turning his attention to the other pistol wielder.

They were at standstill as they both measured their guns against each other.

"A game of Chicken?" Demon said idly as he prepared to unload the gun. "I don't think you will win."

With that, they both pressed the triggers of their guns. Demon's aim was true and the bullet went straight through the person's skull.

The now dead man hadn't missed his shot. The smoking bullet lodged into Demon's skull was testament to that.

But Demon wasn't human.

The entire exchange took less then 5 minutes.

Pocketing the stolen pistol, Demon hastily made his way over to the park where Meiko was.

Upon arriving, he hastily searched for the blonde and he felt his heart drop when he couldn't find her anywhere.

He searched the surrounding area before deciding that this was just not going to work. The island they were currently on was massive and it would take him a while to search the entire land.

He needed to get back to the ship. Master needed to know immediately.

"Angel!" Demon frantically called his older twin as he landed on the ship. He paused as he took in the state of the ship.

"Some fuckers tried to set the ship on fire and they ambushed me," Angel snarled, as she wiped soot off of herself. "Good thing Master made the ship so durable."

"Meiko's missing," Demon said bluntly and Angel's gaze snapped towards him in pure horror.

"What?" She asked in disbelief.

The purple haired twin took the time to explain the situation to her and by the end, Angel looked like a nervous wreck.

"This is really bad," his sister said in panic. "We need to contact Master immediately! He'll know what to do!"

Demon nodded in agreement. He had never been so thankful that their connection range had no limit.

"Master!"

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

Today had been annoying.

Aiko had told him about a pirate in the area and Rosan had agreed to hunt them down. He thought it would have been done quickly.

That had been hours ago.

The 12 year old had been led on an actual goose chase. Turns out this particular Captain had a small fleet.

Rosan had gone through the painful process of eliminating each of the fleets ship before finally finding his target.

Captain Taz was a man who talked entirely too much. He was 6'3 with long brown hair and long pants. He opted to go shirtless and he had a saber rested by his side.

He had been talking about how their duel would be epic and that he had been waiting for Reaper to finally approach him.

Rosan hadn't bothered hearing the rest of what he had to say. As the man talked and talked, Rosan felt his annoyance peaking and decided to just get this over with.

One swipe of his scythe and the world was 1 pirate crew less.

It had been entirely too easy which is why it annoyed him to no end that it took that long. Seriously, at least give him a good fight! He had the same bounty as Maverick did!

He had turned the mans meager 15,000,000 million beri bounty in and quickly made his way over to Aiko.

The two had been talking about how annoying his trip was when he suddenly heard "Master!" reverberate in his mind.

The twins? They scarcely used this connection.

"What is it?" Rosan replied back instantly.

What he heard, made his blood run cold.

"It's Meiko! She's missing!"

…

….

….

What.

"Reaper?" Akemi called worriedly as she felt his sudden shift.

"You alright?" Aiko asked similarly concerned.

Rosan didn't hear them however. He was too busy replaying what he had just heard in his head.

Meiko was missing?!

He abruptly got up and, in a matter of moments, he was gone.

Aiko and Akemi looked at the spot in worry. They hadn't missed the murderous aura Reaper had emitted for a split and their partner was always polite enough to at least say goodbye.

For him to just abruptly leave? It was cause for concern.

Aiko absentmindedly sent off a prayer to whoever managed to piss Reaper off.

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

"Explain the situation now."

It was not a question and as they felt the murderous aura of Rosan, Angel and Demon cowed a bit in fear.

"W-we were attacked," Angel explained. "We think they are targeting you."

As Demon explained the situation, Rosan had not moved once.

And then an unbearable pressure washed over the two of them. They gasped in terror as Rosan all but snarled at them.

"You left Meiko by herself?!" He screeched at the two and they shrunk in on themselves at their mistake. The redhead was glaring at them with so much rage in his eyes that they nearly fainted.

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID?!" Rosan snarled in raw unadulterated anger.

The twins were shaking uncontrollably as Rosan slammed them with his Pressure.

"YOU DIDN'T WANT TO CAUSE A SCENE? I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAD TO DESTROY AN ENTIRE ISLAND TO DO SO, I DON'T CARE IF YOU HAVE TO RUIN MILLIONS OF LIVES AT ONCE, MEIKO ALWAYS COMES FIRST YOU FUCKING IDIOTS," Rosan roared and the twins were convinced that they were about to die to him.

Their master looked utterly furious, teeth bared into a snarl and those very sharp fangs clenching into each other. They had never seen him this angry and to know that it was directed towards them caused them to feel untold amounts of guilt alongside their terror.

"Rosan please! Calm down! We can talk about their mistake later!" Mod called and this was the most worried she sounded in a long time. "Meiko is our #1 priority at the moment. We have to save her!"

The Angel of Death forced himself to take a deep breath and his pressure momentarily relented.

Mod-chan was right. He needed to get Meiko immediately. If they were here for him, then she should be safe for now.

Rosan regarded the two terrified clones coldly, before he turned away from them.

This wasn't over.

A mistake to this degree needed to be punished.

"Modification: Save Point" was all he said before he vanished from their view.

Angel and Demon let out a breath they didn't know they had been holding before collapsing.

They had royally fucked up.

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

Izumi had to wonder why on Earth she had agreed to this plan. As she stared at the tied up blonde she had to stop and think, was this really worth it?

Getting on Reapers bad side? Why would they ever want to do that?

Alas, she couldn't protest the stupid decision. Izumi had always been a rather meek girl, content to follow her older brother Izuki, and so she didn't feel confident enough to voice her disagreement with this.

Izumi was a young girl with olive skin. She was only 13 years old and stood at a healthy 5'4. She was skinny with chin length, curly, pitch black hair that parted to the sides and had the effect of bringing out her bright teal eyes.

She was currently tasked with guarding the blonde girl who had been aboard Reaper's ship.

Reaper…

She had always been fascinated in the Angel of Death. She held them on a rather large pedestal and wanted nothing more than to meet the famed bounty hunter.

Her parents had been attacked and killed by a group of pirates. Not even a day later, those same pirates had been captured and murdered by the Shinigami themselves.

Ever since then, she had gained a slight crush on the figure and tried hard to keep track on them.

Which is why she thought this was a really terrible idea.

She didn't want to get on Reaper's bad side. She wanted to thank them for their hard work, not kidnap one of the passengers on their ship.

Why had they even joined this group of people? Izuki-nii had made the wrong decision and she should have tried harder to dissuade him.

Her older brother was 18 years old and stood at a 5'8. He was skinny with olive skin and slightly spiky black hair with long bangs that somewhat covered his teal eyes. They looked largely similar to each other but he was more mature, being 5 years older than her.

He was just as obsessed with Reaper and wanted to join the Angel's crew. As a result he, along with his younger sister who he was now the guardian of, decided to join a group that was also interested in Reaper.

Izumi was beginning to suspect that it was not in the same way she was interested.

Not only had they kidnapped this girl. They had set fire to their pitch black ship and attacked the blonde man as well.

The teal eyed girl figured that they wanted Reaper's head for whatever reason. They would no doubt fail because her hero was not weak whatsoever but they didn't seem to think that.

They had recruited the siblings for their knowledge on Reaper. Well, what little they had which was still a lot more then most people. Most people weren't even aware that Reaper had a ship!

She wanted to stop this but she was outnumbered and not strong at all. Izuki was a lot stronger then her, but he couldn't handle their numbers either.

It's not like he had a problem with it either. Her brother only wanted to meet Reaper. The way to meeting him didn't bother him at all.

It's almost like he forgot what Reaper did for a living.

"I'm sorry," Izumi whispered absentmindedly to the blonde girl. "I didn't know they would do this to you. If I did, I would never have agreed to this…"

"It's okay," a kind voice whispered back and Izumi snapped her gaze towards the blonde who was supposed to be unconscious.

Izumi blinked at the words the kidnapped girl said.

Had she just been forgiven? For kidnapping the girl…?

"You… forgive me?" Izumi whispered to their tied up captive.

"Yes I do," she replied gently and Izumi felt herself reeling in surprise. Why was she being forgiven? She had kidnapped the girl with blonde hair and was the main reason she had gotten caught.

"I don't think you want to do this," she replied, sensing the confusion on her face. "You thought I was sleeping and you still felt the need to apologize to me so I don't think you're a bad person," she finished confidently.

This girl had to be insane. How could she be so forgiving to one of her supposed enemies, despite her situation.

Still… Izumi couldn't help but feel her heart flutter at the genuine kindness in her tone.

"You're using me as bait right?" The blonde suddenly asked and Izumi, seeing no reason to lie, nodded her head. At that, the girl suddenly shook her head sadly.

"You need to hide quickly. This is not going to go as you planned," the girl said and her mesmerizing, electric blue eyes stared at her in sympathy.

"What do you mean?" Izumi asked in slight trepidation. Reaper shouldn't even know where they are yet. The plan was to leave him a note tomorrow while setting up traps in case things went south.

The traps were currently being set up now and the note had not gone out yet.

So why was Izumi suddenly so worried?

But, Meiko was just shaking her head. "I know you're not a bad person so I'll ask Reaper to spare you but… I think everyone else is going to die," she said sadly.

Now Izumi was scared. What was this foreboding feeling?

"Reaper is not someone to mess with and...they happen to be extremely protective of me," Meiko informed her softly.

Izumi's pit stopped as she heard that declaration. H-had they made a mistake on who to kidnap? Extremely protective? Of this girl right here? They didn't know the relationship between the two but they just figured that she was the blonde man's daughter and that Reaper didn't actually care much for her.

If he was protective of her... D-didn't that mean he was going to kill them all?

Her brother chose that moment to burst into the room of the warehouse they were currently staked out in.

"Izumi!" Izuki called in greeting. His voice was high as he waved at his sister. "How's the hostage? Still sleeping eh. Helluva kick that one has!"

Still sleeping? Izumi turned around to see that yes, Meiko did appear to still be sleeping. The girls eyes were closed and her breathing came out evenly. She did not look like she had just been awake 30 seconds ago.

"Izuki-nii," Izumi said urgently. "I think we need to leave. Now," she told her older brother and she couldn't contain her fear well enough.

Izuki looked at her in confusion. "What's wrong, imoto?" He asked in concern at the frantic look in his little sisters eyes.

"We're so close to meeting Reaper, why do you suddenly want to back out?" He asked.

"The way we're doing this, it's wrong. We attacked them. Do you really think they're going to hear us out," Izumi tried to bring reason to her brother. "We should cut our losses and leave now. If we bring them the blonde here, they will definitely be more willing to hear us out."

"Izumi seriously, what's wrong. I trust your instincts, it's what has gotten us so far, but you gotta explain to me," Izuki said.

Izumi simply said "This is a really bad idea nii-san," and prayed that he would hear her out and they could just get out of here. She would explain more but that foreboding feeling was so oppressive, she couldn't think straight.

"Bad idea?" An unfamiliar voice said, causing them both to freeze in surprise.

Izumi and Izuki froze as they slowly turned around to the direction of the voice. An unbelievable pressure washed over the two of them and, within moments, they were on their knees.

Reaper, The Angel of Death, stared at them with a barely contained fury and it was then that they realized, just how royally screwed they were. They could see a red eye visibly glowing behind his hoodie and it was the most terrifying thing they had ever seen in that moment.

"You're about to find out that this is the worst idea you've ever had."

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

Rosan was mad.

No, scratch that.

Rosan was fucking pissed.

They attacked his ship, they attacked his subordinates, and, worst of all, they attacked his girl.

Meiko was his and they dared to touch her?!

To see her tied up… as a prisoner, it filled the obsidian angel with a fury he hadn't felt since he was captured on Daybreak. Rosan couldn't stand the thought of being a prisoner and that extended to the ones he vowed to protect.

To see Meiko not free... Rosan quickly removed her bindings and helped her up.

"Are you okay?" Rosan asked tenderly and Meiko flushed at how caring he sounded even despite his palpable rage.

"I-I'm okay," she confirmed, happily soaking up the attention.

"I'm glad you had the earrings on," he said softly, ignoring the room flooding with people. "Without them, I'd have taken a bit longer to find you."

Meiko blushed happily. "They're my favorite earrings so of course I'd put them on!"

Rosan finally turned around to eye his opponents. He was not surprised to see that all of them had weapons of sorts.

Seems like someone had a vendetta against him.

"Hide somewhere," Rosan said, turning towards Meiko. "I'll be done soon. It's been a long day and I just want to eat."

Meiko nodded quickly but not before saying "Please don't kill the black haired girl with teal eyes. She looks about 13. She wanted no part of this."

Rosan didn't outwardly acknowledge her but she knew he heard her. Satisfied, Meiko quickly ran off to go hide somewhere.

"Hey, stop her!" A voice called out but Meiko didn't even look back.

She didn't have to.

True to her beliefs, the person didn't even get to make a step towards her before a scythe made its way through his abdomen. The blade was unceremoniously ripped from his gut and he dropped dead.

"No need to be greedy," Reaper said conversationally as he held his scythe over his shoulder. "I'm more then enough."

Rosan swung his scythe and held it behind him in a reverse grip. The blade reached past his head and Rosan held his other hand loosely in front of him in a "come hither" gesture.

What happened next, could only be described purely as stress relief for Rosan. He was a whirlwind of destruction as he mowed his way through the crowd of people.

Rosan slashed open the belly of one person and kicked him into a group of 3. As he crashed into them he gripped his scythe with both hands and shot a wave of energy that severed all 4 cleanly.

Not pausing for a moment, he pivoted to the left and punched a person in their throat. They gagged and Rosan gripped his shirt, picked him up, and threw him. The sheer force of the blow made His body collide with another person and they both crashed, with a loud crack, against the wall.

They did not get back up.

Izumi watched all this from her hiding spot in complete terror at what they unleashed.

She was shaking uncontrollably at the carnage that the Shinigami was participating in.

The really pretty blonde girl had been right, they should have ran. They should have never gone through with such a stupid plan on a Shinigami who hunted people down in all corners of the Blue Seas. Of course they were going to find the ones who attacked his crew!

Reaper was a monster.

She watched in pure terror as he easily handled all of his opponents in unnecessarily brutal fashion. Some man tried to jump onto the winged Shinigami and he deftly sidestepped it by floating away. As the man flew through the air, Reaper caught him by the stomach.

With his blade.

She wanted to throw up as the bleeding body hung limply on the scythe. Reaper discarded him like he was nothing but trash and continued to move like he hadn't just casually impaled someone.

They were all going to die. Izumi's only hope, was that he listened to the sweet blonde and chose to spare her life because otherwise, she would end up like all the bodies littered uncaringly on the floor.

Eventually, it seemed like Reaper got bored with the one sided slaughter because he flexed his gorgeous black wings and took to the skies.

Everyone still alive looked up without any ounce of hope as he gripped his scythe with both hands and positioned it to his left side.

Rosan looked down at them in disdain. He tensed his muscles in preparation for his upcoming technique.

They would face judgment.

"Absolution."

He swung his scythe and a gigantic wave of energy, filled with his draconic flames, was released from it. The remaining survivors looked on with resignation at the approaching wave of destruction.

Reaper had been running rampant in all the Blue Seas. It would only be a matter of time before he went after them so they thought to bring the fight to him first and so they had done just that!

That was a costly mistake.

Reaper was absolute.

The screams of agony lasted only a moment, as they were killed instantly from the attack.

Izumi had, miraculously, survived the attack. She could not say the same for everyone else. As she looked at the carnage she felt a staggering amount of dread at the possibility of dying.

S-she really didn't want to die...

Had Izuki managed to survive? She dearly hoped so. Her older brother didn't want Reaper dead, he just wanted to meet them and talk!

Rosan scoffed at the battle. They had wanted to ambush him? Even with their traps, it wouldn't have worked on him. The difference in their strengths was far too large.

He landed on the floor without making a noise and turned in the direction Meiko had headed off too.

Izumi really hoped that he would get the girl and just leave because that would mean her life had truly been spare.

She wanted to get off this island right now and run far away. Antagonizing Reaper was a mistake that they should not have ever entertained and she cursed her meekness.

The black haired girl would be having nightmares for months after what she just witnessed.

"Wait right there!" A very familiar voice called out and Izumi felt her blood run cold.

No please. Please don't be this dumb. Please! Not after what you just saw!

As she dared to look, Izumi realized that her brother did in fact choose to be that dumb. He was standing a ways away from Reaper who had paused at the voice.

With the blonde in his hands.

With the blonde in his hands and a gun to her head.

Her brother had a death wish. WHAT WAS HE DOING?!

Meiko was deathly still as Izuki focused the gun to her skull.

Rosan vowed to kill the man no matter what. The boy was at his limit today.

"Hi Reaper-san, it's nice to meet you!" Izuki said with a crazed, obsessed gleam, in his eyes. "I'm Izuki and I've wanted to meet you for a long time!"

Rosan knew that gleam. It was the same gleam that Doc had when looking at him. He knew intimately what that look meant.

Desire for his strength.

How Rosan hated that look.

Alas, there was not much he could do currently. He was holding the only person in the world, that would actually give him pause, hostage.

If it were anyone else, Rosan would not care.

But this was his Meiko.

"This is an unorthodox way of handling things, Izuki," Reaper said calmly despite the burning hatred he felt at the moment.

"Forgive me! you're not an easy person to reach! I didn't want to do things like this but well…," Izuki looked around at the bodies on the floor in a bit of fear. "I think you get the point."

Reaper nodded in understanding. "A very valid point. I suspect you have demands then?"

Izuki nodded eagerly. "I promise I'm not an enemy Reaper-san! If you could just put you're scythe down..." after a moment of deliberating, he added "...also I want to see the face of the person I'm talking too. So, if you don't mind."

Meiko's safety was much more important then his identity. Rosan was sure Mod-chan wouldn't mind either.

The Devil Fruit agreed immediately.

Izuki watched with a bated breath as Reaper dropped his scythe without hesitation and moved to pull his hood back.

What Izumi saw shocked her and, despite the situation, she blushed.

Spiky shoulder-length red hair framed a bronze face that was devoid of baby fat. He had large shining eyes that were sharp and it was fascinating to note that his right eye was a royal purple and the left was a blood red. He looked jaw droppingly young and, combined with his rather short stature, he couldn't possibly be older then 14.

Reaper was a boy and he was an attractive one to boot, in Izumi's humble opinion.

Both Izuki and Izumi were thrown for a loop as they stared at the child whose face was carefully blank. They hadn't expected the famed Angel of Death to be a young boy but they had seen what he was capable of.

Somehow the thought that he was just a child and not an adult terrified them even more.

"I'm surprised… how old are you Reaper?" Izuki said, voice full of curiosity. Looking at the person before him, there was no doubt that Izuki was older than the Shinigami.

"12," He blandly replied and he continued to stare evenly at the 18 year old.

Izumi gaped. Reaper was even younger then her?! How did he manage to get this strong when she was so weak?!

Rosan contemplated lying but, he didn't know anything about this person. He would not risk putting Meiko in any sort of harm at all.

He'd be dead very soon regardless.

"What's your name?"

"Rosan. Are we going to keep playing 20 questions, or are you going to get to your point?" He asked calmly.

"Right, sorry," Izuki apologized sheepishly. "I'll get straight to the point, Rosan-san, do you mind if I call you that? I want to join your crew."

He didn't notice Rosan raise a red brow.

"You want to join me and you figured the best way to do this, was aligning yourself with people who want to kill me?" Rosan asked as he tilted his head.

Izumi felt dread pool in her stomach. This was not going to end well. She could feel it in her bones but fear was preventing her from speaking up.

"I didn't think they were going to attempt to kill you," Izuki admitted with a frown on his face. "They only told me that they were equally as interested in you. I never expected it to be this kind of interest though."

"But of course, something like this is no problem for you and that's why I wanna join you!" He finished excitedly and he was bouncing around.

"What can you do?" Rosan suddenly asked, catching Izuki off guard.

"What can I do?" Izuki asked with furrowed brows.

"Yes, what are you good at?" Rosan asked patiently as he idly tapped his foot on the ground.

Meiko chose not to interrupt.

Izumi felt utterly pathetic as she refused to do anything despite her mounting dread at the situation. Reaper was about to do something and she really didn't want to see it.

"W-well uh," Izuki floundered a bit as he thought of what to say.

"You want to join me but you can't even list your skills?" Rosan tilted his head again as he regarded the older person. "You know what I do is not a game right? I hunt dangerous people down and I kill them," he said bluntly and he continued tapping away.

"S-shut up!" The black haired young adult said in embarrassment. He had not been expecting the question.

"You didn't even stop to think that I'd question this? You are hopelessly optimistic if you thought you could just join Reaper for free."

Izumi found herself agreeing with him.

"I-I know alright!" Izuki yelled in shame. "It's just… Our parents died to a pirate attack and I couldn't do anything about it! But you… you managed to capture them and ever since I've wanted to join you and have you train me," he said, looking ashamed of himself.

"My condolences," Rosan actually managed to sound sincere and Izumi felt all her hairs rise as she realized the tapping stopped. "I'm sorry that happened to your parents… And I'm sorry that you'll be joining them soon."

"What?" Izuki said in confusion before the floor under him shifted and a spike flew out, stabbing the hand holding the gun. The boy didn't register what happened in time and he screamed in pure agony at being stabbed.

Meiko quickly broke herself from his grasp and moved a small distance from him.

Rosan vanished and within moments, he was in Izuki's personal space. The boy slapped the gun away and he watched in satisfaction as it went flying. He proceeded to kick Izuki in the gut and when the man keeled over in pain, the redhead grabbed him by his neck.

The boys eyes were positively blazing as he glared at Izuki with nothing but hatred and the teal eyed man couldn't help trembling in fear.

"Who do you think you are," Rosan hissed with barely contained rage.

"You think I'd let you aboard my ship after you put a fucking gun to my Meiko's head?" He snarled as he tightened his grip around his neck. Izuki gasped for air and felt his vision darkening as the lack of oxygen got to him.

"Let me show you how much I think of your proposition," was all Rosan said and Izuki blacked out.

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Izuki-nii was going to die.

The realization hit Izumi like a ton of bricks and it nearly floored her.

Her older brother was going to die and it was to the person who she practically worshiped.

She didn't care that Izuki had provoked the boy. He was her older brother a-and when their parents had died, he had taken it upon himself to raise her. Despite struggling with the deaths of their parents, Izuki-nii had raised her with an unconditional amount of love.

And he was about to die.

Izumi looked at the gun that was lying at her feet, knocked away by Rosan, and came to a decision. With shaky hands, she managed to pick up the pistol. She had never held a gun before but if she didn't do anything, Izuki was going to die. She didn't know what she would do if that happened and she had to prevent it at all costs.

Izumi was trembling harshly as she aimed it at Rosan.

Izumi closed her eyes, looked away and she hesitantly pressed the trigger.

The sound of a gunshot rang through the night.