Straw Hat Monkey D. Luffy

"What? Where did that come from? Where is my hat?" Luffy squawked, thoroughly confused. His hat couldn't have just vanished. He scanned the entire room from his sitting position. Nothing. His gaze landed on the straw hat again. He squinted at it. It looked oddly familiar. Where had he seen it before? It almost looked like-Wait a minute!

"The straw hat from my dream-memories?" Luffy wondered. He twisted his body around and picked it up. There was a string attached to the bottom, coming across like a strap. He put the old straw hat on his head. For some reason, a wave of relief rushed over him the moment the hat comfortably settled onto his head.

"This feels right... Why?" Luffy muttered, twisting the hat around on his head until the string was in front of his face, and kind of tucked under his chin. Luffy stared at the secret door for a moment, his mind running a mile a minute. Where did his baseball cap go? Why did having the hat make him feel so good? Why did he hit his head on the secret door? Why did they call animal legs drumsticks when animals had nothing to do with drums?

Luffy made a face. Whatever. He had a cool new hat now! Gramps would probably be mad that Shank's hat disappeared, but he'd deal with that later.

"This is way better than a gangster's hat! It's a pirate hat!" Luffy exclaimed as he stood and tried to leave the room once more. This time he made sure to duck his head as he slipped out of the secret room and into the closet. Okay, now it was time to check out his reflection! The pirate hat probably made him look so scary and tough! He skipped to the inside of the closet door- ignoring the fact that the clothes hanging inside the closet were noticeably not as large as when he entered -where a hanging mirror dominated the door.

Luffy charged at the door in a random bout of hyperness, jumping and landing a couple feet in front of the mirror in a cool pose, flexing both of his arm muscles. He couldn't wait to see! He glanced at his reflection. Luffy gasped and his eyes nearly popped out of his head as his jaw dropped to the floor. Literally. As in the bottom of his jaw touched the carpet, and it kinda tickled so he closed his mouth after a couple seconds.

Luffy had grown.

And it wasn't a couple of inches. It was more like a couple of feet. His customary vest was gone, replaced with this weird frillish shirt that was the same color, and his pants were the same, but a little longer. A bright yellow sash was tied around his waist. He still had his sandals, but they were bigger and more worn down looking than before. But Luffy was buff! In a skinny sort of way, but he still had muscles! Hard abs displayed an X shaped scar on his chest, and his legs and arms were much bigger than not too long ago. It was so weird. His whole body was uncomfortably heavier, but it was relaxing at the same time. There was this mystery feeling in the back of brain, but Luffy ignored it for the moment.

Luffy's jaw dropped all the way to the ground again. Stars appeared over his eyes as he ogled over his new body. A finger poked at the scar on his chest. He didn't look like this in his dream-memories! This body was older, and probably lot's stronger. But it had to be the same one. Luffy intently stared at his face in the mirror.

"This is not what I imagined when I said the hat would make me look tougher!" he rubbed the scar under his eye. A random thought popped into his head.

"Wait, can I stretch like in my dream-memories?" he wondered out loud. He turned to the top shelf of the closet, a good three feet above normal arm-length.

"It was Gomu right? Okay then, Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!" Luffy pulled his arm behind him, then swung it forward. To his intense delight, Luffy's fist reached all the way to the back of the shelf, smashing a fist-sized hole in the wall.

"Yes!' Luffy cheered as his arm snapped back to normal. He stared at his limb with amazement written all over his face.

"So cool!" The sparkle in his eyes brightened. It didn't feel unnatural to have his arm stretch like that at all! Felt totally normal. All it did was make his excitement grow. Luffy's grin nearly split his face. This was soooooo cool! He could do all sorts of things with his rubbery arms like-

The inside of a small boat suddenly flashed before his eyes, and Luffy jerked back in surprise. What the heck! Where did that come from!? Luffy frowned, and the scene changed, sliding across the inside of the boat to the back. It showed Coby, sitting by the steering mechanism. Luffy could feel his amazement as they pulled up to a small town on an island. They were actually at the place they set out to go to! Then he remembered that him and Colby were in a town, looking for someone. But he couldn't remember the name of the person, much less what they looked like. And every time either he or Coby would say the name, their voices cut out for a split second, leaving the current Luffy clueless. The memory took him through the town, chatting with Coby all the way. It ended with Luffy popping his head over a brick wall, and Coby freaking out below him.

Once again the memory faded away, and the image of a green haired teenager flashed before Luffy's eyes before disappearing. It was the same guy from his other dream-memories! Luffy placed a hand on top of his hat, stumped.

"Who is that?" he wondered. "Is he a superhero? He doesn't have a cape though."

He dove into the memory again, replaying it in his brain. Maybe he missed something? But nothing changed no matter how many times he looked through it. Slightly frustrated, he glanced at himself in the mirror.

"HUH?!" He gasped into the mirror, a small and wimpy ten year old once more. His jaw dropped, a normal length this time. "It's not forever? Aww, that stinks! Can I change back?"

Luffy scrunched his forehead and closed his eyes in concentration, clenching his fists as he focused all his mental capacity on his older body as he crouched slightly and he let out a long "Hrnnnnnnnn!". After a couple minutes he peeked an eye open.

The grown-up Luffy peeked back at him in the mirror.

"Sweet! I did it!" he cheered. Luffy stood straight and admired himself in the mirror for a couple moments before a question struck. If he could become big, then could he go back to being small? Being small could be helpful sometimes. He dropped into his previous pose, this time thinking about being small again. It worked. Seconds later he was small again. A beaming grin erupted on Luffy's face.

"This is so cool!" He exclaimed, hand on straw hat. He practiced switching between the two bodies a couple more times. He settled on his young body. "Guess this means I'm really a pirate." he gave a big grin into the mirror as only a young child could.

A loud bang echoed throughout the house, drawing Luffy's away from himself. Garp's muffled voice quickly followed the sound. Luffy frowned. "I better get outta here before Gramps sees me like this."

He walked out of the closet as his pirate self, crossing the room in double time. He reached the door, and easily grabbed the door handle and opened the door. Wait. He should probably be small if he walks out of Gramps room. Don't want anyone seeing him like this. He took a step out of the room as he concentrated on his younger body. He knew it worked when the floor was farther away than what his body expected, and he stumbled a bit. But he quickly recovered and ran down the hall into his room. He quietly shut his door behind him, then sat in the middle of the floor. He examined his bed with a critical eye.

"I need a hammock." he muttered. He liked the decorations on his bed, but nothing could beat sleeping in a hammock.

Heavy footsteps pounded from the stairs. Oh crap, oh crap Gramps was coming! He needed to hide his new hat! He let out a gasp and stood, jerking his head like crazy to find a hiding spot. His panic grew as the footsteps became louder then soften as they stepped on carpet. Come on, come on, comeon,comeon,comeon- AH! There! Luffy ripped off his new hat and threw it under his bed right as Garp burst out the door.

"Bed!" Garp commanded, and pointed at the mention piece of furniture. Luffy pouted but obeyed his grandfather and climbed into his bed.

He sat under the covers stiffly for a moment, wearing his intense thinking face. "Hey Gramps."

Knock! "Call me Grandfather!"

"I want a hammock," Luffy continued, rubbing his new lump absentmindedly. "They're better than beds."

Garp paused for a moment, halfway out the door with his hand on the handle. A hammock? The thought appealed to the old man, but Garp wasn't about to admit it. He'd just buy one later and claim it was his idea. He switched off the light switch, leaving the hall as the only source of light.

"We'll see." He said as he shut the door, plunging the room into darkness.

Luffy waited in the dark as Gramp's footsteps faded. The moment the giant door into Garp's room slammed shut, Luffy threw the covers off his legs and scrambled out of bed. He laid against the carpet floor and reached his hand under his bed, reaching for his new hat. Wow, he threw it harder than he thought. Finally he caught it with the tips of his fingers and dragged it out. He grinned and plopped the baseball cap onto his head.

Perfect. Now he just had to go find that green-haired guy.

Luffy went to the window. He opened it and scouted the yard. There were some bushes, a small fountain, and a giant tree that was ten feet away from his window. Normally it way out of his reach, something he had cursed about on his other escape attempts, but it wasn't anymore.

Luffy focused on his older body. The window shrunk, and he grinned 'cause he knew it worked. His escape plan was working so well! Luffy pulled his arm back then threw it forward. His rubber hand firmly grasped one of the biggest branches. Luffy giggled. He braced his feet against the wall under the window and leaned back, stretching his arms even more. Then he let his legs relax, and Luffy shot out the window with a loud snap!. Joy immediately flowed through Luffy's mind. Holy crap this was sooo cool! It was almost like he was flying! The wind rushed past Luffy's face, and he nearly let out a loud cheer. This was absolutely exhilarating! He felt like he could do this forever and ever and ever!

At least, until he face planted against the trunk limb.

"Owwwwwww." Luffy peeled his face off the wood. His straw hat was tilted haphazardly on his head, staying on only by the string strap. Luffy blinked a little foggily at the tree, then a smile broke out on his face and he laughed. "Ishishish, that actually didn't hurt! Cause I'm rubber now!"

Skillfully, he clambered to the base of the branch and slid down the trunk of the tree. He landed with a little huff, cast an admiring glance up the tree, then proceeded to take the fastest way out of the yard. Which, by most standards it was absolutely worst path to take. After all, someone only needed to look out the window and spot the shady person running down the driveway. But Luffy was fast now, much faster than anyone else in the house. Maybe even faster than the old man now. He'd be gone before they reached the closest phone. He skidded to a halt at the edge of the driveway though.

"Sorry Gramps…." Luffy looked back at his mansion, a hint of sadness creeping into his voice. This world Gramps was rough, rude, stubborn, and hit him a lot, but he did take really good care Luffy. Better than last time by keeping Luffy himself instead of leaving him with bandits. It almost tugged at the pirate's heartstrings to leave the old man behind. "...But I've got to go find my crew now. Thanks for the meat."

Turning his back to the house, Luffy took off in a random direction. He had absolutely no clue where he was going. The little insistent tugging in the back of his mind was back, telling Luffy he needed to head this way. This time he didn't ignore it, putting all his trust in the tugging. It was taking him to his crewmates, Luffy knew it had to be.

After ten minutes passed of hard running- he gave birth to flames as a dog chased him at one point. It was so cool! -Luffy was nowhere close to being pooped. He wasn't even tired. His body felt like he could run for a lot longer, but the tugging feeling was really stronger here. Almost overwhelming actually. Luffy let out a huff, his body's only reaction to so much physical exercise.

Curious to what could be around here, Luffy looked around at his surroundings. There was the typical buildings, tall ones, short ones, stores, homes, but the one that caught his attention was a squat square building with glass doors. Lights were all on inside, making the doors appear to glow. Right above the door was a sign that declared the building as the Isshin Dojo. Luffy's tugging sensation increased, until it was only a couple degrees away from become a headache.

Guess that's the place. Luffy glanced down at himself. The pirate body was a little too tough looking. The dojo probably wouldn't let him in while looking like a gangster. He'd have to tone it down. Reluctantly, Luffy shrunk to his more vulnerable form.

Luffy shoved open one of the doors as he walked in, a little bell ringing as he did so. The inside of the building was open, with padded floor that had a very distinct Oriental feel to them. The students would face the back of the room, where the wall was covered roof to floor in a giant mirror. The other three walls were plain with only a single door leading to another room, and a double door to someplace else across the room. There was a giant barrel full of wooden katanas parked right besides the two doors. Despite the time of night, there was one single child with green hair practicing in uniform. The boy paid Luffy no mind, yet a man with glasses and a ponytail stuck his head out from behind the single door.

"Lost?" He asked, stepping out of the other room completely. Luffy caught a glimpse of a an desk in the room before the door shut completely. It was an office maybe?

Not willing to lie, because he knew he was absolutely terrible at it, Luffy simply nodded. The man sighed. "Don't worry, you're not the first to come here once night arrives. I'll grab some blankets. Just stay right there." He disappeared into the office.

Already bored, Luffy turned his attention to the boy. The tugging sensation almost knocked him off his feet. This weird kid with green hair was important somehow. Very, very important. But had hard as Luffy racked his brain, he couldn't think of why. The answer was this close, he could sense it!

The boy ignored Luffy in favor of swinging his two swords. He traded a couple more fake blows with nothing, before he jumped over an intangible low-slung sword and stabbed the owner through the chest with his own wooden katana. Turning, the boy sliced an imaginary foe in half with one sword while decapitating another with the other.

"What do you think of his skill?"

Luffy startled and swung around to face the dojo's master. He was so concentrated on figuring out why the green haired kid was important that he forgot to pay attention to his surroundings! But even distracted Luffy should've heard him coming. The guy was like a ninja or something! "Huh?"

The dojo master held several blankets and a pillow in his arms. "The kid," he pointed at the boy. "He's the best this dojo has to offer. Even the adult students can't defeat him."

"Really!" Luffy's eyes turned to sparkles and he turned back to stare the kid again. That was so cool! Something about his green hair kept drawing Luffy's eye.

"Yes." the man laughed, amused by Luffy's obvious admiration tactic. "Here, you may sleep wherever you want in this room. Just not by the glass door, as gangs tend to break my door. They always think I might have something valuable in here."

The dojo master placed the blankets on the floor besides the wooden katana filled barrel and with practiced movements began constructing a simple mattress and pillow while Luffy watched the green-haired kid with growing interest. It was getting really late, and the kid was still here. Was he staying tonight to?

Luffy had to ask. "Why are you makin' only one bed? Doesn't he need one?"

"Hm? Oh. No. I don't worry about him. He can take care of himself." the adult answered cheerfully, folding a blanket as he spoke.

"So cool!" Luffy hopped up and down in one place in excitement. This kid was awesome! Stinks he was a kid, or else Luffy would totally invite him to be on his crew. But they couldn't have two people with green hair on the crew, it would get really confusing.

"Well, I have to go. My daughter is waiting for me at home. Will you stay out of trouble Mr..?" The dojo master stood up and offered a hand, his open-ended question obvious to even the most thick-headed.

"I'm Luffy." Luffy took the hand and shook it.

The green haired boy's arm froze mid-swing, his face filled with mild confusion. He held that pose for a moment, then he shook his head and continued on with his strike.

"Well Luffy, the barrel should prevent anyone from outside from seeing you so no one should bother you. There is a bathroom in my office if you need it, and I can leave the light on if you want." The dojo master walked back into said office a returned a second later with a black coat over his clothes. He looked at the boy practicing with the sword. "Can I trust you to lock up?"

No reaction. The dojo master sighed. He could always appreciate a student throwing themselves into training and practice, but this one always took it too far.

"Zoro!"

A/N: Hey guys! Hope you all like this new chapter. I'm not completely satisfied with it, but it's what I got. Just to mention, I'm going to have an interesting mix of English and Japanese. Like for Luffy's attacks, its going to be "Gomu Gomu no.." and then the English translation. I always thought that "Gum Gum" sounded kinda lame, but I didn't want to go full Japanese, so that is my compromise. Everyone else's attacks will English, unless they are in another language like Sanji, Brook, and Robin. Anyways, Thanks For Reading!