Okay, so it is finally here. What most people have been waiting for. Luffy's past. I'm sorry it took so long, but, I wanted it to happen after Arlong's bit. My story XP

Anyway, this is my version of Luffy's past. Hope you like it. -bows-

This chapter is dedicated to FireonIce! Happy birthday! -hands out random Luffy's, Zoro's, Sanji's, Usopp's, Chopper's, Nami's and Robin's! There, now everyones happy. Yay!

-------------------

Chapter 23: What is asked of me

Luffy sighed and rested his head against the window. Zoro couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, but at the same time, interested. Luffy had never acted like this, and he was interested to find out why, but, uncomfortable because Luffy was acting like this. It was a strange way to describe it, but, he really had no other way to do so.

"I hope talking about this will help. And Zoro, I trust you with my life, so please, don't tell anyone else this. I'll tell them if I have to." Luffy said and looked up at Zoro with haunted eyes that made the swordsman feel a pang of pity. He nodded.

"Of course." he replied. Luffy nodded and took a deep breath.

Flashback

"Ace! That's not fair!" a little boy with messy dark hair, and wide eyes cried as an older looking boy raced off with a straw hat.

"Aww, come and get it then little bro'!" the older boy cried as he stopped. The little boy pouted, but got to his feet. He was no older than six and he was as small as a four year old.

The older boy, apparently named Ace, was ten, and looked his age. The two boys look almost identical, except for their eyes. Ace had sleepy, low lidded eyes while the younger boy had wide and innocent ones.

"Luffy!" a voice called. The younger boy paused and looked over his shoulder, back at the house that sat atop the little hill. It wasn't very big, more a cottage than a house but it was Luffy's favourite place. He grinned.

"Makino!" He squeaked.

"Ace!" the same voice called. Ace looked up. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Come on Luffy, I think we should hurry back." he suddenly said as he ran past. Luffy blinked and then ran after his brother, stumbling and tripping as he did so. Ace was already in the house by the time Luffy got back.

Makino was seated at the table, her arms folded on the wooden surface, and her head resting on top of them. Ace sat in a seat beside her, his face pale and his eyes red. Luffy blinked as he walked in.

"Makino?" he asked and the woman sobbed. Ace looked over at his brother and smiled slightly.

"Luffy, come over here." he said. Luffy tilted his head but did as he had been asked. Ace let him sit in his lap and the older brother wrapped his arms around the smaller. Makino finally looked up.

"Luffy," she whispered and looked at him with sad eyes, "Your mother and father… they were found…" and she gulped, "dead." Luffy paused for a moment, not understanding what was happening.

"Dead?" he asked, confused, "But, people who are dead don't come back. Mum and Dad will come back! I know they will!" and he grinned. Makino sniffed and reached out a hand to rub against Luffy's cheek.

"They aren't coming back, sweetie." she whispered. Luffy's grin faded and turned to a look of confusion once again.

"But," and his eyes began to water, "but, they said. They promised!" he cried, his chin dimpling and his bottom lip trembling.

"I know, I know." Makino whispered. Ace held his brother close as Luffy began to cry, silently at first but then he began to sob heavily. He pushed out of his brother's arms and fell to the floor, landing on his knees before getting up and running out the door and back onto the road outside.

He looked around and saw his favourite tree. Running over, he began to climb up the ladder his uncle Shanks had set up. He reached the top, and curled up on the branch. This wasn't right.

They were lying! Something was wrong here! This couldn't be true! All his thoughts whirled through his little head at once until he had a headache and he just desperately wanted to sleep.

Parents didn't just die and leave him.

A few weeks later

Luffy stood beside the newly buried graves of his Mother and Father. He hated this. The dirt on the top of their bodies was still fresh and still smelt damp. Like the smell that lingered in the air before it began to rain. He bit his lip and his little body shook.

He still couldn't believe this had happened, and the worst part was. The night before the funeral, he had heard Shanks talking with Makino, and had learned the truth of what had happened. His parents hadn't just died, someone had killed them.

For money. He had stayed by that door until he had learned the whole truth. His parents had been coming home, and had stopped in at a hotel. That night, a robber had tried to steal their money and the two had fought back, only to be shot. And not just once. Luffy was haunted by the words Makino had said to Shanks that night.

"They were both shot, three times each. No one knows why. Police suspect it was to make sure they were dead and couldn't say anything to anyone… ever again." she had said and Luffy had had to bite his own hand to stop himself from crying.

He may have been small, but, he was understanding everything… and it was killing him inside. He lay the handfuls of flowers he had picked, on the dirt and watched as the breeze blew the petals lightly, but not enough to move the flowers from their places.

"Bye Mum, bye Dad." he whispered before turning his back on them and walking away.

Years later. Luffy is fourteen.

Luffy strode down the street of his home town. He was humming a tune as he walked and he paused to look into a shop window.

"Hi Luffy! Want anything today?" A cheery male voice asked from inside the shop. Luffy shook his head.

"No thanks. Just lookin'." the boy replied before moving on. He looked up at the sky and blinked. He should get home, it looked like there was going to be a storm soon. Besides, Ace was due home today and he didn't want to miss that.

After living alone for three years, he was beginning to get a little lonely. He walked past the cemetery and paused, eyes drifting towards four graves. Two were old, and beginning to crack from wear, but the other two didn't look so bad. They were just beginning to wear. He walked into the area and up to them.

"Mum, Dad." he said, addressing the two older graves and then his eyes drifted across to the other two, "Shanks, Makino. How are you all today?" and he kneeled down and smiled. The wind gusted suddenly, picking his hat up gently and playing with his hair. It made his clothes billow out and the light shirt he was wearing ballooned upwards.

Five years after his parents' death, Makino had gone out one night and had been hit by a car. A drunk had been behind the wheel. Not long after that, Shanks had been out doing some field work for the company he worked for, when a freak explosion at the local gas plant had killed him and twenty others.

All in all, a range of accidents, but Luffy couldn't help but feel that they were related. Ace had dismissed it, and called it coincidence and that he shouldn't worry about it. But that had been before Ace had left, so, Luffy was a little inclined to not believe his brother per se. But, he loved Ace all the same, and he was beginning to get a good life going. The wind gusted again and Luffy chuckled.

"Okay, okay. I'm going. I was only stopping to say hello." he said. Luffy always believed that the wind was his parents and his friends saying hello. It never picked up before he said hello, and it always went away after he had left, so, he honestly knew it had to be them. Luffy stood and stretched for a moment.

"I'll come by and visit later, k?" and he walked past the graves, brushing his hands across the tops of the ones he was walking between. Makino and his mother's.

When Luffy reached his home, he had to almost break down the door. The key wouldn't go in and the phone was ringing. He finally got it to unlock, and he raced over to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Oh, hello. This is Wendy from the hospital calling." and Luffy's blood went cold, "We found a young man, and he had a card on him with your number. Are you a Mr. Monkey D. Luffy?"

"Y-yeah." Luffy replied, his voice breaking.

"Ah, I see. I'm going to have to ask you to come down here. Your brother is in intensive care." she said, but Luffy stayed silent.

"Sir? Are you there?" Wendy asked but Luffy just put the phone down and ran out the door. He had to see Ace. Why did this keep happening to his family? Or, what was left of his family. Ace was the last one.

"Ace is the last one, besides me." Luffy growled at himself. Those thoughts were bad. He couldn't think like that, it was just wrong! He barrelled through the town until he reached the large white building with the red cross, and he almost broke his nose when he crashed into the doors.

Luffy stumbled backwards and the doors slid apart. He hadn't given them enough warning to open and now his nose was throbbing painfully, but he didn't care. He had to see Ace! Luffy ran in and skidded past the reception desk.

"Hey!" the young man called. Luffy twisted and looked back.

"What?" he asked.

"What do you think you're doing? Crashing in here like some sort of self righteous elephant! There are sick people trying to sleep in here!" the young man growled at him. Luffy shook his head and walked back.

"Sorry, but, my brother's in intensive care. Wendy told me over the phone." he said. The young man paused.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Ah, what's his name?" he asked quickly.

"Portgas D Ace." Luffy replied, his fingers tapping on the desk and his feet twitching on the floor. The young man shook his head when he couldn't find the file, and then began tapping on the computer.

"Hang on a sec." the man muttered and Luffy nodded, but continued to twitch impatiently. The man's face paled and he turned towards Luffy.

"How long ago did Wendy call?" he asked. Luffy shrugged, not understanding what that had to do with anything.

"About ten minutes I guess. I had to come here by foot. I ran as hard as I could!" Luffy replied. The man nodded and bit his lip.

"I'm… sorry. He was checked out of the room a few minutes ago." he said. Luffy brightened slightly.

"But, that means he's okay! Where is he? Do you know where he is now? I really wanna see my brother!" he cried and bounced from foot to foot. The man looked up at him.

"I know where he is. But, he was checked out of the room for a different reason." and he stopped, hoping Luffy would catch on so he wouldn't have to continue.

"Well, where is he?" Luffy asked, not catching anything else, other than the 'I know where he is,' part. The young man sighed.

"Sir, your brother has passed away. According to the computer, he passed away seven minutes ago. I'm sorry." and the man bowed his head. Luffy's world crashed around him and he felt something inside him snap.

"How… the hell can someone be alive ten minutes ago, and then be dead when I get here?" he whispered angrily. The man looked up.

"A-according to the report, he didn't… mmm… he didn't really have a chance." the man replied. Luffy frowned and his fingers dug into the counter of the receptionist's desk.

"Do you have any other family that needs to be contacted? If so, I can do it for you." he suggested. Luffy shook his head slowly.

"Ace was the only family I had left." he replied, barely restraining his tears.

"I'm sorry. Would you like for me to call a counsellor in?"

"No."

"Maybe a doct-"

"NO!" and Luffy spun on his heel and was about to walk out when he paused, "How did he die? Can anyone at least tell me that?"

"Uhh… the report says he had third degree burns. Caused by a house fire. Smoke inhalation and damaged lungs." the man replied, "Are you sure you don't want a counsellor?"

"No, thanks." and Luffy looked over his shoulder with a small smile, "It was, after all, an accident." and he walked out. As he walked away from the hospital, he found himself heading back towards the cemetery again. He didn't bother to correct himself. When he reached the graves he had pretty much just visited, he kneeled down in front of them, and cried.

Sobbed, beat his fists against the soft, grass covered ground. He ripped up handfuls of the weak stuff and threw it into the air until his energy was gone, and he could no longer cry. His eyes refused to let any more water leak out, but his body continued to heave in dry sobs. He sat back on his heels and looked at them.

"I'm sorry," and he smiled softly, "I know I shouldn't have reacted that way. You guys wouldn't have wanted me to be sad." and he wiped a hand across his face, trying to wipe away the water, but instead leaving a dirty mark. Luffy looked down at his hands and saw they were covered with dirt, and flecks of blood from where he had encountered sticks and the like.

"At least you guys will be together now. I promise, I will look after you all. But…" and Luffy paused. He was amazed and saddened that this thought had just occurred to him, "I have to leave…" and he bit his lip as his eyes found new water and began to tremble,

"I can't stay here any longer now. Ace was always supporting me… and now, he-he's gone. I have to look after myself." and Luffy sniffed, fresh tears running down his cheeks. Hadn't his eyes just been out of water? He pulled himself up and staggered slightly, his legs numb after being curled under him for so long. He looked down at his watch and sighed.

"Time to go. I'll do what you all, always told me… Be happy." and Luffy turned away. A wind crept up around him. His wind, his family's wind. It encircled him once and then left him and he smiled.

"Bye guys. I'll miss you." and Luffy walked towards the gate of the cemetery. That was the last time he would ever see any of the graves again.

Luffy was swept away and pushed into a job in another town, where he worked long nights and lived alone. He hardly talked to anyone, as they would never acknowledge the fact that he was there, and if they did acknowledge him, it was by his new nick name, which he didn't like at all.

'Retard' or 'moron' or 'idiot'. He could handle them the first time they were said, but, after that, it just became tedious and annoying and a general pain in the butt. He didn't like being called those names and he told the others so, but they never listened.

Luffy barely got to eat, and when he did eat, it was a small meal. The rest of his money went to rent, tax and paying for the repairs that his uniform constantly needed. The only holiday he got, was when he was put into hospital for a severe blow to the face in which his cheek had been sliced open and he had nearly lost his eye.

It had been a close call. Soon, fighting became Luffy's way of life. He had to fight to survive. Bets placed against other blokes, twice his size, on the street and winnings so he could eat a little bit of food. He missed home though, but, home was a long way away, and he would never see it again. Never, ever, ever.

End flashback

Zoro was watching Luffy with an open mouth. The boy smiled.

"I worked there for a few years. The day you picked me up, was the day that saved my life pretty much." and Luffy chuckled, "The headphones I was wearing, were headphones. Not music, no cd player or tape player, or anything. Just… headphones." and he looked over at the swordsman.

"You… how…" Zoro asked but couldn't finish his sentence he was that shocked.

"How can I keep going? My family would have wanted me to. They wouldn't have wanted me to dwell on them. I know, I can tell. Strange huh?" and he chuckled softly.

"No. Luffy, it's incredible."

"What?"

"That you can keep going."

"I don't think it is."

"Well you should."

"How can I not keep going? How can I just suddenly stop living without an excuse? No point in that. Ace would kill me when I saw him again. He'd kick my butt. Shanks wouldn't have given me his hat if he thought I was gonna quit my life halfway through. No, not even halfway." Luffy responded in an intense voice that made Zoro stare. This kid truly was incredible… and he was privileged to know him.

"Luffy…?" he asked. The boy looked up at him again, "You amaze me. I have never met anyone like you. How you can be so carefree, and happy, and so strong at the same time. That day, when I saved you… I didn't save you at all. You saved me. You had to. I was on a one way track to suicide when I met you." Zoro blurted. Luffy looked at him silently and then smiled.

"Zoro, I think it's safe to say, we saved each other." Luffy said. Zoro didn't know what happened, but, he just felt… right. This felt like the right time, right place.

For what? He was soon to discover, as he leant forward towards Luffy at the same time as the boy leant towards him. This was it, this was what he had been waiting for for… who knew how long.

His lips met with those soft ones that he had been unconsciously thinking about ever since he had first touched them back in that little hut. Luffy had changed him, that was for sure. Soft, chaste… nice.

They weren't used to each other yet. Time, they needed to take a little bit of time before they could get a little deeper. At least, that's the way Zoro saw it… until Luffy grabbed the back of his head and pulled him deeper and closer.

Now that was a kiss. Wet and hot, demanding and something he would never forget. Luffy's hands were running over the back of his head, while his own were gripping Luffy's shoulders for support.

"Oi! Get a load of this!" was the yell and Luffy and Zoro jerked apart. But the yell wasn't directed at them, it was directed at someone inside and the two looked back at each again once this had been discovered.

"Whooo! Sanji and Nami!" came Usopp's voice. Then there was something reminiscent of Usopp getting the crap beat out of him. Luffy raised an eyebrow at the house and then looked back at Zoro.

"Think… we should err… go in?" he asked. Luffy shrugged.

"I guess. But hey, uh, thanks for listening." and he smiled. Zoro nodded and smiled in return.

"No problem." and they briefly held hands before getting out of the car and walking towards the house, side by side.

---------------------------

Well, they kissed! Bwahahahaha! I had to make them kiss. It was perfect timing. Wow, it really has been a while since I wrote a kiss scene. -shrugs- Oh well. And Luffy's past. Really wasn't worth waiting for, was it?

Clarobell, you say sap and I am going to throw you in a dumpster with an angry monkey. I.e. Monkey being me. Got it? :D I am ebil today. Anyway, I hope you liked the flashback scene and it is all downhill from here my wonderful friends and reviewers!

Btw: Do you people realize that this story has been going for... four months I think. -dies- that's a bloody long time. My hits go through the roof, but, my reviews are only about five or six reviews for each chapter. Which, is a little dissapointing. So, please, review.