Some people have an identity. I have an alibi. I have a shadow self.

Andre Aciman

Confrontation on the sea was as commonplace as seeing a seagull. There was just an overabundance of pirate crews in the great pirate age, hoping to bring glory to their name by taking down other crews. There was also the Navy, who patrolled the sea in search of pirate crews to bring to their version of justice.

That's why Rosie wasn't surprised to have a run-in despite only being back in the Grand Line for a few days.

"Walker D. Rosie, surrender now or I will bring you in by force." The Navy Captain commanded from her ship. Rosie merely laughed, standing on the deck of her own ship with her arms crossed.

"You'd never take me alive Ms. Captain." The redhead called back mockingly. "Here's my counter offer, take your men and leave before I sink your ship."

There was a sickly-sweet smile on Rosie's face as she stared down the Captain. Rosie liked to believe she was a good person. She was kind to most everyone, didn't like hurting people unnecessarily, and genuinely liked helping people. When it came to the Navy, however, all of that went out the window.

They made her see red. Just seeing the ship, their uniforms, it took her back to all those years ago. She became a different person.

"You have until I count to five to surrender, pirate." The Captain announced and Rosie chuckled.

"Five."

"Brace for impact everybody." Rosie told her crew.

"Four."

"Are the cannons read, Sienna?"

"Three."

"Ready, boss."

"Two."

"Fire." Rosie didn't flinch as Sienna fired off the middle canon, the backlash causing Gentle Scarlet to violently rock. The redhead held eye contact with the Marine Captain, seeing the fear in her eyes even with the distance between them. The cannonball tore through the Marine vessel.

"Fire!" The Marine Captain ordered, and Rosie laughed, a loud, boisterous sound. She would have said it sounded reminiscent to her father's if not for the cruel twist to it.

"Washi!" Rosie commanded and she felt the vibrations from under Scarlet as her fishman friend laughed. The cannonball flew towards them, on a direct course to hit right where Rosie was standing but she stood firm. Before the cannonball could make contact, Washi breached from the water, still laughing as he hit the cannonball like a volleyball, sending it smashing down on the Marine ship.

"Rosie..." Jocelyn said softly as they watched the ship sink into the unforgiving ocean, as the cries from the Marine's echoes across the ocean.

"I gave her a choice, it's not my fault she didn't choose the right one." The redhead replied with a shrug of her shoulders and en edge in her voice. "Get us outta here Fletch."

Rosie didn't feel guilty, she didn't think about all those Marines, how they probably had families waiting for them at home. No. They didn't think about how fucked up it was to hunt a child. To kill her mother right in front of her. To torture a seven-year-old.

"That was fantastic!" Sienna squealed, a giant grin on her face. "The force of that explosion really got me going!"

"I bet it did." Aiko commented slyly.

"Must you always be so crude?" Valerie asked coldly as she strolled up from below deck. "If you could be a little gentler Sienna, your explosions always disturb my work."

"Not my problem, Val."

"Alright sweeties," Mira interrupted. "Lunch is just about ready so everybody into the dining room!"

Her crew followed the matron below deck, but Rosie didn't follow, not yet. Her ship was sailing away from the now sunk ship, but she could still see the splashing on Marine's trying to save themselves, clinging to pieces of wreckage. Not all of them would survive, most probably wouldn't. They were miles away from the nearest island.

She was killing them. Their families would curse her name. An endless cycle of hate would continue.

"Rosie?" Jocelyn asked softly and the Captain shook her head. It was what they deserved. Or at least that's what she'd keep telling herself.

Rosie was awoken the next morning by a loud knocking on her door. The young woman groaned. She knew what day it was, so she knew what the commotion was about. Begrudgingly getting out of bed, she swung open her door.

"He's here isn't he?"

"He will be in about five minutes." Jocelyn replied and Rosie sighed.

"Right then, I'll be up in a few minutes."

"Oh," Jocelyn interjected before Rosie could shut her door. "Happy birthday Ro."

Rosie smiled ruefully. "Thanks Joce."

After throwing on a pair of jean shorts and a red crop top, Rosie dragged herself above deck.

"There's my little girl! Happy birthday Rosie!" Shanks exclaimed happily, his crew mirroring the sentiment as cheers went up all around. The redheaded man and some of his crew had boarded her ship, the rest of his crew stayed on Red Force.

"Shanks." She greeted cordially. It was always a sore spot that he was able to find her in time for her birthday, and that her Observation Haki couldn't sense him.

"You get even more beautiful every time I see you!" He gushed before turning to his men. "C'mon boys! Get the booze and food!"

"We could try and fight them off and make a run for it." Aiko whispered and Rosie smiled.

"I appreciate the offer, but it'll be easier to just let him. Besides, after this he doesn't bother me for the rest of the year."

"Whatever you say Captain."

"Whas all 'is racket!" Leonard grumbled, jerking awake from his morning nap on the deck.

"Leonard! Good to see you!" Shanks exclaimed.

"Ahh, look who it is! Ole Red 'Air." Leonard was Gol D. Roger's musician back in the day. Rosie met him while docked on small island far away from the Grand Line. If he was found by the Navy, he would have been persecuted for his connection for Roger. Over drinks, the older man confessed to Rosie that his dream was to see the world one last time before he died. The redhead was all too happy to grant the gentleman his wish, it was an added bonus that he played a mean saxophone.

What Rosie failed to remember was that her father was a cabin boy to Roger, meaning that he was familiar with her new musician.

"It's gonna be a long day." Rosie grumbled and Jocelyn comfortingly rubbed her back.

Later that night, Rosie was sat next to her father around the firepit in the middle of Scarlet. The partying had simmered down as everyone sat under the clear night sky, soft jazz playing courtesy of Leonard.

"I met your protegee." Rosie started, taking a sip of rum.

"Luffy?" Shanks asked with a grin and Rosie nodded. "He's a good kid. Gonna do great things that one."

"Yeah." She agreed, sneaking a glance at the older man. He was staring intently into the fire. "I also met your girlfriend."

He immediately spit out the sip of rum he had just taken, and Rosie lost it. Her laughter rang through the calm night.

"The...look...on...your...face." She managed in between giggles, not knowing the way his eyes softened as he looked at her.

"You're mischievous."

"Seriously though. You already know who I'm talking about and I didn't even say her name." Rosie commented slyly.

"She's not my girlfriend." He grumbled and Rosie snickered.

"She's very nice, and smart. I definitely approve. She had me pegged as you daughter immediately, which isn't that hard by the hair, but she said it was my eyes that gave it away."

"You have your mother's eyes." Shanks said softly, sadly, and Rosie's heart ached. She really had been too hard on him. She lost her mother, and that pain blinded her so much, she forgot that he lost his lover.

"How did the two of you meet?" She asked, genuinely curious since Lienna wasn't a canon character. Their romance was completely unknown to her.

"That's a...long story."

"I've got time." So Shanks began the tale that resulted in Rosie, and for the first time ever, she felt a true connection to her father.

Rosie had been quiet in the days following her birthday, but her crew wasn't worried about the sudden change in demeanor. Sometimes, she went quiet for a few days, it wasn't unusual. They'd see her sitting perched atop the dragon figurehead for hours at a time, just staring out into the ocean. The only time she talked to anyone was to give commands.

She just needed time to think, to sort through her thoughts and feelings. Her talk with Shanks had been so different than anything she had experienced. For this first time since Lienna's death, she didn't hold any resentment towards him. It made her uncomfortable. Hating him was easy, blaming him was even easier, but now, now she had to face the reality.

It was her fault.

If Rosie had never been born, the Navy would have had no reason to go after Lienna, no reason to torture her, to kill her. The argument could be made that she was a pirate so of course the Navy would be after her, but they weren't after her at the time, they were after Rosie. It was her existence that killed Lienna, an existence she shouldn't even have. Sure, Lienna was like her, but Lienna didn't cause anyone's death (anyone innocent anyway).

Rosie was a killer. A killer, and she continued to kill. She'd lost count of the amount of people she had killed since becoming a pirate, by the direct action of her swords in their body, or like the Navy ship from the other day when she left them to die. She was a murderer. There had to be people that cursed her name for taking away their loved ones, people who dreamed about doing to her what she did to them.

She was spiraling, she knew she was, but she couldn't stop it. The thoughts wouldn't stop.

"We'll be docking soon Rosie." Jocelyn said softly, approaching the redhead's unmoving form. She was seated on the figurehead, knees pulled up to her chest and staring out into the ocean.

"Okay." The younger girl said, leaving no room for conversation. Rosie heard Jocelyn sigh before turning and walking away. She wished she could feel bad, could feel guilty, but she couldn't feel anything.

That's why the minute the ship docked she was gone, ready to scope out the nearest bar. She needed a distraction, someone to make her feel something. A familiar head of black hair caught her attention immediately and she internally cursed her luck. Of course he would be here.

They had a great night together, but she didn't make it a habit to sleep with the same person twice. The anonymity was one of the appeals for her. She already knew too much about the man sitting at the bar, she shouldn't have slept with him the first time, but her curiosity got the better of her.

It would be a terrible idea to sleep with him again. The worst. Their connection was already deeper than it should have been. There should be no connection between them. That was one part of her brain. The other part of her brain was telling her that sleeping with him again would give her exactly what she needed. He would be able to make her forget.

The second part of her brain won out. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Are you following me Rose-ya?" Law asked with a smirk, eyeing her up and down as she slid onto the stool next to him.

"I could ask you the same thing." She shot back with an equally confident smirk, flagging down the bartender and ordering something strong. "Have any plans for the rest of the night?"

No reason to beat around the bush. "I'm assuming you have something in mind?"

"Maybe a few somethings." Rosie grinned, a cheeky smile on her face and Law chuckled.

"You're bad news Rose-ya."

"Equally as bad as you."

There was a beat of silence before one of Law's tattooed hands slid onto the redhead's exposed thigh. Goosebumps raced up her body at the contact and she sucked in a breath. "Eager, Rose-ya?"

"Wanna find out just how eager I am?" She breathed, her voice coming out huskier than normal. Law's eyes darkened and her heartrate increased.

"Let's get out of here."

"Gladly."

Exhausted was the only words that could describe how Rosie felt the next morning. She'd spent the night in the hotel with Law, something she never did, but she had been far too tired to bother leaving. She and her crew weren't stting sail until the next day anyway.

Law was still asleep when she woke up and she took full advantage of using the bathroom first. She traced the bruises, welts, and scratches that littered her body as she stood in front of the mirror. She was right about Law, he gave her exactly what she wanted, what she needed. Rosie didn't want to 'make love' last night, she didn't want slow and steady, she wanted hard, fast, and rough. The redhead wanted to forget her name, her problems, who she was, and she'd be damned if Law didn't provide.

Her whole body ached a good ache, one she knew would last a few days. Law was awake when she walked back into the room, clad only in a towel as she dried her hair. "Were you able to forget?"

Rosie stilled. "What are you talking about?"

Law stretched before getting up, the covers falling from his tattooed body. Rosie couldn't help but let her eyes wander. "You were trying to forget something Rose-ya and I was more than happy to oblige, just wanted to know if I was successful."

Rosie rolled her eyes. This was why she craved anonymity when it came to her partners. "Yes, you helped me forget, thank you for your service."

Law approached the redhead, tugging on the towel when he was close enough. It pooled around Rosie's feet and she just quirked an eyebrow at the taller boy. "Didn't get enough last night?"

"I don't think I could ever get enough of you Rose-ya, you're so reactive to my touch." His fingers trailed along the marks he had left, similar to how she had in the bathroom. He dropped his head down to her neck, pressing kisses along the base of her collarbone and she shivered. Law moved around her body until he was standing behind her. It wasn't until he pressed a feather-light kiss to her left shoulder that she hissed before jerking out of his grasp.

"Well, that's enough of that then," Rosie commented dryly, grabbing her scattered clothes off the floor.

Law chuckled. "Your reactions are amusing to observe."

"This is why I don't sleep with the same people twice; you didn't talk this much the first time we fucked. You're too comfortable now."

"I also knew your body better though, knew what you liked, what you really liked." He grinned.

"Glad you have me so figured out." The redhead said while pulling her shirt over her head. "Too bad you did all that work to never fuck me again."

"I highly doubt that Rose-ya." He said confidently and she rolled her eyes before sauntering out of the hotel room.

Definitely sticking to her anonymity rule from now on.

A/N: This chapter did not want to finish getting written but here it is. Also I swear this is an Ace/OC fic, we'll get there guys. Let me know what you thought, love you all.