I haven't really done one of these yet, but I just wanted to say thanks you for all the reviews. It's pretty awesome. Also, I'm planning on editing the first three chapters to make them, well, better cause I don't really like how they turned out when I wrote them six months ago. So be ready for that, if you care.

Chapter 6

"Come on, you little crap! Teddy bears punch harder than you! I'm ashamed! Yeah, that's it! Keep it up and maybe you won't die the second you meet a real pirate!"

"Rahhhh!" Luffy roared as he jabbed his bloody fist into Delta's open palm.

Delta smiled scarily. "There! You got it! Fifteen more of those and if you're lucky, we'll take a break!"

Seated legs crossed on a boulder a short distance away, Shanks remarked, "This is pretty tough training for such a shrimp. And you do this everyday? You sure the kid can take it?"

Delta laughed, completely calm even with the rapid fire punches being launched into his unprotected hand. "Yes and yes. And don't blame me, Lu here is the one who demands I train him."

"If you don't, who will?" Luffy growled as he continued his focused attacks on Delta.

"If you put the amount of effort you use talking on fighting, maybe I would actually feel a couple of these!" Delta roared in a very Garp-like manner. He held in a shiver at that thought.

"Anchor, you really got to put your all into it!" Shanks advised, "Half of fighting comes from desire, you know."

Luffy paused for a moment, his eyes flickering to Shanks relaxed form. He breathed in deeply. He pulled his arm back. He punched.

And a tingle spread through Delta's hand. He grinned and ruffled Luffy's shaggy, sweaty head. "Nice one, Lu! Do those more often and we'll really be cooking!"

"Shishsishishi!" Luffy laughed.

Stretching his slowly cramping arm, Delta said, "I think that's enough for today. We've really made some good progress and I think it would be better to stop on a high note. I guess I can't say Shanks is completely unhelpful anymore."

"Hey!" The aforementioned red head shouted indignantly.

"Thanks, Del." Luffy said between deep, tired breaths.

"Come on, Lu. Let's get back to town. Eh, and Shanks, I guess you can come too if you want."

"You're generosity is greatly appreciated," the captain said as he stood up and dusted off his coat. "I could really use a pint right about now."

"It's half past noon."

"Exactly."

Delta just shook his head as the trio headed through the forest and back to Party's Bar. Even before falling into the past, he'd never been much of a drinker, and compared with people like Nami or Zoro, he was practically a lightweight. Nope, no thinking of them, he mentally scolded himself. As a rule, he never thought about his past life. It hurt just a tad too much to be healthy.

Unsurprisingly, the bar was filled with Red Haired Pirates when they returned.

"Yahhh!" They drunkenly greeted the three.

"Makino, some sake if you please!" Shanks yelled, "And while you're at it, fill up all these boys' glasses. I don't think they're wasted enough!" The pirates whooped.

Makino rolled her eyes, but nonetheless did as Shanks asked.

With Shanks, Luffy and Delta took a stool at the bar. Smiling, the redhead turned to the other two. "And what'll you two be having this fine day!"

"Apple juice!" Luffy immediately responded.

And in turn, the entire bar was immediately a raucous of laughter.

"You're such a child, anchor!" Shanks joked good naturedly.

"Shut up! I have punches as strong as a pistol! Delta said so!"

To the left of the two, Delta piped up. "I said nothing of the sort."

"Deltaa!" Luffy whined, "Whose side are you on anyway?"

"The side that doesn't condone cutting your face with a knife to show how tough you are."

And with that, a chorus of laughter refilled the room.

"Almost forgot about that little number," Beckman said lowly, pointing to the spot under his own eye. "How's the scar coming along, by the way?"

"Not you too!" Luffy whined pitifully.

"Aw, don't mind them, Luffy. I thought that was very brave of you." Makino said kindly, "But if you ever do anything so stupid ever again, I will personally make sure you never leave this island, much less become Pirate King."

Luffy gulped and nodded numbly.

Shanks patted Luffy on the back. "Don't worry, Anchor. Secretly, I think you're really strong."

"Really?" Stars shone in the boy's eyes.

"Ha, no."

"You're so mean!"

As the pirate crew fell into another fit of drunken laughter, which was honestly becoming quite obnoxious, Delta simply watched as the unassuming Luffy grabbed an oddly designed piece of fruit and bit into it, hurriedly swallowing the whole thing. Delta smothered a grin of anticipation.

Then, as if the moment were destined to happen exactly as it had before, a tall, bearded man by the name of… something or other waltzed in. Delta was surprised to find he couldn't remember the man's name at all, though it really wasn't that odd as it had happened sixteen years since the event and he had been seven at the time.

"So this is what pirates look like," The man said disparagingly as he and his bandit crew eyed the bar occupants. "Never seen one before, but really, you guys look pretty pathetic." His crew laughed dumbly.

He took a few steps in like he owned the place. "Now I'm not here to cause any trouble, don't you worry. Me and my boys are just looking for ten barrels of your finest sake."

"I'm sorry sir, but we're all out." Makino apologized.

"All out, huh? Then what is it these guys are drinking? Water?"

"No, it's sake, but I'm afraid they've taken the last of it."

Shanks turned to the bandit, holding out his glass. "Here, you can have mine."

The man turned to scrutinize the bottle, before smashing it in Shanks' face. "You think one measly bottle is gonna' be enough for us? What do you take us for?" He pulled out a little piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Shanks. "See this? I've got eight million beli on my head and I've killed fifty six people, so don't go trying to make a fool out of me!"

Delta strained his head to look at the bounty poster. On it was the name Higuma over his picture. Ah, that's it.

Ignoring Higuma, Shanks began wiping up the spilled sake with a rag. "Sorry Makino. I'll clean this up for you."

Higuma's face twitched in irritation. Spurred on by his laughing crew, he pulled out his sword and swiped at the bar top, smashing another five or

six bottles around Shanks. "If you like cleaning so much, why don't you clean up this mess?" He laughed cruelly, "Come on boys, let's get out of here. These pirates are just too pathetic for me to even look at."

The moment the bandits exited the building, the entire bar fell into roaring laughter.

"Did you see that?" Yasopp laughed, "Captain got soaked!"

"They sure got you captain!" Lucky Roo agreed.

Shanks for his part sent a wide grin before getting back up onto the stool. And Delta watched as Luffy, just as he had done, called them out for being cowards and not fighting back. Shanks explanation of why they did what they did hadn't been enough to sate Luffy's anger towards his new friends, and he marched off.

To really get things going, Delta grabbed Luffy's hand as he walked away under the guise of trying to stop him. Luffy didn't notice and kept walking, even as his arm stretched out before everyone's very eyes.

"Luffy!" Shanks roared.

Luffy turned, still angry. "Wha-" His eyes fell upon his elongated arm. He screamed.

At the same moment, Lucky Roo, holding an empty chest, yelled, "Captain! The devil fruit! It's gone!"

"Luffy!" Shanks yelled again, running up to the boy amid the wildly screaming pirates. "Do you know what you just did? You just ate a devil fruit! It turned you into a rubber man and you'll never be able to swim! You idiot!"

"I thought it was dessert!" Luffy cried, "It tasted really bad, though."

"Now you'll always be an anchor, and you can't even touch the ocean ever again!"

Luffy screamed and ran away from the bar, stretched out arm flailing wildly behind him.

Turning an accusing glare on the Pirate King, Shanks yelled "Delta! You were supposed to watch over him! How could you have let this happen!"

Delta just shrugged. "To me, some things are just fated to happen. You can't force everything to go your way."

"But now, Luffy's life is ruined!"

"Don't be so melodramatic. I'm sure he'll be fine." Not waiting for a response, Delta left the bar and made his way to the forest. This was going to be a very important moment and he didn't want to be there to possibly screw it all up.

Just to be on the safe side, Delta waited in the forest for an entire day, eating about five random pigs he'd found for dinner. It wasn't very good, but it was enough to keep going well enough.

The next afternoon, Delta walked back into town to see if everything had gone down as it should have. Yes, it was sad that Shanks had to lose his arm, but it hadn't seemed to hinder the man too much the first time around.

Sure enough, Delta walked into the bar and saw what felt like a flashback to the past. An armless Shanks was slouched on a big comfy chair in the corner of the bar as Makino treated to his needs in any way she could. Surrounding him was the entire pirate crew and Luffy, who looked on the verge of tears.

Readying himself to speak, Delta put all of his acting practice into use for this very performance. It was his weakest skill by far and he had put a lot of time and effort into changing that. "Shanks!" He yelled, rushing toward the crowd of pirates. "What happened to you?"

Chuckling, Shanks reassured, "Don't look so horrified, Delta. It's just a flesh wound."

"What- why- how did this happen?"

"That bastard bandit took Anchor. I was just getting him back, and there was a little scuffle between me and a Sea King. Nothing to worry over. You here that, Makino?" Makino ignored him.

Delta put his hands on his head in a moment of slight overacting. "The one day I'm not here, and this happens. What are the chances?"

Shanks grinned. "Just bad luck, I guess. Or what was it you said to me yesterday? Some things are just fated to happen?"

Delta cracked a weak smile in return, then turned to Luffy, who was cradling himself on the ground.

"Are you okay, Lu? They didn't do anything to hurt you, did they?"

"Shanks lost his arm because of me!" Luffy bawled in response.

"Oh shut up already, anchor," Shanks said exasperatedly as he lightly tapped Luffy on the head with his foot. "We've been over this. It's not your fault."

"But I-"

"Not. Your. Fault." He asserted, tapping his foot on Luffy's head with each word for added emphasis. "Got it?"

Sniffling, Luffy shook his head glumly.

Delta grabbed Luffy and put him on his shoulders. "Cheer up, Lu. It's not like being all depressed is going to make Shanks grow his arm back. Besides, it'll just make him look even cooler now when he kicks ass." Luffy managed a short laugh. "See, that's it! You got it!"

Beckman looked at the two questioningly. "I hadn't noticed it until now cause your heads are so close together, but you two look really similar."

Yasopp added, "He's right. It's uncanny."

And now was the time to make his new identity official. Delta smiled. "You didn't know? Lu and I are brothers."

Makino imperceptibly paused for a moment before turning and flashing Delta a smile. Luffy just laughed.

Shanks cocked his head to the side. "Brothers? But you two are so different. For one, Delta's actually strong."

Ignoring Luffy's indignant sputtering, Delta grinned. "Oh, I don't know. I think we're pretty similar if you look hard enough. I've just seen a bit more than he has."

Finally the dams broke. "Delta's not that much stronger than me!"

Looking up at the boy, Delta disagreed. "Lu, I don't know what world you're from, but you got kidnapped by a bunch of bandits these guys beat easily, and I could take this whole crew on easily and win."

Knowing exactly what it was he'd said, Delta smirked. Sure the Red Haired Pirates were powerful now, but they were no Yonko crew yet. Shanks was closer to the level he was at right before he'd trained with Rayleigh for two years.

"Did you just say what I think you said?" Lucky Roo intoned.

"I think that was a challenge." Yasopp concurred.

"Definitely a challenge." Beckman agreed.

Shanks laughed. "Let's go, right here and right now!"

"You most certainly will not!" Makino exclaimed. "You just lost your arm! You will not be fighting anyone, much less Delta today!"

"Are you suggesting that he could actually beat us?" Shanks asked with faux hurt.

"Honestly I don't care. But it doesn't matter, you will not be fighting either way."

Delta laughed. "I guess we'll have to postpone this for a later date, then. I don't want to make this too easy on me and have you guys lose because you were missing your captain."

The crew growled at him. Luffy laughed. "I told you! Delta's the strongest guy I know!"

"But Anchor!" Shanks whined, "I saved your life! Doesn't that count for anything?"

Luffy pondered that for a moment. It was strange seeing Luffy ponder anything. "Saving my life made me forgive you for all the mean things you've said until now. That's all it'll do for you."

"He sure got you, captain!" Lucky Roo shouted in glee.

"Who knew Luffy was so sharp?" Yasopp asked jokingly.

As the crew laughed, Delta calmly pointed out, "Shanks bandages are falling off."

And all hell broke loose. And Luffy just kept on laughing.

-o0O0o-

The day had finally come. The Red Haired Pirates were sailing out in the afternoon, so this would be their last chance for a long while to do this. Shanks had recovered fairly well and had begrudgingly gotten Makino's approval to participate.

So there they were, out on a wide, open field beside Foosha. Delta on one side and the Red Haired Pirates on the other.

Out on the sidelines were Luffy and Makino, the former cheering wildly for Delta.

"You ready?" Delta asked in the same way he'd asked Luffy months earlier. That just riled them up more.

"Damn right we are!" Yasopp shouted.

"Shut up, toothpick!" Delta shouted back, "I was asking your captain!"

Shanks smirked. "Yeah, we're ready."

"Then three… two… one… go!"

The pirates charged. Delta held in a sigh. He didn't want it to be too easy. Then he realized he was getting kind of cocky. Then he used shave to get in between the band of pirates and used one haki infested punch to knock out five of the crew in one go. It kind of looked like high speed bowling, with his black fist as the ball and the pirates as the pins.

This was when he realized that he had reason to be cocky. After throwing the punch, Delta soared out of the fray. "Wow, I took out almost half your crew in one go!" He taunted, "Looks like you guys are weaker than I thought!"

Four bullets sailed toward him with precise accuracy. Of course, the bullets would've just bounced off of him, but he was really trying to learn not to use his devil fruit all the time. So he jumped out of the way and landed on top of Lucky Roo's head. As the fat man tried to grab at him, Delta kicked off of his chrome dome and flew straight up, then brought himself back down with the force of an angry elephant.

"Roo! Get out of the way!" Shanks shouted in alarm, but not fast enough. Delta's fist caught him straight on, pushing him down with enough force to make him sink a foot into the solid ground. With that, Lucky Roo fell over, unconscious.

"Damn." Yasopp whispered, only heard by Delta through the use of his observation haki.

"He's not even trying!" Beckman yelled.

"How is he so strong?" Some other crew member asked a different one. Delta kind of felt bad for not knowing their names, but he didn't really remember them so the probably didn't last long enough to join Shanks' Yonko crew. Ergo, they didn't matter.

"Come at me!" Delta yelled.

"Don't be rash," Beckman advised the remaining crew members, "He's tough, but we can take him."

Shanks pulled out his sword. "Beckman, on three." The first mate nodded, "One, two, three!"

They charged Delta, swords raised.

"Black Puma Dagger!" Beckmann roared as his sword seemed to glow black and grow to the point where it looked almost ridiculously long.

At the same time, Shanks cried, "Inferno Blade!" and jumped into the air above Beckman, spinning his sword around so fast that it caught fire.

It would have looked mighty intimidating if Delta hadn't already witnessed the two fight at Yonko levels. Compared to that, this looked positively juvenile.

Delta grinned, pulling a blackened arm back in order to intercept the incoming blades.

It worked. With timing so perfect that it could only be done by someone of the Pirate King's skill, Delta thrust his fist forward and hit both blades in the same strike, breaking both of them in two. With his other arm, he sent a wild fist right into Shanks scarred face, sending one of his favorite people in the world flying backwards. With his left leg, he tripped Beckman, who was still in shock over his broken sword, and swiftly kicked the downed man into Shanks.

Delta jumped backwards, avoiding yet another shot from Yasopp. Ignoring the man for the moment, Delta ran forward at superhuman speeds, cracking down on the entire remaining crew members until it was only him and Yasopp left.

He dodged yet another round of bullets as he slowly made his way over to the sharpshooter. Over and over, he would just barely dodge while taking calm, deliberate steps toward the man. It was slow, steady, and totally made worth it when Delta dodged a bullet at point blank range and grabbed the gun out from Yasopp's hand. He tossed it off to the side uncaringly.

"You're a monster." Yasopp whispered.

"It's the best way to live, toothpick." Delta whispered right back.

Suddenly, Yasopp grinned. Delta saw it coming through his haki, but just for some extra fun, let it happen.

Behind them, Lucky Roo, who had woken from his unconscious state, grabbed the fallen gun and had it pointed right at Delta.

"Bang." whispered Delta to Yasopp as Roo pulled the trigger. Under his thick coat, the two pirates were unable to see the bullet bounce into him, but they definitely saw it go flying back out and soar right past Lucky Roo's head.

"How…?" Yasopp asked in a barely audible whisper.

Delta smirked. "I forgot to tell you guys, but I ate a devil fruit." He then punched Usopp's father in the stomach and knocked him out cold. "Also, I win."

"Woo hoo!" cheered Luffy as Makino clapped politely, "Delta won!"

"Of course I did."

Once the pirates recovered from their battle with Delta, they readied themselves to ship out of Foosha. Delta helped to move some of their assorted boxes onto the ship. He and Shanks were at that moment setting down a couple boxes on the lower deck.

"You're pretty strong, Delta." Shanks complemented, grinning. "I really didn't expect you to win so easily. Only the strongest people around could have done what you just did."

Delta shrugged. "Then I guess I'm one of the strongest guys around."

"See, but that's the thing." Shanks said, turning oddly serious. "If you're this powerful, how come I've never heard of you?"

"I haven't been doing much recently." Delta answered easily.

Shanks shot him with a flat look, then sighed. "Fine, you don't have to tell me. It's your business, not mine. But I'm just saying, if I figured out this inconsistency of yours, it won't be long until someone else does too."

"Thanks Shanks, but I think I can handle myself."

The redhead laughed. "Yeah, I saw. I'm just pointing it out. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go say goodbye to Anchor."

"He really hates it when you call him that,"

Shanks laughed again. "I know!"

Climbing up the stairs, Delta entered the main deck and was greeted by cheers of quasi revenance from the pirate crew. He just waved and turned to look at the dock, where Shanks was talking to Luffy.

He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he saw Luffy cry tears of joy as Shanks picked up his straw hat and placed it on the young boy's head.

Delta turned and stepped off the ship, taking his place by Luffy as Shanks got on the ship.

"See you later!" Delta yelled.

"Next time I see you, I'm gonna be so much stronger than you guys!" Luffy roared.

"Sure you will, Anchor!" Shanks said sarcastically.

"And next time we see you, " Yasopp yelled with equal ferocity as Luffy, pointing at Delta, "We'll crush you in the rematch!"

"Can't wait!"

Luffy and Delta stood in silence as they watched the pirate ship sail away into the ocean deep. It was beautiful.

"Hey Del," Luffy said quietly, leaning up against his counterpart.

"Yes, Lu?"

"Can we go get some meat? I'm starving."

"That sounds like fantastic idea to me."

They turned away, back to Party's bar. The year of Red Haired Pirates in Foosha had come to an end.

Delta thought back to what happened next and a wide grin began to split his face, unnoticed by Luffy.

See you soon, Ace.