Chapter 6: Glimpse of the Past, Brought by the Present

(What in God's name am I doing here and how did I get here… o.o oh hi. It's uh… been a minute. *looks at last update exactly 3 years ago* Yeah just a minute.

Not gonna lie, I don't remember most of this and I know if I re-read it(I did), I'll end up reading and not doing this(I did) so I'm just hoping my memory and my one note past!me left (f*ck that version of me btw) are more than enough to move this along.

To clear up something that quite a few people mentioned; The fruit. Thatch didn't toss the fruit but was thinking about doing it. He hadn't tossed it yet when Luffy had met Teach. Really bad phrasing on my part but yeah. He'd only made the decision but hadn't gotten around to doing it yet. (Life on the Moby Dick - especially with ASL - is VERY hectic))

Side Note: I'm a dumbass. Let me know if there's anything else I need to clear up or if I really fuck up here.

It had been three days since Luffy's nightmare and the resulting wave of haki that covered the ship. The morning after had left many feeling as if they hadn't slept at all while the weaker and less experienced members had been unconscious for almost the entire day. With nearly everyone being sluggish or entirely out of commission for the day, some of the more necessary things had been delayed.

Repairs to rooms and the ship itself had to be pushed off as well as inventory checks and overall updates. Typically there was an order to things on the Moby Dick that made everything flow smoothly. With such a smooth flow, people would constantly ask why things couldn't be pushed off a few hours or even into the next day.

Now they all knew why.

If inventory wasn't taken frequently, then the numbers would be off leaving the shipwrights, navigators, nurses and chef's to believe they had more than they really did. This led to constant complaints about things being missing and overall not having the necessary resources for daily work. With the constant complaints, the commanders were unable to focus on any division updates such as any fights, inventory stock that was finally being taken, and - on Haruta's end - intelligence from other ships and allies.

All of this eventually had made its way to Marco's desk leading to the most hectic three days he's had in - what he believed to be - years. And that's counting the Teach fiasco. All he could do was silently curse everything. The most common phrase in his repertoire of curses being along the lines of "I told you so" to all the people that were known to complain. All of this topped with the fact Red-Haired Shanks was supposed to be arriving any day now.

Marco knew it was more like a few hours but he could hope damn it! The more he could push out Red-Hair's arrival, the easier his life would be.

He was starting to consider telling the navigators to change course when a shout from up on deck made him very nearly bang his head against his desk. It would seem he didn't even have a few hours. Yay.

With a heavy groan followed by a resigned sigh, Marco finished the paper he was working on and headed up on deck. The moment he realized how dark his room was was the same moment the sun decided it'd be a great idea to blind him, adding to his already bad headache. While his eyes adjusted to the overly bright light (the sun had to be doing this on purpose), a clap of wood on wood rang through his ears. Before he could fully register what the noise had been, a voice cut through the haze of his exhausted and aching mind.

"Bird Brain!"

Did he say he had a headache? He meant migraine. And he knew it'd only get worse.

"So when are you-"

"Never."

Marco could sense the pout on Shanks' face as his eyes finally - finally - adjusted to the light and allowed him to see clearly. The deck was full and only getting more packed as the major members of the Red-Hair pirates boarded the Moby. Marco couldn't even take a moment to enjoy the fact he brought the wandering Yonko's mood down as the man turned to Whitebeard in all his overly joyful glory.

"Whitebeard!" Shanks shouted with a grin that was typically reserved for a drinking buddy. The way the redhead saw it, this wasn't a meeting between Yonko but rather two men who were familiar with each other hence the more comfortable attitude and approach.

The oldest of the gathered groups merely gave a relaxed smile as he looked down on what he saw as a grown child. "Brat," Whitebeard greeted the younger Yonko. He watched the younger Yonko look around with the subtlety of a beached sea king. The older didn't have to ask anything before looking to his first mate and nodding towards the galley.

Shanks watched Marco walk off below deck while the blonde rubbed his temples, clearly not even trying to hide his headache (or was it a migraine at this point? Shanks was pretty sure it was the latter.) He waited until Marco was far enough before looking at the older Yonko with a serious expression.

"How bad is it?" He couldn't help but ask. In all the world, he cared for many things and many people but among the very top was his Anchor. He didn't want to show how worried he'd been when he first got the call that something had happened to Luffy but he also knew he was an open book to his crew. Lucky for him, it went both ways. He knew everyone from his crew that had known Luffy were just as worried as he was.

Whitebeard stayed silent for a short while before taking a breath. "He's regained some memories since our call…" Shanks and just about everyone present could practically feel the hesitation coming from the older. Before Shanks could speak up, Whitebeard continued, "and almost none of them are good."

Shanks grit his teeth and clenched his one remaining fist, "What's the good part?"

"He has Conqueror's Haki," was all Whitebeard could say. Though, he was wondering if that even counted as a positive after hearing how the boy unlocked it.

Red-Hair's eyes widened as he stared at the elder. "That's it? No stories of friends or his brothers? Just 'he has haki'?"

Shanks was quite honestly not sure how to react to that. Yes, he was proud and excited that the kid he use to call weak was strong enough to have haki - let alone Conqueror's - but he also wished there was more. He knew that child he'd bet the future on better than most people thought. He knew Luffy hated to be alone and would give anything to find friends and a crew that would always be there for him. From the stories Ace and Sabo had told him when they first met, Luffy had been nothing but happy since the boys all met.

The feelings were mixed. He was proud… but also sad for the child. He worried what the boy went through that there were no good memories showing themselves but he had such strength. He couldn't help but silently ask what the poor boy did to deserve this.

Though it was more of a rhetorical question, Shanks still wished somebody- anybody - would answer his questions and prove his worries wrong. He just wanted to hear one good thing that's happened to the little ball of sunshine he left back in East Blue. He refused to accept the boys light had died.

But before anyone could say anything, the boy himself was being brought on deck. Shanks started to smile only to falter when he saw Luffy's chest. The large burn scar looked horrible and he didn't even want to imagine what had caused or created the large 'X' shape standing out for the world to see. Though, somewhere in his mind, a small voice was telling him that scar and Luffy's haki unlocking were related.

Shanks wanted to shut that voice up. To scream at it. To disagree. Anything!

…But he knew he couldn't. It seemed too close to what would be the truth. Another traitorous voice told him the truth would only be worse.

He didn't want to find out.

Shanks didn't realize how long he was in his own head until Luffy and his brothers were standing directly in front of him. "Anchor…" was all he could get out, no other words coming to mind at the moment.

Luffy's confused head tilt was so… Luffy that it brought Shanks back to the present and not his new found fears. "Anchor?" Luffy shook his head. "Nope. I'm Luffy!" he said with his trademark grin.

Shanks refused to acknowledge the dimmed light in the boy's eyes. Almost as if the boy himself was asking the same questions Shanks silently asked. Instead, Shanks grinned and laughed. "I know that!" the redhead said past his laughter. "Doesn't stop me from calling you Anchor though!"

At Luffy's pout, Shanks felt himself recognizing the boy he knew. He was glad that no matter what, the boy stayed himself. "That's not fair! I don't even know your name!" Luffy shouted before sticking out his tongue.

Shanks gasped dramatically to mess with the kid (totally not to hide the hurt. Nope) and placed his hand over his heart. "You don't remember me?! Your favorite pirate captain ever?! Good ol' Shanks!"

"Laying it on thick there Captain."

"Shut up Benn."

Luffy watched them and really had to think, his head tilted and his face slowly growing red. He let out a breath and gave up just before his face started to match Shanks' hair. "Nope… Sorry…" Luffy said sadly. It was obvious that they were friends and he felt bad for forgetting a friend.

Shanks looked at him with a soft smile and shook his head gently. "I didn't think so. Heard you don't remember much lately. Thought I could give it a try anyways."

Ace and Sabo looked between the two before looking at each other. They'd heard so many stories about Shanks from Luffy but it didn't feel right being the ones to tell the story back when they hadn't been there. They both knew how much Luffy idolised Shanks and - to an extent - how much Shanks cared for Luffy. Clearly a lot if he dropped everything to see Luffy as soon as possible to make sure the young raven was alright.

Sabo cleared his throat to break the silence before speaking, "Why don't you two talk in private?" The blonde looked at his younger brother before continuing. "Maybe something can jog your memory." He looked to Shanks, "Something like a story?"

Shanks stood there thinking for a few moments before a fond expression took place on his face. "I think I have the perfect one." He looked to Luffy with the same fond smile. "Wanna hear?" Shanks barely had to wait for Luffy's nod of agreement before they were offered to speak in a private room. Shanks shook his head and walked over to the railing of the Moby Dick that had a clear view of the Red Force.

Shanks and Luffy sat there for just a moment before Shanks turned to the younger. "You like that hat?" Shanks started, seemingly asking out of nowhere to Luffy.

Luffy's excited nod was enough to make Shanks laugh. When he stopped, he looked at Luffy and saw him focusing on the straw hat now in his hand. "I don't remember why… But it's important. I just know it is." Luffy looked to Shanks with the question in his eyes before he even spoke it, "Do you know why?"

"Maybe." Shanks said teasingly, but didn't leave Luffy hanging for long. "There's a few things behind that hat. Though, the most important has to be the promise that came with it." At Luffy's question of a promise, Shanks decided to clarify. "That hat was given to you as a promise. A promise that you'll become a great pirate and one day return that hat to the person that gave it to you. But only when you're a great pirate."

Luffy looked at the hat in a new light at that. In his mind, this hat is what made him become a pirate. It made him want to be Pirate King. It gave him a dream and amazing nakama he couldn't wait to remember. All because of some old straw hat. An old straw hat that even without memories was still his treasure. Now he understood why. "Do you know who gave it to me?" Luffy asked after taking in every detail of the hat. He'd have to apologise for all the damage to it. He somehow knew those weren't there when he'd gotten it.

"Yup. I like to think I know them very well." At Luffy's question of who it was, Shanks smiled. "Me."

Luffy's eyes shot open as he looked at Shanks in surprise. "You did?!" Shanks nodded with an amused chuckle. Luffy was so shocked he almost didn't realize Shanks was taking the hat from Luffy's hands. He started to panic mentally. His main fear was that Shanks would say he wasn't good enough to keep it. He wanted to prove to the man that he could! That he'd fulfill their promise and only give the hat back when he's better than the Yonko!

Luffy weakly tried to take the hat back but was stopped by Shanks' voice. "Ten years ago... We happened to stop at this little village in East Blue. None of us thought anything would come out of it except a supply run." Shanks looked from the hat to Luffy with pure fondness in his eyes. "Then we met you and Makino. We kept coming back for a year. We always wanted to stay but we'd only cause trouble if we did. You always asked if we'd take you with us but-"

"A pirate ship is no place for a kid…" Luffy said softly as he slowly looked towards the ocean and the ship in front of him.

"Exactly." Shanks agreed as he watched his men go about their usual tasks on his ship with no idea of their conversations topic. "We always wanted to though. We just knew we couldn't. So, the last time we left, you and I made a promise."

At Shanks' pause, Luffy looked at him, confused as to why he stopped only to realize the Red Haired captain was already looking at him. "Shanks?" Luffy asked quietly. Why had the man stopped?

Shanks smiled again and continued. "I was going to leave. You stopped me. You told me you'd surpass me. That you'd become Pirate King just to prove me wrong. That you would be a great pirate." Shanks stopped to look at the hat again and took a breath before standing up next to Luffy. Before the younger could stand as well, Shanks put the hat on Luffy's head, aiming to cover half his face like he had originally (though it was harder now that the hat actually fit the kid.) With Luffy frozen, Shanks let the nostalgia of it all take over.

"...I'll leave this hat with you. It's dear to me. Take good care of it."

"Come bring it back to me someday. Once you've become a great pirate."

"That's our promise, Luffy."

The two stayed like that for a short while before Luffy's hand shakily raised to grab the brim of the hat as Shanks took his own hand away. Shanks could tell Luffy was crying but decided not to mention it much like he hadn't what now felt like so many years ago. Shanks couldn't help but take in all the differences between the Luffy he remembered and the one in front of him. The boy's body may have changed - now grown and scarred - but his heart was the same. Luffy would always be the same child in Shanks' eyes. A little spitfire with all the potential in the world.

"Shanks…" The quiet, strangled cry caught said man's attention. He didn't speak. He knew the boy didn't want to be interrupted. Instead he poured all his attention into the boy in front of him. "I promise… I'll be a pirate you'll be proud of." He could hear some sniffling under the hat (how'd it actually manage to cover the kids face?) before the hat was back on Luffy's head and a grin was perfectly on the rubber captains face. "And I'll definitely kick your ass one day!"

Shanks couldn't hold back the relieved grin and laugh that came to him. All he could say was,

"Good luck Anchor!"

(Not where I intended this to go but I actually like it… Got oddly serious but I'll take it~ It's 2:30 AM and that's late for me lately. I kinda looked through the other chapters and realized my style changed a bit. Dialogue has always been easier for me to read which is why I would write really dialogue heavy but that just rushed things and made some things confusing… Hopefully this does better and one day I'll try to go back and edit previous chapters to clean them up.

For now, have a good one everyone!)