Freak

Hello! As I mentioned on mine and Holly's account, I have made a One Piece One Shot! I'm hoping that people will like it and that I'll get good reviews for it.

It'd just like to say that this is my version of Luffy's past before he meet Ace and Sabo. And I don't own One Piece or the characters (apart from the unknown figure).

Thank you

*Current time: 7:30AM*

Luffy stretched an arm; aiming to steal a piece of food from Nami's plate. Of course, he didn't succeed with Sanji around. The cook quickly slapped the boy's hand.

"OW!" yelped the captain, as he slyly pulled back his hand and began to harshly blow on it. "What was that for?!" exclaimed Luffy; turning to face his chef. Who looked pretty pissed.

"What do you think I did it for?! There's no way I'm letting you steal from Nami-swan's plate!" argued the man. He wouldn't let anyone steal from a lady!

"But, Sanji~! I'm still hungry~!" whined the teen. Everyone else on the table was heavily guarding their food like hawks. However, Nami didn't have to do that. Because, she knew Sanji wouldn't let Luffy even touch her food. Which was right. He wouldn't. EVER.

"You've just eaten most of our storage! Stop asking for more, you pig!" He roared at the boy, who stood up in front of him. Usopp and Chopper started to think that this wasn't going to end well. Just a feeling. Robin was silently watching while reading. Zoro and Nami didn't seem to care.

"If I'm hungry, I'll eat!"

"Well, stop always being hungry, then!"

"I can't help it! It's a habit!"

'Is it?' thought the crew as they calmly watched the 'battle' between captain and chef. But, at least they weren't at each other's throats like a certain someone…

"ACHOO!" Zoro sneezed.

"Have you caught a cold, Swordsman-san?" asked Robin. She'd never seem him sneeze before.

"No…It was just a sneeze." Said the first mate as he then decided to turn and watch the riot going on behind him; which still wasn't over yet.

"Our food supply is almost gone thanks to you!" yelled Sanji; still continuing the argument.

"Well, just buy more, then!" announced Luffy.

"Money doesn't grow on trees!"

"WHAT?! It doesn't?!" The crew fell to the floor at that one. Did their captain really believe that?! Even a child would know better! Then again, Luffy's brain probably doesn't even exist or was that of a new born baby who nothing at all, but how to breathe!

Sanji got back up, "In any case, I'm going to start saving our food! So you'll be getting less from now on! Got it?!" he shouted.

"What?! That's torture!" cried Luffy. He doesn't want to eat less then he normally does!

"I don't care! And if you're not going to stop stealing; then get out, you freak!"

The only response he got from the teen was a small and quiet 'eh?'

"Oi, oi! That was a little-!" started Usopp. But, he didn't get to finish because Zoro cut him off with a shock sounding statement;

"O-oi... Luffy?" stuttered the swordsman in a confused/worried tone. Everyone turned their attention towards their captain.

His eyes were wide with a hint of fear in beaded in them. A few tears rolling down his face were instantly visible. Not a lot; just a few. "Ara?" he said with a shaky voice. He was obviously faking being surprised. "Haha…" The teen whimpered as he placed his hands on his face; trying to rid of the salty tears.

But, they wouldn't stop.

He leaned forward; gesturing a small bow. "I'm sorry…" he mumbled before bolting out the door.

Everything went silent; only the unforgiving sound of the creaking door was heard. The crew were lost for words, even Robin…

Luffy had cried.

After what felt like an hour of wordless silence, the shock had died down slightly.

"W-what the hell?" stuttered Usopp. He blinked; realizing that he was still staring, eyes wide, at the door.

The Sharpshooter's words seemed to pull everyone out of their own deep thoughts. As well as their simultaneous gazing at the door.

"Oi, shitty cook!" shouted the first mate. He jumped up; grabbing the chef by his shirt. He pulled the man closer and yelled, "What the hell did you do?!"

"I-I don't know…" Sanji still seemed out of it. He had obviously done or said something that had hurt Luffy, but, what? Because he said that he wasn't allowed to steal anymore? Because he said that he would be getting less food from now on? That would make sense. But, Luffy wouldn't cry over that. And even if he would, those tears were something different. Something more deep. Something painful. Everyone that saw could tell that.

"Is Luffy o-okay?" asked a worried Chopper.

Nobody knew the answer to that. Nor did anyone know why he had cried in the first place.

*Time: 1:30PM*

It's already been five hours since the incident with Luffy on the Merry Go. Well, not so merry now.

The crew had soon noticed that the boy had gone up to the crow's nest so he wouldn't be disturbed. So, the crew didn't disturb him. He hadn't come down once and the others could hear, from time to time, what sounded like their captains stomach begging for food.

But, Luffy didn't move. He didn't come to dinner either. In the galley, everyone sat in silence. Metal forks and plates clashing could be heard. But nobody took notice.

Chopper broke the silence, "He's not coming, is he?"

Everyone froze. This was awkward. Not having Luffy around was just too awkward. They'd never noticed before. Without even realizing, his presence had become so natural; like nature itself. His smile, his laugh, his movements, him as a whole; gone. It hadn't been for long, but they somehow missed it. Especially now.

Nobody answered the question. Nor was Chopper really expecting one. But after, nobody spoke a word.

*Time: 10:30PM*

It was Luffy's turn to keep watch tonight. So, the others went to sleep. The night was calm and a small breeze blew across the sea. No ships in sight.

However, on the other side of the ship, in Luffy's blind spot, a small, unknown figure quietly hopped onto the railing.

The night carried on; no ships in sight.

Luffy hadn't wanted to remember the events of his past. But, at what Sanji had said, it all came flooding back. Every detail.

He sighed, "I must've looked like an idiot."

"Is that so?"

Luffy whipped his head around at the voice he didn't recognise. But, it was too late. Soon, everything went black.

*Time: 11:00PM*

Everyone was in a deep sleep. There was nothing to be awoken by.

"Good…" quietly whispered an unrecognised voice. The figure slowly lifted their nimble hand in the air. As fast as lightning, a flash of golden light spread across the ship; engulfing all within it.

Once the flash had ended, six smaller lights hovered in the air. Then, suddenly, they all flew over to an unconscious captain slumped in the crow's nest. In unison, they all dived into his head.

*Somewhere currently unknown*

The landscape was white. Everything was white. Well, actually, there was nothing at all except white. However, six bodies lay limp across the ground (If there is a ground). Colour still intact.

They each began to wake up.

First was Sanji. He rubbed his head as he sat up, yawning. "Did I fall out of my hammock?" He looked around; seeing nothing but white. "Obviously not…" Then, he caught a glimpse of Nami and Robin. "Nami-Swan~! Robin-Chwan~!" he ran over to them. Both women then woke up.

"Sanji-kun?" Nami asked as she lifted her head up to see. Her eyes widened at the sight she was meet with. Well, no sight at all, really. "Where are we?!"

"I would like to know the same, koukaishi-san." exclaimed a curious Robin. She scanned the surrounding area and saw that the others were there as well. But, "It seems we're all here except Captain-san."

"Now that you mention it… I can't see him."

At the same time as their conversation, the others had already woken up. Usopp and Chopper were running around saying things like "We've been kidnapped!" or "we're gonna die!" and so on.

"Ugh, Where am I? A dream?" questioned a sleepy Zoro to no one in particular. He turned his head and saw the crew scattered about in various places; either jumping around or talking. But, they were still close to each other. "What a strange dream." He mumbled to himself. But, after hearing Sanji scream the names of the only two women aboard the Merry, he knew this wasn't a dream. He would never want to hear something like that in his head. He spat at the thought. So, where was he then?

That's what everyone wanted to know.

After everyone had calmed down (Usopp, Chopper and Nami mostly), the crew of six gather around to try and figure something out.

"First off, where are we?" questioned a slightly nervous Nami as she gazed at the others, waiting for an answer.

"Hmmmmm… No clue." answered the group simultaneously (Except Robin).

The red-head sighed. She tried again. "Okay… Then, does anyone know how we got here? Remember anything?"

"Hmmmmm… No clue."

Veins started to pop on her head. How come nobody could remember anything?! 'We were thrown into a unknown territory that's doesn't even seem to be at sea, and we wouldn't be able to reach an island for a few days, and nobody woke up in the mean time?!' she thought. But, then an idea sprang into her head; 'What if we were drugged then put into a heavy sleep and then kidnapped?!' Her face grew horrified at the thought. What were they going to do to her? Would she even survive? She didn't want to die here! And then she remembered. Out of the ones here, only Zoro and Robin have bounties on their heads. Luffy also has one on his, but he isn't here. What on earth do the ones who did this want? Was it the Marines who did this? Or maybe other pirates. But, still…WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?!

"Would you like to know where you are?"

The group's heads turned to the voice behind them. There stood a small figure. Sounded like a girl. 'She' was wrapped up in black cloak; her face hidden. Only a sly smirk could be seen.

"Who are you?! And where are we?!" yelled Zoro. He only really wanted an answer to the second question though. He didn't really care about the first.

"I have no name. And this is inside your captain's head." the girl spoke.

"LUFFY'S HEAD?!" shouted the crew. (Except Robin, of course)

Sanji was the first to comment on that, "Oi, oi! I knew Luffy was dumb, but this is insane!"

Everybody thought the same. This was Luffy's head? That was unexpected. It was all blank!

"S-so…did you bring us here?" questioned a slightly scared Usopp. The girl was actually quite intimidating! She was always wearing that devilish smirk. Not to mention the only thing she seemed to be wearing was the black cloak that covered her whole body. It was zipped up at the front, it also had a hood which was up and covering everything but her mouth. The creepy smile made it look as if she was planning to kill them or something, and already knew that it was going to work.

"I did."

"Why?" asked Robin. She seemed to be intrigued with the whole situation.

The girl simply chuckled; the smirk never leaving her face. "To show you…The truth."

"The truth?"

"That's right… About your captain."

"Luffy?" The six seemed confused. What didn't they know about Luffy? He basically expressed himself every day!

"He masks his true feelings. His past." exclaimed the no-named girl. "Have you even tried to have a proper conversation with the boy? Asked him how he really feels? No?"

The crew didn't know how to respond to that. She was right; they hadn't.

The girl noticed this; her smile faded. Her eyes came out from underneath the hood and golden orbs stared at the now anxious six. "Ha! You call yourself his crew?! You didn't even try to comfort your own captain when he was totally out of character! HE WAS CRYING!" She shouted furiously.

The Strawhats then remembered what had happened that morning. Suddenly, they all felt a flood of guilt flow into them.

"Ahem. I got carried away." Said the girl; She herself was obviously out of character with the sudden outrage. They placed their attention back on her. "Now then," She started. The evil grin plastered back onto her face; eyes covered once again. "Shall I now explain in full detail what I meant by 'the truth'?" This was more of a statement than a question. But, the crew nodded anyway. "Well, you may not have realized, due to your captain's personality, but his past is the complete opposite of the present."

The six just stared at her. Opposite? What did that mean?

"You seem confused. Well, how about a whole different explanation then?" she paused. Waiting for the crew's response. They nodded; signalling for her to continue. She giggled. "First off, I decided to bring you here to show you a memory about your captain. His memory. I'm showing you because he won't tell you."

"So, that's why we're in his head?" asked Usopp.

"Exactly."

"But, why are you showing us? Why are you are you doing this?"

"…Because I'm frustrated. Frustrated at the fact he, your captain, lets you push him around all the time. He's already gone through enough of that long ago. He doesn't need to experience it all again. Especially that one word." she wispered the last part. However, the crew heard her loud and clear.

"One word? What word?" questioned a suspicious Sanji. Why did he have a really bad feeling?

"Hmph. You asked that? Shouldn't you know already?"

Sanji didn't answer. Because, he didn't know. He couldn't remember.

The girl moved closer to the chef; their faces nearly touching. She whispered something to him. But, the crew could hear it as well; "Freak."

The cook's eyes widened. As did everybody else's. Now they remembered…

"In any case, I'm going to start saving our food! So you'll be getting less from now on! Got it?!" he shouted.

"What?! That's torture!" cried Luffy. He doesn't want to eat less then he normally does!

"I don't care! And if you're not going to stop stealing; then get out, you freak!"

Sanji bit into his lower lip. So, it was him. But, why did the word hurt the boy so much?

Suddenly, a door appeared out of nowhere. It was a pitch black door with no white whatsoever.

"Shall we go then?" spoke the mysterious girl as she turned to face the door.

"Go in there? What's inside?"

"A memory."

"Luffy's, right?"

"Yes. Concerning the word you called him. By watching this, you come to an understanding." She glanced over her shoulder at Sanji. They rest gulped as they began to walk in. Until-

"Wait." Everyone turned to Zoro. He hadn't said anything in a while. "First of all, how do you know about what happened this morning? Or even about Luffy's past?" he said in a serious tone.

The girl giggled, again; with her smirk still intact. "I'm the ghost of the past."

"G-ghost?!" shrieked Usopp, Chopper and Nami. The three backed away, a little.

"That would make sense." Robin chuckled, a bit. She found this whole situation a lot more interesting than before.

Questions over, they all walked through the black door.

Inside, they were welcomed with the scene of a village. The door vanished behind them.

"A village?" said Nami as she looked around at all the people that were smiling, laughing, playing (the children) and basically just having a good day.

"This is the village your captain grew up in." pointed out the girl.

"Luffy grew up here? This is such a nice place!" exclaimed Chopper, smiling.

"Oi! Look! It's the monster! Hahahahahaha!"

The crew and the girl all turned to the voice. About 20 metres away was a small group of children. There were around five. They were all circling a small boy; throwing rocks and such at him.

"What are they doing?! Ganging up on someone like that?!" yelled Sanji. Of course, since they were in a memory, nobody around them could see or hear them. And they couldn't do anything either. They weren't able to touch anything in the memory; their hands would just go through it.

The seven walked up to the scene. Once close enough to see, they saw the small boy in the middle had his hands over his head and he was crouched down; Stones hitting him from all directions.

"That's horrible…!" gasped Nami as she placed her hand over her mouth. The rest were pretty angry at the children as well. This was just mean.

"Haven't you noticed, yet?" everyone faced the ghost of the past. "That's your captain."

"Huh?" everyone then turned back and got a closer look at the boy. Indeed, it was Luffy. The small boy had the scar under his left eye and wore blue shorts and a white top with the word "Anchor" on it in red. No straw hat, though.

"Look at 'im! What a FREAK!" mocked one of the children. The young Luffy stood up.

"Don't call me that! I'm not a freak!"

"What, you're not?" The five kids were silent for a moment.

"That's right! I'm not."

"…BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The five burst out laughing: hands on their stomachs.

The Straw Hat crew all had angry looks on their faces. The girl, once again, was just smirking. But, the six pirates were all thinking the same thing;

'So, that's where it came from… Luffy…'

"There's more yet to come." pointed out the cloaked girl.

The scene changed. However, they were still in the village. As normal, people were about; talking , laughing or shopping in the small markets. Walking down the street was Luffy. People stopped what they were doing and stared. Some protective mothers grabbed their children, saying things such as, "Don't look" or "Be careful."

As the youth strolled down the road, occasional rocks banged with his head, arms, and legs. But…

He smiled.

Throughout the whole thing, he simply just smiled. However, anyone with the chance or pity to observe the boy could see through his false mask. He must be crying inside.

Suddenly, he was pulled into an ally way. "Wha-?"

"Hey, brat…!" said one out of two men, who seemed to be the ones that pulled him into the dark, cold back street. Both of them wore hoddies; faces hidden.

"What do you want?" calmly asked the young Luffy. Both men smirked.

"This village doesn't need freaks like you in it. So…" He turned to his friend before looking back at the boy. The other finished his sentence;

"…We're gonna get rid of ya!" The two cracked their knuckles; showing their intensions more. The young Luffy backed away. But, before he could make a run for it, the man who talked last grabbed him by the shirt. "Shihehe! Oh no ya don't!"

Luffy struggled in the man's grip; waving his legs franticly and clawing at the older's wrist. "L-let go…!"

"Shihehehehehehe! They're ya last words, kid!" laughed the man as he punched the boy; sending him crashing into the wall.

"Hey, hey! I thought we discussed that I was going to hit him first!" complained the other.

"Shihehehe! Soz bro! Imma stole it! Shihehehehe!"

"Che. Anyway…" He turned to Luffy; who was currently getting back up like it was nothing. Well, obviously, since he's rubber. "…This guy really is a freak! Kill it with fire! Hahahahahahaha!" Both men laughed. Luffy glared at the two mocking him.

"I'm not a freak!"

They stopped laughing and placed their attention back on the seven year old. "Don't cha mean "I don't wanna be a freak?" giggled the man as he pulled out a pocket knife. "Let us 'elp ya with that…!" Both snickered as they grew closer to the boy. "We'll make ya unrecognisable…!"

"N-no…!" whimpered the youth. But, it was too late. Without warning, the small knife was plunged into his right arm. "AHHH!" he screamed.

Meanwhile, the crew watched in horror. Nami was in tears as well as chopper. Usopp was trying to hold back the sobs; his anger overwhelming him. Robin was biting her bottom lip; her hair shadowing her eyes. Zoro simply stood there watching. He knew his captain wasn't weak; he also knew that he wasn't going to die. Since, this was just a memory and all. He respected his captain and watched the scene play out. Sanji, on the other hand, kept feeling more and more guilt fill up inside him. Now he felt really bad about calling him a freak. The boy had been through a lot; and this was probably only a piece of it. Still, the memory continued…

Now, Luffy was covered with gashes and bruises all over. Trails of blood flee from his cuts; making their way down the cold, dirty cement. He could barely keep his eyes open. The two men had already left; thinking that this was enough. The boy could no longer scream. Sooner or later, his wounds would get infected and nobody was going to help him. His clothes fabric rubbed painfully against his open, bloody flesh. But, he could hardly tell which pain was coming from what area. He was starting to go numb. Pieces of lose or ripped string from his shirt ended up sticking then drying along with blood. Still, he lay. 'What's the point of living anyway?' he thought to himself. The crew were startled; they could hear young Luffy's thoughts in their own heads. However, what startled them most was the thought itself. Luffy was giving up on life. Any other seven year old would probably have a parent or guardian who wouldn't even let them get into this kind of situation in the first place. On the other hand, Luffy didn't have any of that; he didn't have anyone who truly cared for him.

'So…I 'm gonna die here…' he pointed out to himself. 'Ha… Who cares…'he slowly closed his eyes. He was finally free from his life of torture…

"Woof!"

"Hm?" he opened his eyes and meets another's. A small, mud covered dog stood next to him. It began to lick his face as he lay there. "O-oi…" he managed to spit out of his blood rinsed mouth. The dog simply carried on lickng; as if to say, "Don't give up."

"Do you…Want me to l-live?" he coughed out. He reluctantly lifted his head and sat up.

"Woof!"

Luffy smiled; taking that as a "yes".

"Thank you."

The scene faded. They were back in the white void.

"So, now do you understand?" questioned the ghost; who hadn't said anything in a while.

The six slowly nodded; still a bit saddened and shocked at what they had seen. Even Zoro (a little).

"Now then, this is where we shall part."

The crew's attention was now set on the girl. "Are you sending us back?" they asked.

"That's right. I have done what I needed. I now have no reason to keep you here any longer." She giggled with her usual smirk; which was still pretty creepy. The figure slowly lifted their nimble hand in the air. As fast as lightning, a flash of golden light spread across the white landscape. The pirates all covered their eyes with their hands; the light was defiantly blinding. "I hope we shall never meet again." And with that, they crew were back on the Merry Go. They were either in their beds or hammocks. All fast asleep…

*Time: 7:30AM - Next Day*

The crew woke up the next day. All suddenly remembering what had happened the last night.

"Oi… Shitty cook."

"I know what you want to say, Marimo. And yes, it happened."

"You mean, it wasn't just a dream?!" shouted Usopp as he and Chopper started to run out the quarters in order to find their captain. Sanji and Zoro soon followed.

Once outside, the four saw Robin and Nami as doing the same.

"So, you guys remember as well?" wondered a curious swordsman.

"Hm. How could we forget?" replied Nami.

Suddenly, Luffy fell down from the crow's nest; hitting the deck below with a rubber like sound effect. He got up, "Where are you?!" he yelled. Looking around frantically.

"What's wrong, Luffy?" asked a slight shocked sharpshooter.

"A guy! Ah... No… Someone! Yeah, someone attacked me!" he waved his arm in the air, pointing to where he had passed out.

The crew sighed. They knew that ghost had done something to their captain. Even after her shouting at them for hitting him themselves! At least they wouldn't have to meet her again…

"Sanji!"

The cook looked at Luffy nervously. "Ah, Luffy… About yesterd-"

"FOOD!"

The chef stared at him in shock. Until, he burst out laughing. The others did so, too. Luffy will never change will he?

Please tell me what you think about this story, Freak, and my Ghost of the Past character! I look forward to writing for you again soon! – Beth