On a warm afternoon in Central Park, a twelve year old Rose, wearing a t-shirt and shorts, is playing an acoustic guitar for the tourists. The skinny preteen doesn't pay any attention to the world around her, as she smiles and sings the ending of 'Friend Like Me' from Aladdin.
So don'tcha sit there slack-jawed, buggy-eyed~
I'm here to answer all your midday prayers~
You got me bona fide, certified~
You got a genie for your chargé d'affaires~
I got a powerful urge to help you out~
So what-cha wish?~
I really want to know~
You got a list that's three miles long, no doubt~
Well, all you gotta do is rub like so - and oh~
Mister Aladdin, sir, have a wish or two or three~
I'm on the job, you big nabob~
You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend~
You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend~
You ain't never had a friend like me~
She happily laughs, and plays the last chords before she sings out the last line.
You ain't never had a friend like me, hah!~
She hits the final chord, and chuckles before she snaps out of it to the sound of applause from her small audience. She awkwardly bows to the crowd of five, as they drop tips in the open guitar case in front of her. When she lifts her torso, her smile quickly fades when she sees a cop coming towards her.
"Oh crap!" She curses under her breath, as she scrambles to pack up the guitar after the tourists left, but it was too late to run when the cop reaches her.
The muscular blond police officer, in his twenties, raises an eyebrow at the child he found playing. "Weren't you the kid I let off with a warning in Time Square last week?"
Rose widens her eyes at the cop, to see that he is the guy that ruined her performance last week. She scowls at the tall man, as she picks up the side handle of her school's thick guitar case. "That was you?! Why do you keep showing up when I play?! Are you a stalker or something?!"
The cop widens his dark brown eyes at the accusation. "I'm not a stalker, you brat! You keep playing when I'm on patrol! Wait, that's not the point! I told you that you can't street perform without a per-!"
He stops himself when he gets a closer look at the short, skinny, kid and notices a slightly dark bruise on her left cheek, along with a few on her arms and legs. He scowls at the marks, and starts to grow suspicious of the kid. "Where did you get those bruises?"
She tenses at the mention of the bruises, that she received from her foster dad, before she mirrors his stern facial expression. "You ask a lot of questions for a stranger! You really are a stalker!"
"No I'm not, you-!" He stops himself from saying anything rash, and takes a deep breath to calm down.
When he calms down, he gives her a small smile, brings out his badge, and tries for the good cop approach. "Hey, why don't we start over? My name's Robert, as you can see I'm a police officer, and NOT a stalker. So what's your name?"
She chuckles at the forced introduction, as she plays along by extending a hand out for him to shake. "My name's Rose, nice to meet you Bobby."
Robert does his best to keep his smile on, while his right eyebrow twitches from the nickname, as he shakes her hand. "It's nice to meet you too. So, what happened to cause those bruises?"
"I fought an asshole." Rose says bluntly, with the policeman dropping his jaw at the swearing.
"Don't go cursing like that! Who did you fight with to get those bruises?!"
Rose chuckles at the question, with a cheeky smile. "Sorry, but that's a secret. I don't see what the big deal is. A lot of warriors show off their battle scars, so why can't I?"
Robert furrows his eyebrows at the dodged answer, before he grabs her free wrist, and starts walking off with her.
Rose stumbles after him, as she tries to pull her arm free, but his grip's too tight. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?!"
"I'm taking you to the station, and calling your parents!"
Rose widens her eyes in fear, of him finding out about her foster family, and sending her to an even worse place, so she swings the guitar case to whack him in the shin!
He yelps in pain as he clutches his leg, and lets go of the child.
Rose runs a few feet away from him, then glares at him. "Leave my parents out of this Bobby! I'm not going anywhere with some police stalker!"
"My name's not Bobby, and I'm not a stalker!" He drops his knee before he grabs his ticket booklet from his belt. "If you won't come with me, then you have to pay the fine for street performing without a permit. You also need your parents' signature for this ticket, since you're a minor."
Rose looks at the distracted cop blankly, before she backs up a few steps to create more distance between them. "No thanks."
Robert stops writing his ticket, then narrows his eyes at the little freckled girl. "Excuse me?"
She straps her case onto her back with a smirk, before she sticks her tongue out. "If I don't get the ticket, then I can't pay right? So I'm not taking it, unless you catch me! Later Bobby!"
She runs away, and leaves the cop flabbergasted for a moment, before he runs after her. "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
The sound of the freckled girl's laughter fills the air, and serves as the starting bell for the five year chase between Rose and Bobby, until the day she leaves her world.
*********************************************************
The morning sun begins to shine through the windows of the palace's medical ward, where Rose is sleeping soundly, without her jacket, since the fight that ended two days ago. She keeps a small smile on her sleeping face, without feeling the few bandages on her hands, neck, face, and legs from when she took the explosion, and crashed into the building with Pell.
Chopper and Vivi are the only ones in the medical ward to help take care of her and Luffy, who is sleeping soundly in the bed next to Rose's. While Vivi replaces the damp rag on Luffy's head, Chopper takes a look at Rose's condition.
The reindeer smiles in satisfaction when he sees that her vitals are normal. He can only sum it up to exhaustion, from using too much wind being the cause of her not waking up at this point.
He goes to get his medicine ready when he suddenly hears a groan from the freckled girl. Vivi and Chopper widen their eyes to see that Rose is slowly getting up.
"Take it easy Rose!" Chopper says as he rushes to her.
Rose grins at the reindeer as she sits up on the bed. "Morning guys, how long was I out?"
Vivi blinks at her calm attitude, as if she's not waking up from a battle, then grins back. "You were unconscious since the day before yesterday."
Rose widens her eyes at the horrifying news, of wasting time by sleeping. "I slept through two days?!"
Chopper nods as he goes to his desk, to grab a tiny cup full of green powder medicine, a few apples, and a glass of water then heads over to her. "You overdid it with your powers again. Take this, and you'll be full of energy."
"Really?!" Rose takes the green powder and gulps it down.
She nearly retches from the disgusting flavor, before she munches on the apples to get rid of the taste. After she gulps her water, she sets the glass on the small table next to her, then grins at the doctor. "Can I go out now?"
Chopper nods in approval, so she jumps out of bed, and digs into her bag.
Vivi grows confused at the girl's eagerness, as she watches her shuffle through the bag. "What are you doing?"
"Getting my camera, so I can go develop the pictures I took. I promised Usopp a copy of my picture of the Merry. Now where did I-?! Here it is!"
She pulls out the camera with a large smile, then turns to the princess. "I'm sorry to ask, but do you have a guitar that I can borrow?"
The princess gets taken back by the random request. "You can play?"
Rose nods with a carefree grin. "Yea, I street performed a lot back home. I was thinking of playing again. Do I need a permit to perform in Alabasta?"
Vivi raises an eyebrow at the odd question before she answers. "No, you don't need a permit. There's a spare guitar in the music room next door that you can borrow. Do you know where you can develop the pictures?"
Rose pauses at the sudden realization that she has no idea on where to go, before she sheepishly chuckles. "Nope, where can I go?"
"If you leave through the front entrance, you can go to a photo shop a few blocks down the street. The royal astronomer should be awake around sunset, so please come back by then."
Rose's smile quickly broadens at the mention of the astronomer before she straps on her bag and starts running out of the room.
"I'll be back by sunset then! Thank you Vi-!" She cuts herself off, when she accidentally bumps into Nami.
The navigator grabs Rose's shoulders to make sure that they don't fall. "Hey, take it easy. Did you just wake up?"
Rose nods before she shows her the camera. "Yup, I'm heading out to develop the pictures. Do you want any?"
Nami quirks an eyebrow at her eagerness. as she takes the camera. "Wait a minute, you didn't finish yet."
The brunette tilts her head at the statement. "What do you mean?"
"You never took pictures of yourself with us, come on!" Before Rose can say anything, Nami takes her by the arm, and leads her back into the room. "Chopper, take a picture!"
She tosses the camera to Chopper causing the reindeer to frantically catch it.
He sighs in relief that he caught it, then scowls at Nami who's dragging Rose to the center of the room. "Wait, I want a picture with Rose and Vivi too!"
"You can take one with them after this. Vivi, come on over here." Nami says as she stops dragging Rose, and waves for Vivi to come over.
"O-ok!" Vivi rushes over to them, and stands on the opposite side of Rose, so that the wind girl's in the middle.
Rose is speechless at the sudden moment of taking a picture with a group of friends, because she's never done this before. She glances at Nami and Vivi for a second, then brightly grins at the new experience as she turn to the camera. "Ready when you are doc."
Chopper nods with a smile as he takes the picture. "My turn!"
"Alright, alright." Nami says as she takes the camera from the reindeer.
Chopper quickly runs over to his desk, drags a chair to Nami's old spot on Rose's right, and stands on it.
Rose resists the growing urge to hug the adorable reindeer, before she goes to Chopper's right side.
Nami raises an eyebrow at her actions. "What are you doing?"
"Doc's too cute to not be in the center." Rose says as she motions Vivi to come closer.
Vivi follows her silent instructions, as she stands next to Chopper, so that he's in the middle. "She's right, you really are adorable."
Chopper blushes at the compliments, before he starts smiling, and rubs the back of his head. "Shut up you bastards! Don't think giving me compliments will make me happy you morons!"
Nami chuckles at his attitude, before she takes the photo with the girls smiling at the camera. "Alright, you're good."
Chopper gets off the chair, and back to work on his medicine, while Vivi helps him out. Rose goes up to Nami to take the camera back, but the navigator pulls it out of her reach. "Hold on, you have one more picture to take."
She hums in confusion as she looks up at the camera. "What picture?"
She points to the stool, that's right by her sleeping captain's bed, with a small smirk. "Just take a picture next to Luffy, and you're free to go."
She widens her eyes at the stool, but she doesn't see any harm in it so she takes a seat. She looks next to her and leans in a little to see the rubber man snoring away as his limbs are sprawled on the bed. She knows that when he wakes up only two things will happen, either he figures out her wind, or he runs out of time, and she's free. Whatever happens though, she knows that she'd never forget her adventures with his crew.
She softly grins at the sleeping captain with admiration in her eyes, when she suddenly hears her camera go off. She looks to see Nami chuckling as she lowers the camera. "That was a cute one. You should give Luffy a copy."
Rose loses her smile at the suggestion as she stands up. "No way in-! Whoa!"
She yelps in surprise when a rubber arm suddenly wraps around her waist, and pulls her to the owner with her back to him. The redness on Rose's face begins to compete with a tomato, when she turns around to see Luffy's sleeping face close enough for their noses to almost touch. *DID NAMI PLAN THIS OR WAS IT A FREAKING ACCIDENT?!*
She tries to pull out of the embrace, but he keeps a tight hold of her in his sleep.
Vivi widens her eyes at the sight, before she turns to Chopper. "He didn't do that when I was near him. Did he do that around you?"
Chopper shakes his head, as he keeps his eyes on his captain, who's clinging onto the squirming girl. "No, he never did."
Nami quickly snaps a picture, before she laughs at the sight. "Hahaha, this picture is perfect!"
The blushing girl groans at her laughter, as she keeps struggling to escape, but he won't loosen his grip. "Shut up, and help me out of this dammit!"
"Alright, alright." Nami goes over to pull her out, but Vivi and Chopper, in heavy point, both had to help free her from Luffy's arms.
Rose sighs in relief, with a tint of pink still showing on her freckled cheeks, as she dusts herself off. "Thanks for getting me out."
Chopper nods as he transforms back into brain point, and sees that Luffy's still sleeping. "No problem, but why did he do that when you were around him?"
Nami snickers at the question, as she points to Rose with her thumb. "Isn't it obvious? It's because he wants her to stay with him."
Rose quickly takes her camera from Nami, and walks out with her bangs covering her eyes. "Sorry, but nothing's changed. I'll catch you guys later."
Nami, Chopper and Vivi widen their eyes at the cold retreat, as they watch the brunette walk out of the room.
Nami stares at the door as if Rose is still there for another second before she sadly sighs. *Maybe I overdid it. Speaking of recruitment...*
She looks towards the princess, who went back to taking care of her captain. "Hey Vivi, what do you think of joining our crew?"
Vivi freezes at the sudden question, before she turns to her in shock. "What?!"
Nami chuckles at the shock, as she crosses her arm over her chest. "I'm serious; the others will love to have you."
Chopper eagerly nods with a smile. "Yea, it'll be a lot of fun. What do you say Vivi?"
Vivi nervously stares at the pirates for a second, before she sheepishly rubs the back of her head. "Would it be alright if I think about it?"
Nami grins in understanding as she starts walking out of the room. "Of course, we won't be leaving for a while, so take your time. If Luffy wakes up, let me know."
Vivi nods as she and Chopper continue taking care of the unconscious captain for the rest of the day.
*********************************************************
Once Rose grabs an acoustic guitar from the music room, she heads out of the palace to find a place to perform. In order to avoid distracting the people who are rebuilding the city from the battle, she goes to the middle of an untouched marketplace on the outskirts of town to play. *This looks like a good spot. It feels like years since I did this. Too bad Smoker's not here or this would really be nostalgic.*
She chuckles at the thought of the real Smoker interrupting her performance, before she sets her backpack down, and opens it up for tips. She looks at the civilians passing by on the busy street, and smiles before she tunes the guitar. As she looks down at the strings, she thinks hard on what kind of song would be appropriate for her Alabasta debut.
When she decides on a song that's perfect to celebrate not only her new life, but the country's new start, she looks out to the audience. However, instead of touching the strings for the start of her performance, she stomps her right foot to the ground in a steady rhythm.
Half of the civilians walking by stop, and look at the stomping girl in confusion just before she starts singing the beginning to "Set it All Free" by Scarlett Johansson.
I followed my heart into the fire~
Got burned, got broken down by desire~
I tried, I tried but the smoke in my eyes~
Left me blurry, blurry and blind~
The group widens their eyes at the pretty singing voice, when she stops thumping the ground, and starts strumming up the chords.
I picked all the pieces up off the ground~
I've burned all my fingers but that's gone now~
Got the glue in my hands and stickin' to the plan~
Stickin' to the plan that says "I can"~
Do anything at all~
I can do anything at all~
This is my kiss goodbye~
You can stand alone and watch me fly~
Cause nothing's keeping me down~
Gonna let it all up~
Come on and say right now, right now, right now~
This is my big hello~
Cause I'm here and never letting go~
I can finally see, it's not just a dream~
When you set it all free, all free, all free~
You set it all free~
She swings her body to the rhythm ,as she smiles from the feeling that nothing from her past can bother her at this moment. Not the words of the people that doubted her, not the pain from her foster family, or anything else in between matters at this point, as she blocks out the world with the chords she strums. The growing audience however, continue to crowd the slim girl in awe as they listen to a song that they never heard before.
I was a girl caught under your thumb~
But my star's gonna shine brighter than your sun~
And I will reach so high, shoot so far~
Gonna hit, gonna hit, hit every target~
It counts this time~
I will make it count this time~
As she plays the second chorus two scrawny marine grunts, who are searching for the Straw Hats right down the street, stop when they hear the song and look to see a crowd building up.
The tan, dark eyed marine officer raises an eyebrow at the show. "Hey Sam, ever heard that song before?"
The pale, taller officer next to him strains his blue eyes to get a look at the guitarist, but he can't see her over the audience. "Can't say I have Carlo. Let's get a closer look, the Straw Hats could be there."
His partner nods as they start heading to the performance.
Rose however, doesn't notice the attention she's getting, as she plays to her heart's content. She continues strumming when pictures of Vivi and the Straw Hats suddenly appear in her mind. Her smile starts to shrink, as she keeps playing, because she's reminded that while she's starting her new life now, the fun that she had with Vivi and the crew is over. She lifts her head to the sky, as if she can forget that fact just by staring at it, and sings the final chorus.
This is my kiss goodbye~
You can stand alone and watch me fly~
Cause nothing's keeping me down~
I'm gonna let it all up~
Come on and say right now, right now, right now~
This is my big hello~
Cause I'm here and never letting go~
I can finally see, it's not just a dream~
When you set it all free, all free, all free~
You set it all free~
You set it all free~
You set it all free~
You set it all free~
You set it all free~
The large audience, of at least twenty people, get taken aback by the final chorus when they feel a new emotion in her voice. She not only had the feeling of freedom in that piece, but something else they can't describe that gave it a new edge. Once they realize that the brunette's finished with the song, they waste no time in applauding her.
She snaps back to reality from the applause, and widens her eyes at how she managed to attract such a large crowd. She quickly remembers her showman manners, and bows to the audience then lifts her torso with a smile. "Thanks guys, if you like what you heard, then please drop a tip in the bag."
She uses her wind to lift up the bag in front of her with the audience staring at it in shock, but once they calm down, they quickly drop their tips in the bag. Rose brightly smiles at the amount of tips she's receiving as she moves the bag around, so that more people can reach it. She allows her wind to keep moving the bag around, as she gets ready for another song. "Alright, now that I'm warmed up, I'll give you something to really enjoy! This one's called-!"
"You're under arrest!"
Rose pauses at the interruption, when she sees two marines walking towards her, and pushing through the crowd towards her. *Again?! Are you shitting me right now?!*
She couldn't help but laugh at the interruption, as she uses her wind to pull her bag back to her side while the citizens scatter. She closes the bag. and straps it onto her back, before she smirks at the marines. "Sorry boys, but I never heard of a song called 'you're under arrest'."
Sam scowls at her attitude as he approaches her. "Shut up, you're under arrest for piracy!"
Rose loses her smile at the accusation, as she looks at him in confusion. "And what proof do you have that I'm a pirate?"
"We saw you running out of Rain Base with the Straw Hats!" Carlo says as he gets his handcuffs out.
Rose takes a step back towards the building behind her, while she grips the guitar. "Now hold on, I'm not a pirate! I travelled with them, but I never joined the crew!"
Sam scoffs at the excuse. "What makes you think we'd believe you? We heard all about your hostage act from Captain Smoker!"
Rose twitches an eyebrow at the reminder. "I never said I was a hostage! He just assumed it!"
She groans at the situation as she gently sets the guitar down, and gets in a stance. "You know what; I don't give a shit if you don't believe me! I did nothing wrong! If you guys want to fight a civilian then come on!"
Sam gets ready to tackle her, when his partner raises an arm to stop him. "Hold on, I know a way to prove your innocence."
Rose and Sam both look at him in confusion, while Carlo smirks at the girl. "Since you traveled with the crew, you should know where they're hiding right? If you lead us to them, then we have no reason to think that you're one of them."
The wind girl blinks at the deal, before she gets her fists ready. "So you want me to sell them out?"
"Call it what you will, but you'll be free, so how about-?!" The marine quickly shuts up, when she punches him in the nose so hard that it knocks him out!
Sam widens his eyes at his broken nosed partner, before he pulls out his gun. "I knew it, you are a pirate!"
Rose narrows her eyes at the officer, as she picks up the guitar. "I'm not, but if I had to choose being friends with pirates, or marine bastards then I'd choose the pirates in a heartbeat."
The marine growls at the insult, and gets ready to shoot, but stops when he sees her flying. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
Rose chuckles at his shock, as she lands on top of a nearby building. "That being said, I'd rather not get too much attention as a criminal, so I'm gonna leave. Bye, bye!"
She playfully sticks her tongue out, before she starts using her wind to jump from roof to roof, while the marine runs behind her. "GET BACK HERE!"
"MAYBE WHEN YOU PICK A BETTER LINE THAN 'GET BACK HERE'!" Rose yells back as she toys with him, by continuing to roof jump with the alleyways the only way for him to go after her.
The marine aims his gun at her and shoots a warning shot that flies next to Rose, so she looks down in shock. She decides not to drag this out anymore and gets ready to send him flying. However, before she can do anything, she stops running and looks down in shock to see that three arms grew on both the left and right side of the marine's body.
Sam screams in terror when the six arms put him in a clutch, and crack his bones to knock him out before they transform into pink flowers petals.
Rose sweat drops at the passed out marine, and can't help but feel a little sorry for the guy. "Maybe I should've sent him flying from the start... Wait, where did Robin pull that move from?"
She looks around the streets from her spot on the roof for the archaeologist, but she can't find her. Regardless of not being able to find her, Rose grins at the open air, and calls out to her. "THANKS FOR THE HELP!"
Through the top floor window of an inn, that's across the street from the chase, Nico Robin grins at the gratitude as she watches the wind girl fly off, then grabs her bag to flee the city.
*********************************************************
When the sun begins to set, Rose manages to return to the palace through the back entrance, to avoid the risk of being seen by the marines. Once she's inside, she grins at the fun day she had as she looks at the two, long, fat, envelopes that hold all the pictures she took on her Alabasta journey. She puts them in her bag, and wanders the halls in search for the princess. She didn't have to look long though, because Vivi walked out of a room just before Rose was going to search in it.
Once the princess notices Rose, she smiles at her. "There you are, I was about to look for you. I just heard that the astronomer's awake."
Rose widens her eyes at the news, before she returns the smile with stars in her eyes. "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"
Vivi nods as she leads her through the corridors, until they reach the end of the western hall, where a spiral staircase is waiting for them.
As Rose follows Vivi up the stairs, she can't help but look around in excitement. "So Vivi, what's this astronomer like?"
Vivi sighs as she looks back at her. "Sadly, I can't say a lot about him myself. He normally sleeps during the day and works all night, so I don't see him a lot. During the times I did see him he was very kind. I'm sure the two of you will get along well."
"I hope so." Rose says with a small smile as she continues to follow the princess.
Once Vivi looks forward, Rose looks up at the door that's coming up ahead in a mixture of anxiety and excitement. This is the moment she's been waiting for to learn more about the Timore comet, and how it's viewed for her after all. With it, the point of no return in what she finds out.
She takes a silent deep breath to calm herself, as she clutches her necklace for moral support. She takes a look at the gem around her neck with a small smile, before she hides the necklace under her t-shirt as a safety measure. Once she pays attention to where they're going, she sees a dark red door at the top of the stairs. When Vivi opens the entrance, Rose widens her purple eyes in awe of the large circular room inside.
As she looks around the room, she can't take her eyes off the book shelves, that go from the floor all the way to the ceiling, that are filled to the brim with books and cover almost all the walls of the room. The only parts of the wall that's not blocked is the large window, and a space where two desks are placed. In the center of the room holds two couches, that sit in front of the biggest telescope that Rose has ever seen, with four separate eye pieces attached to it, and stretches up to the edge of window, to get a clear view of the night sky.
At the moment, two men are swarmed around the telescope. The one actually using the tool is a man in his late forties with his straight, light blonde, hair tied back in a short ponytail, and wearing a dark green Alabastian robe. Working beside him is a boy in his early twenties, wearing a similar robe in grey, and taking notes for his teacher.
The older man doesn't notice the intruders as he looks through the telescope, and places a tan hand on the astronomy tool to lift the angle. "It looks like we'll be seeing the birth of a star tonight. Pop quiz Amir, how are stars created?"
The pale boy known as Amir stops scribbling, as he runs a hand through his shaggy, light red hair, and thinks hard on the answer. "W-well, they're created when light elements scatter. Right Cassim?"
Cassim sighs at the wrong answer, as he keeps his purple eyes on the telescope. "No, try again."
Amir, knits his eyebrows in deep thought, but another voice chimes in the answer.
"It's when atoms of light elements are squeezed together in regions of molecular clouds, and go through a fusion that binds them together."
Both boys widen their eyes at Rose's correct answer, and turn around to see the princess and another girl standing by the doorway.
Rose nervously shifts under their stares, as she sets her guitar against a bookshelf, and rubs the back of her head. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to steal his quiz. I thought it was open to everyone."
Cassim quickly brushes it off, as he runs up to the girls. "No, no, no! It's quite alright! At least you answered correctly!"
Amir twitches an eyebrow at the passive insult, as he watches his teacher go up to the princess. "It's been a while your highness, I'm happy to see you safe again."
Vivi grins back at the astronomer. "I'm glad to see you too Cassim."
She looks over his shoulder to see the younger boy staring at the group. "Did you take an apprentice when I was away?"
Cassim nods with a small smile, as he extends his arm to the boy. "That's right, this is Amir. I took him on as my apprentice last year."
Amir grins at the princess, and bows to her. "It's an honor to meet you in person princess."
"It's nice to meet you as well." Vivi says before she pulls Rose's arm, and turns to the astronomer. "I also have someone to introduce you to. This is my friend Rose; she helped me stop the rebellion, and wants to become an astronomer."
Cassim widens his eyes at the introduction, before he brightly smiles at the freckled girl. "Is this true?!"
Rose sheepishly nods with a small smile. "Yes sir."
The teacher chuckles at her shy answer, before he pats her on the back. "No need to be so formal. Anyone who wishes to learn about the universe is a friend. Is there a specific part of the universe that you wish to study?"
Rose begins to relax under his kind attitude, as she smiles up at the taller man. "I'm mainly looking to do my research on comets, but I'm also interested in studying the stars."
"Well, come on then! Let's look at the baby star together!" He grabs Rose's wrist, and pulls her into the room to join his study session.
Rose accidentally blows a soft warm breeze from the excitement, before it fades. She pulls her wrist free when they reach the telescope, and waves for Vivi to join them. "Come see it too Vivi! Seeing a star born is really rare!"
Vivi shakes her head, as she picks up the guitar. "Maybe another time. I should get back to the others."
"Ok." Rose says, as she looks into one of the telescope's eyepieces, along with Amir and Cassim.
The princess softly grins at how things turned out for her friend, before she leaves to join the others for the night.
******************************************************
After Rose and the astronomers witnessed the birth of the newborn star, Cassim wasted no time in showing the wind girl his collection of research material on comets.
As Amir does his own research on the telescope, Rose looks up at the large bookshelf in pure awe. "This entire shelf holds only books about comets?!"
The astronomer nods, as he goes to get a rolling ladder. "That's correct, feel free to look through them. What is it about comets that interest you?"
She doesn't notice him getting a ladder, as she stares at the vast amounts of literature in front of her. "Everything really, it's amazing how they not only can last for millions of years, but the radiation they pick up can give them other properties."
Amir pauses at the explanation, as he turns to the girl in confusion. "Other properties?"
The brunette nods at the question as she turns to him. "Yea, generally speaking, comets normally absorb the sun's radiation, but what if that's not the case for all of them? What if there are comets that absorbed radiation from another source, which gave them special properties? Properties that give them astral energy to do things that normal comets can't."
Cassim becomes astonished at her curiosity before he brightly smiles, and grabs the rolling ladder that's attached to the shelves at the top. "There are definitely comets that have that quality! You can find examples of them in the blue book on the top shelf, but let me give you a pop quiz first. What causes a regular comet to go extinct?"
Rose chuckles at the question, as she spots the book at the top shelf. "That's an easy one. That happens when a comet takes in the sun's radiation too many times, and loses its volatile ice."
Cassim nods at the answer, as he starts rolling the ladder towards her. "Very good, the ladder's your reward."
Rose grabs the ladder, and begins to climb for her book. Once she reaches the top, she reaches for the text, that's an arm's length away, but she accidentally leans too far out, and starts to fall.
The boys widen their eyes at the slip, and rush to try to catch her, but she catches herself by pushing wind out of her hand to regain her balance. Both boys face plant at the recovery while Rose acts like it's no big thing. "WHAT THE-?!"
Rose chuckles at their shock, as she grabs the book, and returns to the floor. "Sorry, I didn't want to shock you when we just met. See, I ate the wind wind fruit, so my body's basically air now."
Amir steps backwards from the girl until he's behind the telescope, and narrows his eyes at her.
Cassim however, grows intrigued by the power, as he looks at her with excited curiosity. "That's amazing! Do you know what that means?! You can use this to stop clouds from ruining your studies!"
Rose chuckles at his excitement, while not noticing the apprentice's discontent, before she scratches the back of her head. "I actually tried it once, but I was only able to make a small hole."
"Really?! Tell me-!"
The astronomer's excitement was interrupted, when his apprentice clears his throat, and points to the telescope. "Cassim, can you please come over here? I think I saw something."
Cassim complies as he goes to the telescope, while Rose stays where she's standing to dive her face into the book.
Once the teacher reaches his student, the boy wraps an arm around the man's shoulders, and pulls his head down towards the telescope to whisper to him. "Cassim, I know you're having fun, but we shouldn't put too much trust in that girl."
Cassim sighs at his suspicion, before he whispers back. "I know you don't like devil fruit users, but that doesn't mean you should be suspicious about all of them."
"Please just listen, don't you find her mindset about comets a little odd? It's almost like she's searching for more than what she's saying. She could be plotting something for all we know."
Cassim narrows his eyes at his apprentice's biased attitude. "That's enough, if she was plotting something, do you think she'd risk her life to help the princess save our country? If you keep being rude, then you'll be dismissed for the night. Am I clear?"
Amir clenches his fists at the warning, before he turns to leave. "Don't bother with the threat, I'll take my leave for tonight. Don't say I didn't warn you about her though."
Rose lifts her head from the book, when she hears the sound of the door slamming shut, and looks to see that Amir left. She blinks in confusion before she turns to the astronomer. "Is everything alright?"
Cassim sighs in frustration before he turns to his guest. "Please forgive my apprentice. When he was a child, a pirate with a powerful devil fruit killed his family. Ever since then, he's had a hard time trusting devil fruit users. It took him a while to just get used to Chaka and Pell."
Rose widens her eyes at the explanation, and feels like a piece of crap for being careless. She feels like she needs to make this right, so she starts heading to the door. "I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'll call him back here, and leave."
Cassim blocks her off, and places a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Don't worry about him. When he gets like this, there's no talking to him. He'll be back when he's calmed down."
Rose stares over his shoulder, to look at the door for another second, before she quietly sighs. "Well, if you say so."
Cassim gives her a smile to lift the mood. "Trust me, this isn't the first time this has happened. So how's the book? Were you able to find anything?"
Rose shakes her head as she opens the book, and skims the pages to find her place. "Not yet, but there's some pretty cool stuff in here."
The astronomer grins at her enthusiasm, as he goes to one of the bookshelves, to pick out a book for himself. "That's good to hear. You seem to already have a good amount of knowledge on astronomy though. Where did you learn?"
Rose softly smiles at the question, as she thinks back on her parents, and heads to a couch. "My parents are astronomy professors, and they tutored me on this as soon as I learned to read."
"Oh? And where are they now? Would I have heard of them?"
Rose pauses at the question, as she loses her smile, and keeps her eyes on the pages. "No, I doubt that you've heard of them. They're nowhere on the Grand Line..."
Cassim blinks at the soft tone in her voice, and sees that this is a sensitive subject. He quietly sighs, as he looks over the books. "Sorry, I didn't mean to open any old wounds."
She shakes her head, and gives him a small grin. "It's alright. It's too bad they're not here though, because if they were, I'm sure you all would be talking about stars all night."
Cassim chuckles at the assumption, as he grabs a constellation book from the shelf, and goes to the second couch. "I see, at least I can speak to their daughter. How long will you be staying in Alabasta? You're one of those pirates, so you'll be leaving soon right?"
Rose relaxes in her seat, before she finally finds her place in the book. "I'm actually not a pirate. I'm not exactly sure when I'm leaving the palace yet. My plan is to exchange notes with you, and then leave to set up shop as an astronomer in a neighboring town."
"What are you, nuts?!" Rose lifts her head from the book, and pauses when she sees Cassim frowning at her decision.
"If you're not a pirate, then don't leave! You can stay here as my apprentice!"
Rose widens her eyes at the invitation, as she drops her book onto her lap. "You're serious?!"
Cassim nods as his lips form into a smile. "Of course, there's no rule in me having more than one student. I can make it so we meet at different times than I do with Amir until he relaxes."
He stops himself when he sees that he's getting carried away then chuckles and rubs the back of his head. "Sorry for the outburst, I just see this as a great opportunity. While I can't force you to stay, I hope you will consider my offer."
She stares at the eager scientist in bewilderment as a gentle warm breeze flows out of her body for a second. When the wind stops, she looks at the bookshelves that she could use. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity for her. If she stays here, she could learn so much! If the comet's a taboo though, there's no way she could stay here without getting caught...
She lowers her head, so that her bangs cover her eyes, before she grabs her book and stands up. "Do you mind if I think this over?"
Cassim nods as he gestures to the bookshelf. "Not at all, it's a lot to take in after all. Feel free to borrow that book, and come by during the day tomorrow to study. Also, please don't take Amir's attitude to heart, when you come to a decision. To be honest, having a devil fruit user, that wants to study astronomy around, could be what he needs to heal."
Rose grins at the concern he has for his student, before she grabs her bag, and starts walking to the door. "You don't need to worry about that. If I always took misjudgments from strangers to heart, then I'd have given up on astronomy a long time ago. I'll give you my decision soon."
"I look forward to it." Cassim says as Rose closes the door behind her, and heads back to the medical ward that she woke up in.
As soon as Rose reaches the infirmary, where the rest of the crew's sleeping, she quietly goes inside. She keeps a sharp eye on Luffy, who's sleeping in the bed next to her, as she hastily makes it to her bed to avoid a repeat of this morning. Honestly, she can't let her guard down around him, even when he's sleeping. No matter how much she's read about him, she doubts that she'll ever fully understand him.
She sighs as she thinks back on the crazy things he's put her through these past few weeks, as sits cross legged, with her back to the window behind her, so the moonlight can be used as a reading lamp. While she did have some crazy times, she can't help but think back on all the fun times she's had with everyone as well. She keeps a small smile on her face as a gentle warm breeze blows off her, and towards the captain.
Luffy keeps a small smile on his face from the warmth, while Rose looks over her shoulder to stare out the window, and at the country that will be her new home. She can't thank Luffy and the others enough. Not just for bringing her to this beautiful place, but for giving her the greatest adventure she's ever had.
She knows that if things were different, like if she was born in this world, she might've taken Luffy's offer to join from the start. But, she knows that distancing herself from the others is the best thing for the crew...
Her mood breeze begins to alternate from warm to cold wind repeatedly, and makes Luffy shiver then relax in an endless cycle as the winds keep changing. When Rose sees what's happening to Luffy, she quickly cancels out her mood breeze then mutters under her breath. "Damn mood breezes, they're nothing but trouble. Well, I doubt Luffy figured it out from this so it's fine for now..."
She relaxes on the bed, and reads the book from cover to cover, before falling asleep for the night in hopes that everything will run smoothly for her.
******************************************************
The following morning, Rose wastes no time in going to the astronomy tower after breakfast to study. When she reaches the room, she's met with Amir looking back at her from his desk.
Amir scowls at the intruder as he doesn't hesitate to question her. "What are you doing here? Cassim's asleep right now."
Rose ignores his look of discontent, as she shows him the book she borrowed. "I finished the book. Do you know any others that are similar to this?"
The apprentice shakes his head, as he gets back to his own work. "I don't have time to guide you like Cassim did. If you want to keep searching, then you have to look for yourself like I did."
Rose shrugs at the answer, as she heads over to the bookshelf she received her book from. "Fair enough."
She gets ready to fly again but stops herself, to be mindful of the devil fruit hater, and goes to the rolling ladder.
Amir stops writing, when he hears the rolling ladder moving, and looks to see Rose pushing the long ladder to the bookshelf. He raises an eyebrow at the task she's handling, even though she can save time by flying. "What, no wind today?"
"I can use the exercise." Rose says as she reaches the bookshelf. She places the finished book in her backpack and starts climbing to the top one step at a time.
Amir rolls his dark green eyes at her antics and gets back to his work. He doesn't know who she's kidding, but it sure ain't him. It doesn't matter if she doesn't use her power for everything, she's still a dangerous monster in his eyes.
He continues writing his notes, when he hears shuffling, and suddenly hears something sliding. He turns to see that the book was returned, and three more books fill her backpack as she slides down the ladder. Just before she reaches the bottom, she tightens her grip on the ladder, and slightly burns the palm of her hands, as she regains her footing on the last steps.
The student twitches an eyebrow at her childish behavior as he stands up. "THAT'S NOT A TOY!"
Rose chuckles at the complaint, as she climbs off, and shakes the mild burn from her hands off. "Sorry, but that definitely saved some time. Didn't you ever want to try that when you first came here?"
"That's not the point, you-!" He tightens the hold on his pen in irritation, and forces himself to get back to his work. "You got some new books from the shelf right? So quit making a racket."
Rose does what she's told as she takes off her backpack to put it on the couch, and then sits cross legged next to it to begin reading the three new books.
Amir sighs in content as he continues writing, and looks through his book on the sun and the moon. As the hours pass, he takes on as much information as he can from the book, until he needs to look through another to continue his work. He grabs his book, and puts it back on its bookshelf then gets on the ladder to find another one for his research.
As he reaches the top of the shelf, he looks back to see what the quiet girl's doing. He looks closely to see her gripping the third book she's reading tightly as she searches through the pages with burning determination in her eyes. He blinks at how focused she is on her studies, just how he is, before he snaps out of it, and pulls his eyes away from the studious teen to get back to his task.
He skims the book covers until he spots a silver covered book, that's just out of his reach. He grabs the shelf, with one arm to pull himself closer to the literature, as he reaches for it with his other hand. Once he grabs the book he smiles, but he accidentally loses his footing on the ladder, and falls.
Rose stops reading when she hears the ladder rolling fast, and a book hitting the floor. She turns to the source, and widens her eyes to see Amir dangling from shelf with the ladder too far from his reach! "Oh shit!"
She jumps off the couch, and runs to the ladder to start pushing it towards him. "Grab on!"
She brings the ladder close enough for him to reach, but before he can grab it, he loses his grip from the shelf, and starts falling. Amir closes his eyes as he gets ready to hit the floor, but he never does. When he opens his eyes he widens them in shock, to see that his body is gently floating to the floor, by a gust of wind until his feet touch the ground.
Rose releases her wind and sighs in relief that she caught him in time. "Are you alright?"
Amir gets taken back by her kindness, but the memories of his past come back to haunt him. The scar of how the devil fruit using pirate was kind to him at first, but in the end betrayed him keeps him from giving the girl a proper chance. He scowls at the devil fruit user and turns around to pick up his dropped book. "I'm fine..."
Rose cringes at the cold tone in his voice as she watches him walk away. She hesitates to speak for a moment, but feels like she has to, to try to gain his friendship. "You know, I hate guns."
The student freezes at the weird comment, and looks back at the odd child. "What?"
She grows a bit nervous about his cold eyes, but it's too late to back out now. "Back when I was ten, I watched my parents get murdered by some bad people. They used guns to kill them, so I've never liked the sight of them, let alone me using one."
"What's your point?"
"What I'm trying to say is, I understand how you feel about devil fruits. I promise to hold back on using my power around you, unless we're in danger, so you don't need to worry about me."
He is a bit surprised by her story, but his face doesn't show it when he scoffs at the reassurance, before he walks back to his desk. "If you think that I'd become friends with you just from that, then you got another thing coming. Just keep your distance from me."
She softly frowns in dissatisfaction of not getting closer to becoming friends with him, but she doesn't let it keep her down as she gets back to her studies.
Once she returns to her place in the light red book, she searches for anything on the comet with a small smile. She might not have found anything on the Timore comet yet, but she's already learned a great deal by some of the comets in this world. At this rate, she's going to need to make a second journal for world comparison notes.
She chuckles at the idea as she keeps her nose in the book until Usopp slams the door open. The sniper looks around the room while he catches his breath until he spots the wind girl. "There you are Rose, please come down! Sanji refuses to let us eat lunch without you!"
Rose widens her eyes at the plea before she chuckles and stands up. "Yea, alright." She turns to the Amir, who's focusing on his studies, and waves at him. "Do you want to join us?"
"No." Amir says as he doesn't spare her a glance.
Usopp raises an eyebrow at the cold treatment, but Rose doesn't give it a lot of thought as she joins the sniper and leaves the apprentice alone.
Once Amir's finally alone he drops the pen, and buries his head in his hands. "Dammit, why does this have to happen to me again?! Knowing Cassim, he didn't waste time asking her to be his apprentice too. I need some way to prove that-?!"
He snaps out of his thoughts when he sees that she left her backpack behind. He wastes no time in going over to the bag to start snooping around her belongings. He starts by pulling out her envelopes, along with the camera, and then pulls out her bundled up sheet, but he sees nothing out of the ordinary. He looks through the bag to see that besides a few pens and a disheveled pile of money that she earned from street performing there's nothing else in there. He opens the envelope that's labeled 'Mine', but with one glance he can see that it's just a pile of pictures.
He sighs in frustration as he rubs his head and starts to feel that his suspicions are all for nothing. "Is she really just an astronomer? Ugh, this is getting me nowhere..."
He starts putting her stuff back a piece at a time, but when he pulls the sheet and picks it up, he accidentally unfolds it. What he didn't intend to happen though, was a golden colored journal to fall out of the unraveled sheet.
Amir silently gasps at the book as he picks it up. As he skims the pages, his eyes begin to slowly widen when he quickly pieces what she's researching together. "I KNEW IT!"
He keeps the journal in his hands as he runs out of the room to wake his teacher and show him his new discovery about their guest.
*************************************************************
With Luffy still unconscious, the meal between Vivi, Rose and the pirates seemed relatively quieter. It didn't take long for them to finish, and start heading out.
As Rose begins to leave, Usopp blocks her off. "Wait Rose, did you make that picture of the Going Merry?"
The brunette freezes at the question before she brightly smiles at him. "Yea, I made them yesterday. It's in my bag at the astronomy tower. I actually made an extra copy of all my photos, if you guys want them."
Sanji, who's about to leave the room, pauses at the offer before hearts form in his eyes. "Aww, you're so sweet!"
Nami, who just finished her meal, freezes at the comment, then smirks. "Was the special one I made yesterday copied too?"
Rose chuckles at the question. "That's the only one I didn't make a copy of. I'm not sure how long I'm going to be at the tower, so if you guys come with me I can give them to you."
"Sure." Nami says as she and the two boys follow her towards the tower.
As Rose leads them through the stairwell, she turns to the group. "So Nami, did you ask Vivi to join the crew?"
Usopp and Sanji widen their eyes at the question before they look to the navigator. "You did?!"
Nami chuckles at their surprise. "Yup, it'd be great if she and Carue joined us."
"You're serious?!" Usopp asks while Sanji grins in excitement with hearts in his eyes.
"Mellorine, it'd be great to have another lovely lady onboard as well as-!"
He stops and looks to see Rose grinning at them. "Did Luffy still not guess what your cold wind is?"
Rose nods as she looks ahead. "Yup, any idea when he'll be waking up?"
Usopp shrugs at the question. "No idea, but it can't be too long now. He always recovers quickly."
The wind girl couldn't help but smile at how true that statement is when she reaches the door. "In that case, I'd better stay on my toes."
She opens the door, and her lips immediately turn downwards when she sees Amir standing with Cassim holding her open journal in his hands. "Oh no..."
The pirates look at her in confusion, when the astronomers see that some guests have arrived.
Amir smirks at the devil fruit user, but stays quiet while Cassim steps up.
He lifts up the journal, so that it can be clearly seen, as he scowls at Rose. "I want you to be honest with me. Did you write this?"
She returns the scowl, as she slowly nods. "I did, I was going to ask you about it if I decided to stay, but maybe it's easier to talk about it like this."
Nami knits her eyebrows in confusion as she tries to understand the situation. "Rose, what are you talking about? What's going on?"
Amir snickers at their lack of understanding. "You mean the little witch never told you?"
"What'd you call her?!" Sanji asks as he goes to kick his ass, but Usopp grabs his arms to hold him back.
"Don't do anything crazy Sanji!" Usopp says as he struggles to hold him back, while Rose goes in front of them.
"Please calm down Sanji! I'll explain everything if you do!" Rose says with pleading eyes.
The chef immediately calms down, and nods, as he settles down enough for Usopp to let him go.
Rose quietly sighs, then gives them an explanation. "The main subject in astronomy that I'm studying is a single comet. This comet has the ability to travel to other worlds. If its energy can be harnessed properly, it can also give people the power to travel to other worlds."
The crew members look at the girl in pure disbelief, while Cassim furrows his eyebrows in anger. "Don't you know that it's illegal to study the Timore comet?! Do you even understand what kind of demons could come here with that power?!"
Rose, Sanji and Nami look at the man in confusion, while Usopp begins to tremble in fear. "D-demons?!"
Amir chuckles at his fright as he steps up. "That's right, demons, who look just like us, can come here through that comet's power which is why it's also referred to as Hell's comet. What's more, rumor has it is that these demons have the knowledge of not only our pasts, but also our futures. They can manipulate whatever event they want, and use their other worldly powers to-!"
"NOW WAIT JUST A DAMN MINUTE!" Rose yells out as she furiously glares at him. "The comet's not some demon summoner! It is possible for people from other worlds to learn about this one, but-!"
"Then what makes them different from monsters?! Do you honestly think that the World Government would accept people like them?!"
Rose frowns at the questions, as she tightens her fists to hold back her temper. "Looks like they won't, but this paranoia doesn't make sense! It is possible for other worlds to have our knowledge, but they can't obtain all of it. Like, say you read a novel. While it's fiction in this world it's real events in another. The people reading about that world will only have that information, and nothing from outside the book. If someone came here from a world where this one is a story, then they could stay out of the way of the main story line, and live peacefully."
"But they might not! They could use this knowledge to destroy everything around them!" Amir turns to the pirates, who are staring at the debate silently. "If someone you never met before turns out to know all about your crew's past and future, would you be ok with them existing here?!"
The pirates tense up at the question, while Rose can't control her rage anymore, and grabs Amir by the collar. "Leave them out of this, dammit!"
Rose pulls a fist back to punch him, but Cassim pulls her off him, and gives her journal back. "That's enough, we can argue about what's right all we want, but it won't change anything! Rose, I'm sorry, but-!"
"Don't bother saying it, I know I can't stay now!" Rose says as keeps a tight grip on the book and uses her wind to lift her backpack from the couch. The backpack hits the back of Amir's head, and knocks him down on his face before it reaches her.
She looks away from the astronomer, and turns to leave. "For what it's worth, I appreciate you letting me look at those books."
She goes to leave, but Cassim stops her, and shows her the four books that she read, that are on his desk. "Keep them as an apology for how things turned out. Since you helped save our country, I promise not to report you to the World Government as well."
He turns his head to his apprentice, who's standing up from the hit, with narrow eyes. "The same goes for my apprentice."
Amir cringes at the glare, before he settles on his victory. "Fine..."
"Thank you." Rose says as she grabs the books with a small gust of cold wind coming out of her, then leaves the tower without looking back.
Nami, and the boys, quickly run after her, and manage to catch up just when she reaches the last step.
"Wait up Rose!" Nami says as she grabs her shoulder to stop her.
The wind girl pulls herself free, and turns to them with a small frown. "Sorry you guys had to see that."
Sanji growls at how things turned out for his friend, as he starts storming up the stairs. "I'm gonna go kick their-!"
He stops himself, when he finds himself being lifted by a gust of wind, and brought back down to the group. Rose gives him a small smile, to reassure him that it's not worth it, as she puts him down. "It's fine Sanji, I kind of expected this to happen."
Nami widens her eyes at the excuse, before she turns her around to angrily face her. "You knew this could happen, and you hung around them anyway?!"
Rose quietly sighs as she steps back from the navigator, and rubs the back of her head. "I had to try to learn more from someone. Honestly though, I didn't expect them to talk about demons."
Usopp looks at her nervously, as he trembles at the thought of devils existing. "Do these demons really exist?!"
"They're not demons, they're regular people!" Rose angrily says which makes him cringe.
The wind girl takes a deep breath to calm down, before she explains herself. "The best way I can describe these people is as if they're from another country. They're different, but also the same as you and I. As I said before, they're able to learn about this world, but not everything. You see, stories that we read are windows to other worlds. If, hypothetically speaking, this world is a story in another universe. Then the locals there can learn about this world, through the eyes of the people in the story. Just like how we learn about other worlds through the heroes in our tales."
Sanji grabs a cigarette from his pocket, along with a lighter, and sets it off to try to calm his nerves. "Along with their pasts too?"
Rose tenses up at the question, before she slowly nods. "Yea, depending on what they read, they could know everything about a person's past and future."
She looks to see that all three of them have grown uneasy by her answer, which only works to make her own anxiety grow. She tries to look as calm as possible, before she decides to take a gamble. "Out of curiosity, how would you react if you did meet someone from another world?"
The pirates look at each other while they silently try to decide their view on this.
Nami quietly sighs as she looks away from her, and thinks about her past in the Arlong Pirates. "To be honest, I'm not sure..."
Sanji puffs out some smoke from his cigarette, and thinks back on his life in North Blue, that he'd rather stay hidden. "It's hard to say since we never met one. If they don't know anything about us, then it's just like meeting another person. I probably wouldn't like it, if they know my past and future though..."
Usopp wonders why she asked them, before he starts looking at her nervously. "Wait, you're not planning to bring people like that to this world are you?!"
Rose lowers her eyes as she feels her heart break from their reactions, but just like in New York, she hides her pain behind a smile. This time though, she keeps her eyes closed to hide her emotions while she waves dismissively. "Relax, I'm not bringing anyone to this world. I plan to use it for my own journey, when I figure out how to use its power..."
The three pirates widen their eyes at the forced smile, when they feel a strong gust of cold wind in the air. Rose fails to notice her mood breeze as she turns around, with her eyes still shut, and walks away while she waves. "I'm gonna go clear my head for a bit. I'll see you later."
Sanji immediately becomes filled with guilt, as he goes after her. "Rose-chan wait, we didn't mean to-!"
"GUYS, WHERE ARE YOU?!" All four of them stop when they hear the captain's voice from a distant corridor.
While the pirates are distracted, Rose starts running as fast as her legs can carry her with her head down to hide her tearing eyes. Of all the fucking times he could wake up, this is the worst time! She needs to hide herself as quickly as possible, or he'd figure her out!
She goes into a room to fly out of the window, and onto the roof, to hide from Luffy and the others.
Meanwhile, Luffy catches up to the group, from a separate hallway, with a stretched arm full of fruit for him to munch on.
Nami widens her eyes to see her captain eating, while he runs up to them. "When did you wake up?!"
Luffy wastes no time in finishing his food, before he smiles. "A few minutes ago, I came looking for you guys, so we can have dinner. Vivi said we can't eat without you." He looks around to see that they're the only ones around. "Have you guys seen Rose?"
Sanji frowns at the reminder of what just happened, as he looks at the direction she fled to. "She went that way."
Luffy turns to go after her, but Nami holds him back. "Wait Luffy, we should give her some space right now."
The captain blinks at the request, as he turns to them. "Why?"
The trio hesitates for a moment, before they tell him about Rose's expulsion from the astronomy tower. As they tell him of the apprentice's disrespect for her research, and his crewmates' reaction to it, his hat shadows over his eyes to hide his anger.
Once they finish, Luffy looks at the path that Rose took with a scowl. "Did she make any wind when this was happening?"
Usopp raises an eyebrow at the question, before he remembers Rose's mood breeze. "Yea, she made cold wind!"
Luffy doesn't give him another response, as he runs off to find her. The three pirates freeze at their captain's actions, before they join in his search for the wind girl with clear intentions to apologize.
**************************************************************
As the sun begins to set, Rose sadly sighs from her seat on the rooftop as she hugs her knees with one arm while her other hand clutches onto her family's necklace. She keeps her eyes on the red sky as she allows her mind to wander. She knew that Cassim would've found out eventually, so she's fine with not being able to stay at the astronomy tower. She just wishes that some of the Straw Hats weren't there to learn her research...
She tightens her hold on her knees as she remembers the look on Nami, Usopp, and Sanji's troubled faces from when they learned that people could come here from other worlds. She couldn't stop the tears from pooling in her eyes as doubtful thoughts begin to swarm her mind.
Doubts about if her new friendships were real at all. If she had said anything about where she came from in the beginning, she doesn't know if they'd ever have accepted her. If anything, they might've just left her to die in Little Garden...
She shakes her head to get rid of the thought as she wipes her tears with the back of her hand.
The brunette knows that she shouldn't be judging them too harshly from this. After all, everything she knew was thrown at them. It's only normal that they were sceptic. Even a member of the monster trio was shaken from this for god's sake, and he shouldn't have anything to worry about!
Sure, it's true that she knows about Sanji's past with Zeff, but she can't say that it's something he'd be ashamed of. What if it was something else he was scared of though? She doesn't know about his past before Zeff, but maybe something happened before he met him like his past life in North-!
She stops her train of thought, when she realizes that her mindset is exactly what got them so anxious about people from other worlds in the first place. "I screwed up..."
She groans at her situation as she lays down, with a cold breeze blowing off her, and looks at the new night sky while she keeps a tight hold on her necklace. She knows that she can't stay here anymore, but she just needs a moment to calm down. Afterwards, she'll grab her stuff from the infirmary, and get as far away from the palace as-!
"ROSE, THERE YOU ARE!" She sits up in shock, and looks to see Luffy running towards her on the roof.
Rose tenses up at the approaching captain, before she lets go of the necklace, and puts on a convincing smile. There's no way she can avoid a chase if she flies off now. All she can do is keep her mind off it, and hope that her mood breezes will stop long enough for her to get away from him.
She takes a deep breath through her nose to calm herself down, and makes sure that her wind's not going off, when Luffy reaches her. She chuckles at his rush to get here, as she gets up, while Luffy's eyes stay hidden under his hat. "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes. If I didn't know better, I'd think you didn't just wake up from a three day nap. Let me guess, Sanji won't let you eat unless we're all there?"
Luffy's scowl deepens, at how she's avoiding the subject, as Rose looks around for the nearest window, and sees the one she flew out from. "Well let's get inside then. You'd better be prepared, because my food thief deflecting skills are as good as ever."
She starts lifting herself up with her wind then freezes when Luffy grabs her wrist. She raises an eyebrow at his action, but she doesn't let it affect her smile. "Relax Luffy, I'll get you flying right-!"
"SHUT UP AND QUIT IT!"
Rose widens her eyes at his shouting to see that he's looking up at her, not with the childish demeanor she's used to, but with the face of a serious captain. She loses her smile and knits her eyebrows in confusion as she pulls her arm free. "Quit what?"
"Quit using that fake smile! The wind that you're flying with is cold!"
She chuckles to hide her nervousness as she lands in front of him and smiles at him. "What are you talking about? Why do you think my smile's fake?"
Luffy growls in frustration, of how stubborn she is, before he grabs her shoulders and looks her in the eye. "I know your smile's fake, because you make cold wind when you're sad!"
TO BE CONTINUED