The first time that he saw her he was covered in dirt. He was cold and sobbing and lost. She was barefoot and wearing a white dress that had not one speck of dirt on it. Her light pink hair sat gently over her shoulders and she sent a small smile at him.

The first time that he saw her he was eight years old in the middle of the forest of his home island. His clothes were slightly torn, but the straw hat that he held tightly in his arms was unharmed. She knelt down in front of the boy; her smile never
faltered.

"Why are you crying?" She asked him. He wiped some of the tears from his face, smearing dirt across his cheeks.

"I'm lost and I'm alone," he got out in between short sobs. "I followed Ace because I wanted him to be my friend, but I couldn't keep up." She shushed him softly, hoping to calm the boy down.

"You're not alone now," she reassured him. "I'm here with you, aren't I? I'm sure that together we can find a way out of here." His sobs died down when he realized the truth to her words. He wasn't alone. There was an adult here with him.

"Let's try to get out of here now," she said before standing up. Though she had been kneeling on the ground in front of him, her white dress was still spotless and her bare legs still clean. The boy quickly got up as she turned around and started walking
in a random direction. He rushed up to her with the intent to grab onto her hand so that he wouldn't be separated from her, but he froze when he couldn't. He froze when his hand simply went right through hers.

"Oh," she said as she turned back around to face the boy. He was staring at her with wide eyes and she could see the questions that were about to surface. "I'm sorry." She watched him open his mouth, ready to shoot a hundred and one questions her way,
but before he could she started speaking.

"You won't be able to touch me," she said, "because I'm not physically here." She dropped down to kneel in front of him again. "It's a long story and I'll explain it to you when you're older, okay? But right now, all you need to know is that my body is
far, far away and my spirit is bound," she paused to point to the straw hat that he was still holding tightly in his arms. "To that hat," she continued. The boy looked down at the hat with uncertainty before looking back at the pink-haired woman.
The soft smile on her face comforted the boy.

"As long as you have that hat, Luffy," she said, having already known the boy's name, "you'll never be alone. After a moment, Luffy placed the hat securely back onto his head. Her smile grew wider at the gesture. She stood back up and started walking
again.

"I can't touch things, but I can still help you find your way out of here," she said. Luffy followed after her; he was only silent for a few moments before he was unable to hold back his questions any longer.

"Does Shanks know that you're haunting his hat?" He asked her.

"I'm not haunting it," she said with a sigh. "But he does know about me."

"So you know Shanks?"

"Yea."

"How well do you know him?"

"Pretty well."

"Can you tell me stories about him and his adventures?" Questioned Luffy. The woman couldn't help but chuckle at the young boy's antics.

"Sure, but not right now," she said. Luffy pouted in response for a few seconds.

"What's your name?" He finally asked.

"Faye," she answered.

Faye told Luffy to keep her a secret. She told him to promise her that he would. So he promised; and that was the first time that she placed her trust in the boy. She wouldn't be disappointed.

Faye made it a point to only make an appearance when Luffy was alone, which grew more difficult once he befriended Ace and Ace's friend, Sabo. Luffy liked to spend time with the two other boys—his newfound brothers, but he would sometimes go off on his
own because he liked to hear the stories that Faye would tell him; he loved to hear about the adventures that she had seen while travelling with Shanks. Faye was careful during these times, though. She had to stay aware of her surroundings; many times
had she left Luffy mid-sentence—disappearing into thin air only a second before one or both of his brothers appeared. They often teased him at these times—when they would catch him "talking to his hat."

"Luffy," Faye had said one day. Sabo was out getting food while Ace trained in front of their treehouse, a scowl etched on his face. It had recently been revealed to both Luffy and her that Ace was Gol D. Roger's son. After learning that he hated his
heritage, Faye decided that she would find a way to speak with him.

"What?" Asked the rubber boy.

"Sit by the door of treehouse, okay?" She said. "But don't let Ace see you—no matter what. I want to talk to him, okay?" Luffy's eyes widened.

"But—"

"He won't know who I am. Don't worry. As long as he doesn't touch me, I'll just be a normal person to him."

Luffy nodded, trusting Faye's decision. He sat down next to the doorway of their makeshift home, his back pressed against the wall and that hat pressed against his chest and wrapped in his arms.

Faye disappeared from beside Luffy. It was as if the wind had blown her image away. She appeared again at the base of the tree that the treehouse had been built upon. The freckled boy didn't notice her appearance; he seemed to be too concentrated on whatever
his thoughts were so Faye decided that she should make her presence known.

"Hey, kid!" She shouted. Ace immediately jumped and swung his pipe at her; she quickly jumped out of its way; if he were to hit her then he would be able to tell that she wasn't normal.

"You look just like they described," she mused aloud.

"Who?" Questioned Ace, his weapon still aimed at her.

"Oh," she said, continuing to feign ignorance. "You're Gol D. Roger's kid, right?" She asked with a soft smile setting itself on her face. She watched his eyes widen in surprise.

"How?" He asked. "How the hell do you know that?"

"I have my sources." She squatted down so that she could be at eye level with the boy. "I came because I wanted to talk to you." Ace watched Faye with wary eyes.

"What?" Spat Ace. "You wanna tell me how much of a horrible person that bastard was?" Faye's smile fell at his harsh tone.

"Don't speak about Roger that way when you didn't personally know him," she chastised.

"You did?"

"Yea. I sailed the seas with him," said Faye, the smile coming back to her face. "And he was a great man. He was the kind of man that you would be honored to have as a captain and grateful to have as a friend. He loved adventure and the open sea; he had
a way of being able to make anything fun."

Ace looked torn. He wasn't sure if he should believe her or not. On one hand he wanted to. He liked this image of the man that was his father, but, on the other hand, this was the first that someone had painted this image for him. How could he believe
it when everyone else kept telling him how bad Roger was? It was the word of one versus the word of dozens.

"Why the hell should I believe you?" He asked her.

"Well, I guess there really isn't a reason," she said. "I don't really know how I can prove to you that I'm telling the truth." She paused for a moment in thought. "Will you at least keep one thing in mind?" Ace looked at the woman expectantly.

"I'm sure you've been hearing lots of bad things about Roger. Next time you do, think about the person who said it—did they personally know him or are they just repeating what everyone else has said? Maybe they're too simple-minded to see that not all
pirates are bad or maybe they're just jealous of the power and fame that Roger was able to get before he died.

"In the end, it doesn't matter what these uninformed, bitter people have to say. It doesn't matter what they think of him because the people who do matter know better. They know that Roger was a good man and they know not to believe what some drunk, old
men have to say."

Ace was left speechless; he didn't know how to respond to the woman's words. On one hand, they seemed right, but yet he couldn't just cast aside everything that he had been told so far—everything that people thought about him for being his father's son.

"And the people who really matter won't even care that you're related to him," she added. Ace turned around as he heard movement in the bushes. "You have people like that," he heard her say, but it sounded softer. It sounded like the voice was fading.
He watched as Sabo walked through the bushes and into the clearing, a fish hung over his shoulder.

"You have your brothers." Ace turned around abruptly. That last sentence sounded like it had been whispered right next to his ear, but the woman wasn't there right next to him. She wasn't even in the spot, a few feet away from him, where she was before.
He looked around the clearing and did not see any trace of her. It was like she had never even been there. Ace began to question if he had imagined it all while Faye hoped that her words would mean something to the freckled boy.

"That's all I can do," she thought. "That's the only way that I can help him."

When Sabo died, Luffy had cried. When he died, Luffy had had nightmares. And when that happened, Faye had wished that she could do more than try to offer words of comfort. She had wished that she could touch things—that she could hold the young boy as
he cried and rock him back to sleep when he woke up with tears in his eyes.

"I feel so alone," he had said one day after waking up. Ace had left earlier in the morning when the younger boy was still sleeping. Faye knew that Ace needed time alone. She could tell that Sabo's death had also affected him greatly, but he acted strong
for Luffy when the younger boy was around. He needed time alone so that he could cope—time where he could let himself be weak.

"Why? Ace will be back soon," she said.

"But what if he doesn't come back? What if dies and can't ever come back?" Luffy lifted his eyes from the ground to look at Faye with watery eyes.

"He won't die. He made a promise to you, remember?"

"Yea," Luffy replied, his eyes turning their attention back to the ground.

"And Ace wouldn't break a promise, right?"

"No."

"So you don't need to worry then," she reassured him with a smile. "But even when Ace goes off on his own," she added, "you're not alone. Did you forget what I told you before already?" Luffy reached his hand up to set it on top of his hat.

"As long as I have this hat," he said.

"You'll never be alone," she finished.

"Promise?" Luffy asked her, meeting her eyes once again.

"Promise," she said with a nod and a grin.

- 7 Years Later -

Faye appreciated the fact that she had gotten to see luffy grow; she appreciated the fact that she had been able to watch him become stronger. And she couldn't help the pride that swelled up in her chest whenever she thought about how far he'd come. She
had come to care for the boy deeply.

Of course, she had also watched Ace grow; he grew into a man that she knew Gol D. Roger would be proud to call his son. But she didn't share the connection with him that she shared with Luffy. She didn't share a special bond with the freckled man like
she did with the rubber boy. Hell—Ace didn't even know that she existed. Yet, she couldn't help feeling sad at his departure. It would be odd without the older brother around—it would take some time for both her and Luffy to get used to his absence.
But, on the brightside, she would be able to spend more time with Luffy.

"How are you feeling?" She had asked the rubber boy after Ace had left. Luffy was walking through the forest, his straw hat sat upon his head like usual. Faye walked in front of him, but backwards so that she could face him. She knew that she didn't need
to see where she was going because she didn't, technically, exist on the physical plane.

"Excited! I'm gonna get stronger! And soon I'll leave and become king of the pirates!" Faye smiled at the boy; out of the two brothers, it was Luffy who she believed would become pirate king. She had complete faith in the boy—he never ceased to amaze
her.

"You've got three more years before you leave, Luffy," she reminded him. "How is that soon?"

"It's sooner than it was yesterday!" He replied, pumping his right arm into the air. She chuckled at the boy's optimistic enthusiasm.

"Luffy, you are definitely one of a kind," she told him. "But with Ace gone, you'll be pretty lonely. I thought you'd be more upset about his departure."

"Naw," he said as he placed his right hand on top of his straw hat. He looked at Faye with a brilliant smile spread across his face. "I'm never alone!"