When the Heart Calls Home

Hey there! Okay, this is my very first time attempting to write a chapter story... I'm not entirely sure of this but I thought I might just test my limits a little bit and try something new! This is an AU One Piece fanfiction and it's an idea I've been entertaining for a long time so I thought I'd try putting it into a story.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece or any of its characters, I just like to play with them.

WARNINGS: This fiction has violence, blood and a bit of cursing in it and therefore is rated T just to be on the safe side. I made Luffy slightly OOC in this I think because of the situation I put him in in this story. But it is intentional.

*The Forbidden*

Pain filled him. It was hard to move and every bone in his body hurt. The seven year old boy with dark, ebony hair and soulful brown eyes was locked up in the basement of his mother's house, his shuddering form barely visible in the corner of the dark little room. Black and blue bruises lined up all along his small frame and many scars reached across his back and chest; all proof of the abuse the child had been put through by none other than his own flesh and blood, his mother. The basement in which he was currently kept in was small and the air smelled musty. All around him there were stacks of old, rotting books and boxes which kept things that were meant to be kept secret, and "were forbidden" mother had said. But, like most children, the raven-haired boy had not been able to contain his curiosity. Telling him specifically not to look inside the boxes was practically like begging him to go and take a peek. So of coarse, Luffy, as that was the boy's name, had gone to "explore" the boxes for a little bit. After all, it had only been a peek, nothing to get worked up over. But mother had caught him and she had been angry. She had beaten him and let out her frustrations on him with the "cutting knife" as Luffy called it. Whenever the "cutting knife" would come out, Luffy knew that he was soon going to have another scar mark his body. She had screamed at him and a look of pure malice had come over her features as she had said in a sick, sadistic voice,

"I think it's time I start to mark that cute face of yours; it reminds me too much of him!" She had spat the word "him" like it was a burning coal in her mouth. And so, she had made yet another mark; this time stabbing him under his left eye.

Shivering gently at the memory, Luffy reached up with his small hands to touch the deep scratch running under his eye, the blood of the wound still streaming down his cheek. He didn't understand why she had gotten so angry over him discovering a little red book! He hadn't even opened it yet! Mother had removed it from the boxes and threatened that if he were to look inside one of them again, he would get more than just "a few slaps over the head," his mother had so gently put it, in that deceivingly sweet voice of hers. On top of all that, he was punished for disobeying her with the worst punishment of all; no food for tonight or tomorrow. A small whine emitted from Luffy's throat as he thought of this. How was he going to survive without food~! A childish pout formed on the boy's lips as his stomach gave a growl and he looked back over to the boxes. Maybe he could… no, he shook his head. That would only make mother angrier with him. It was so cold in here… the young child crawled over behind one of the bigger boxes in the room and pulled a pile of the musty books over to him, providing a flimsy shelter from the cold that swept in through the barred windows. There were only two, but it was always cold at nighttime, and the breeze felt like needles against his charred skin. Along with the "cutting knife," Luffy had also received mother's "special punishment" tonight, which involved boiling hot water.

At least she never uses oil. Luffy thought to himself. He remembered reading once in one of the books here that hot oil would hurt a lot more than hot water. He was glad mother didn't use that on him. But why had she been so angry about the little red book? He was only going to take a look inside. He wasn't really going to read it. It had fit perfectly in his little hand and it was perfectly blank. There had not been a single engraving of words on there or any markings whatsoever.

Sighing gently, Luffy decided not to dwell on it. Mother would get angry. Closing his eyes, the child began drifting into the restless world of memories coming to him in dreams. But even in sleep, the aching in his young heart would not disappear.

~Dreams~

"Ac- Ac – Acey!" A small baby cooed while being cradled in the arms of a three year old, dark short hair coming down in light curls. The older of the two held the infant protectively against his chest, trying to shield the young child from their crazed mother.

"Him! It's that disgusting bundle in your arms that did this! It's your brother's fault that he did this to us!" The woman before them no longer looked like the woman that young Ace had once called "mother." Her once long, black silk-like hair was now nothing more than a greasy, tangled mess and her chocolate brown eyes were almost a crimson red from crying. Her voice had become hoarse from screaming and black rings were seen underneath both of her eyes from lack of sleep. In short, she was a complete mess.

"No! Luffy didn't do anything!" The boy cried, anger and fierce protectiveness showing in his eyes. And that had been the last straw for the woman… she began attempting to beat the wide-eyed child in its older brother's arms, but in the end, Ace always protected him and ended up with the beatings. The young child began to cry and even at such a blissful age the small infant felt that something wasn't quite right.

- Four Years Later -

"Nee-chan! Where are you going? Come back! Don't leave me!" The boy Luffy cried to his older brother. Why was his Nee-chan acting so strange? And who was that strange man with the scary face? Ace was currently standing next to a tall man in a dark suit. Mother had let the mysterious man into the house and the blood staining the walls and the spilt alcohol on the stained tile floor didn't seem to bother the man in the least. He stood with an emotionless expression on his face, his hand tightly gripping his big brother's shoulder. He was murmuring something to mother but Luffy couldn't make out the words. Ace's eyes were shadowed as he was directed towards the door leading to the outside world.

"Ace… where are you going?" Luffy rushed over to him and tugged at his hand, looking up at him with wide innocent eyes. "Will you be coming back?" Shakily taking a breath, Ace bent down to Luffy so they were eye level and told him,

"I – I'm going to be going away for a while Lu," his eyes suddenly shone with fierce determination,

"But I promise I'll be coming back for you one day. Just promise me you'll hold through little brother. Promise me you'll hold through for me."

Luffy was scared. He didn't exactly understand what Ace was asking of him, but he nodded despite that. He trusted his brother.

"Lucci. Take my son away from here already. I don't want him to be influenced by this disgrace of a child any longer." Mother suddenly sneered, pointing at the confused Luffy. Ace sent her a heated glare and pulled Luffy closer to him, protectively wrapping his arms around him, but he said nothing. He had been able to protect his brother thus far, but now there would be no one there to defend the child from his mother's madness. The worry shown clear in his eyes, but he knew, there was nothing he could do. Not with Lucci here.

"Come with me boy." The man known as Lucci spoke coldly. Ace forced himself to let go of his brother, and was roughly pushed out the door. Luffy watched the two retreating figures step outside and into a black mustang where a short man with dark sunglasses was waiting for the two. It was dark outside, just like it was inside the eerie house where he lived with mother. The sky was filled with heavy clouds and not a single ray of sun could be seen. The air was cold and the wind blew harshly against the old house. This place was utterly isolated save for the three, now two, people living in mother's house.

"Ace!" Luffy called, "When are you coming ba –" He was cut short just as mother slammed the door shut and turned her eyes towards the frightened boy. Something wasn't right; something was very, very wrong. Why was mother looking at him like that? He shivered when he saw the malicious glint in her eyes as she said in a voice dripping with honey,

"Now, my sweet little Luffy, how about we play a little game?" A sadistic smirk played on her chapped lips. She lunged at him and had her "fun" with him. It was the first time Luffy had felt the sharp hilt of a knife going so deeply into his fragile skin. And when it was all over, mother leaving a bleeding and weeping Luffy in her wake as she went to fetch another bottle of liquor, Luffy decided that games weren't so fun anymore.

~End of Dreams~

Luffy awoke with a start, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes as he remembered the day Nee-chan had left him. But upon realizing this, he quickly wiped them away with his small hand and pulled his knees closer to his chest, wrapping his arms around them. He stared blankly up ahead. He wasn't supposed to cry. Mother had forbidden it and he had learned the hard way not to disobey her rules. He missed his brother. His wide brown eyes glanced up out of the barred windows. It was night outside and he could see the faint glow of the pale moonlight filtering in through the window. Oh how he longed to see it; the outside world. He had never been outside before and he wondered briefly what the "stars" his brother had once told him about looked like or what the mysterious sun felt like when he went out into its rays. After a while, Luffy's eyes wondered back over to the boxes. He wondered what other type of forbidden things were in there. The little red book had been taken from him and the boy itched to open it up and look inside. But how was he to do that with mother guarding it? A growl came from his small tummy and Luffy let out a quiet moan,

"I'm hungry~~" he whined. A pout was beginning to form on his lips again, but than the boy decided that he'd go and take another peek inside the boxes to see what was hiding inside. A wide, cheeky grin spread across his face. It was an adventure! He'd just have to be careful not to get caught again! Nodding to himself decisively, his mouth formed in a thin line of determination, he began to crawl towards the box that he had found the mysterious little red book inside. Ignoring his body's screams for rest, he stood up and looked over into the worn out box. There wasn't anything of much significance in it; a few books here and there, a couple of old, ripped clothes that looked like they came out of medieval times, and… ah-ha! Something caught Luffy's eye. It was, seemingly, some kind of Diary or old Journal. Reaching out, he grabbed the old book and pulled it out of the box. He sat down beside the box and looked at the book in awe. This, unlike the red booklet, had intricate designs on it. It was bound in dark brown leather and its edges were a little worn out, but the strange little signs that marked the border of this new discovery are what caught Luffy's eye. They were what looked like little figures shaped in human forms. But they didn't look fully human. But then, the book was worn out and the pictures were a little hard to make out. Wiping the dust off of the book, he stared at the title that was written in black ink. It wasn't very neat. The person who wrote the title looked like they had been in a hurry. It read,

"Harbor 5.23" and underneath that there was also something else written that was too hard to make out. Luffy was about to open the book when he saw the shadow of his mother being cast over his small body. He froze. Oh no! Mother had found him… he had been so preoccupied with his little adventure that he hadn't even heard her coming! He slowly turned around and came face to face with his mother.

"Oh, I see you've found something of your interest~!" She said in that painfully sweet, sugar-coated voice of hers. But Luffy could sense the anger emitting from her in waves.

"I… I didn't open it! I swear! I just wanted to have a little adventure!" He pouted; defiance in his chocolate brown eyes.

"Oh..? An adventure?" She laughed humorlessly and snatched the book out of his bloodied hands, still from the wound he had received earlier, and glowered down at him. She picked him up and threw him against the wall and a deafening "crack" was heard as the young boy's body slid down to the floor.

"I'll give you an adventure!" The crazed woman screamed as she aimed the first kick to his ribs. But Luffy took it with only some small whimpers escaping him every now and then. Tonight wasn't going to be a good night, he knew. He could smell the strong alcoholic breath of his mother.

I probably won't be able to move again for a while after this. His stomach gave another loud growl. … I'm hungry.

As Luffy slowly drifted into unconsciousness, the last thing on his mind was imagining a large piece of steak all for him and him alone to devour. His mouth watered at the thought… tomorrow would be a better day, he hoped.

Well! That was the first chapter! I'm not really sure if I should continue this or not but if anyone is interested in it, than I'll continue it. And yea, I know this fiction has a crappy title; I'm not entirely sure what to name it yet so it might change at one point... or not; it all depends. Anyways, reviews would be greatly appreciated! Flames will be shunned! ^^