A/N: Thanks SO MUCH for all the reviews/favorites/follows!

There is a flashback scene in here, but since it was long, I didn't put it in italics.

Please enjoy.

Chapter 7: The Straw Hat

"Take this to table four," Kid instructed as he handed Luffy two plates with cake slices on them.

"Alright." Luffy nodded, carefully grabbing the plates as he walked over to the table.

It had been nearly two weeks since Luffy had started school and work in this new town, and he was settling in perfectly. Garp hadn't been hurting him that much, and as the bruise on his cheek faded, so did the suspicion at school. His boss had given him leftover pastries every single night, and Luffy would take them to school the next day for lunch, much to the relief of his friends. Apparently they were glad to see him eating his own food.

His classes were getting easier to understand because of his late night studying. Every day after work, Luffy would go back to the apartment and study for hours. Even though he only got a couple hours of sleep every night, if any, all the extra studying was worth it. Luffy really liked getting to know the people and teachers in his school, and they liked him just as much.

He passed through the kitchen and out into the nearly empty seating area. It was surprisingly empty for a Friday afternoon. Placing the food onto the table, he flashed the two female customers a gentle smile, and they giggled their thanks in response.

Luffy made his way back into the kitchen, where Kid was busy making some iced lattes. He had been wanting to get to know Kid better, but Kid had quickly became annoyed by Luffy's childish personality. So for now, their relationship was strictly business. In other words, Kid didn't consider Luffy as one of his friends. But Luffy wanted to change that, so he started up a seemingly pointless conversation.

"Ne, Kid?" Luffy asked as he leaned on the counter.

"What?" Came Kid's slightly irritated response.

"What's your favorite colour?"

Kid blinked, glancing up from his latte making with a confused look on his face. "Red," he replied, still surprised by the random question.

"Thought so, judging by your hair," Luffy said with a small smile. "Now ask me a question."

Kid went back to making the lattes, and for a moment Luffy wasn't sure if he was going to reply. Without looking back up, Kid asked, "When's your birthday?"

"May 5th, children's day!" Luffy replied with another smile.

"That is so you," Kid smirked.

Luffy laughed at his response. "Okay, okay, my turn again! How long have you lived here?"

The smirk instantly disappeared from Kid's face, now replaced with a frown. "My whole life," his voice was flat, and his tone held a hint of anger in it.

Luffy quickly caught on to the irritation, but was curious so he decided to press Kid for a different answer. "Do you not like it here or something?"

This time, rather than replying, Kid shoved another tray towards him. "Take these lattes to table two."

Nodding, Luffy grabbed the tray and decided that he shouldn't bring this topic up with Kid this again. Luffy headed back out into the seating area, a little less enthusiastic than before now that he made Kid upset. Looks like I messed up things again...

Ω Ω Ω

The sun had already set by the time Luffy finished his shift at work. He waved goodbye to his co workers, who all waved back. All except for Kid. Kid didn't really speak to Luffy for the rest of their shift, and Luffy wondered how bad he had upset him. Maybe he had brought up some unpleasant memories with his earlier question. I guess I'll apologise to him later...

Luffy sighed and continued his walk 'home', wishing that he was asleep, curled up in bed. But even if he got back to the apartment soon, he still had homework to complete and two tests to study for. As much as he wanted to sleep, he knew that he had to keep his grades up, otherwise Garp would be angry. And that was something that Luffy wanted to avoid at all costs.

Sighing again, Luffy pulled out his mp3 player that he bought (on sale) with some spare money from work and put his earbuds in. Listening to music while walking back to the apartment was a great way to keep his mind off of things he didn't want to think about.

In seemingly no time at all, Luffy arrived at the shitty apartment he shared with his grandfather. Taking a deep breath, Luffy made his way up the narrow stairs and to the door. He held his key with a shaking hand as he tentatively unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The living room was shrouded in darkness, as it usually was when Luffy got 'home'. Luffy swallowed nervously, and crept past the trash piles down the hall. Though for all his caution walking through his own apartment, everything was still and silent.

Garp was no where in sight.

Luffy took another deep breath and steeled his nerves. "Garp...?" He called out, receiving no reply.

He instantly relaxed, deciding that Garp was out at the moment.

Luffy went to his bedroom, and immediately began his homework. It didn't take much time to finish, as he had already completed most of it in class. It was only 10 o'clock, and Luffy had way too much spare time. Though it was surprising that Garp wasn't back yet.

Sighing heavily, Luffy looked around his room for something to do to ease his boredom. But his room was boring in itself, with stained yellow walls and a dirty brown carpet, his bedroom barely had any possessions. What little personal belongings Luffy actually had were thrown out by Garp sometime last week. Thinking of that incident again, Luffy felt tears prick his eyes.

The only items Luffy had left were his clothes, and even those remained few. The last treasure Luffy had was his old straw hat, which he grabbed out from its hiding place under his bed. Luffy put his finished school work in his bag and curled up on the bed, pulling his knees up to his chest, tightly clutching the hat.

The silence was unnerving, and for once, Luffy actually wished that Garp was back. Some noise, no matter how unpleasant, was better than no noise at all. But this silence allowed for the darkness to make its way into Luffy's mind. Most times when this would happen, Luffy would try to fight off the darkness the best he could. But now wasn't one of his strong moments, so he let the darkness creep in and consume his mind.

His fingers played with the rim of his beloved straw hat, remembering the day he first received it.

. . .

It was getting late. Luffy was already aware of this fact, but he didn't want to go 'home' for obvious reasons. So here he was, sitting on a bench outside of his old school, at 7:30 pm on a Tuesday evening.

He was just relaxing and minding his own business, when a familiar voice reached his ears. "What are you doing here this late, Luffy-kun?"

Though he knew who the person already was, Luffy looked over his shoulder to see the mildly surprised face of his English teacher.

"Just sitting, Shanks-sensei."

His teacher slowly made his way over to the bench and sat down next to Luffy, who scooted over slightly to make room for the other man. "Won't your family be worried though?"

Luffy glanced sideways at his sensei, who was staring straight ahead at the darkening sky. He must think that I had a fight with my family and now I don't want to go home. Luffy wished that his situation was that easy and predictable. He brought his attention back to the sunset, sighing heavily as he watched the last rays of the sun vanish into the night. "No." His voice was even, and didn't betray any emotion.

This time Shanks turned to him, a questioning look on his scarred face. "What do you mean?"

Sighing again, Luffy brought his legs up to his chest as he wrapped his arms around them. He rested his chin on top of his knees, frowning slightly as he decided on how to answer his teacher.

Shanks took the boy's prolonged silence as an 'I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it' response, so he sighed himself and looked at the sky again. It was a long while before the silence was broken again.

"I don't have a family."

Shanks nearly choked on the breath that caught in his throat.

"It's okay, though. You don't have to feel bad." Luffy turned to the man and gave him a well practised smile. "I don't want pity."

The older man merely nodded, understanding that so many people pitying the boy wouldn't really make him feel better. "I'm sorry." Still, he felt as though he needed to say those words at the moment.

Luffy chuckled darkly, turning his blank gaze back to the blackened sky. "I said it's okay."

The two sat in silence again, simply enjoying each other's company and watching the now visible stars. It had been a long time since Luffy had been this at ease with another adult, and he wanted to make it last. But as the chilly night air caused him an involuntary shiver, he sighed, knowing that all good things must come to an end. For him, though, much sooner than others.

"It's dark," Shanks-sensei spoke, his voice somber. "We should get home."

Luffy nodded, but decided that he was going to stay out a little longer and try to avoid his grandfather some more. Shanks stood, but didn't walk away.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked, seeing as how his student made no move to get up.

This time Luffy shook his head. He didn't want to lie to his teacher. Giving a heavy sigh, Shanks sat right back down on the wooden bench, surprising Luffy who had not been expecting the action.

"What are you doing?" Luffy asked, his voice coming out smaller than before.

"You're my student. And if you're going to spend the entire night out here then I have to make sure you're safe." He grinned at Luffy, telling the teen in his own way that he was there for him.

Luffy's eyes widened, before he looked away. He let a small smile grace his features, muttering a quick 'thanks'.

Shanks nodded, though something was bugging him. Luffy was always such a happy, smiling kid that this depressed side of him was completely out of place. Then again, Luffy had been acting in low spirits all day today. In class, he had barely talked to his friends and didn't smile once. This was the first time that Luffy had actually smiled that day, but it was a sad one. Shanks wondered why this was, so he decided to ask the boy.

"Luffy," he started and the teen turned to him, "Why were you acting different today?"

Luffy stiffened noticeably, eyes downcast with sorrow. "Well... You see..." His brain was ordering him to keep quiet and not trust the man, but another part of him wanted to confide in the other. He decided to go with the latter choice and tell the truth for once. After all, Shanks-sensei had been nice to him so far, so Luffy wanted to try and trust him.

"Today is my birthday."

"Happy birthday," Shanks said automatically, earning a humourless laugh from the younger. Shanks frowned at this. "But why would you avoid people on your own birthday?"

Luffy was still chuckling, but settled down enough to respond. "It's not like that. It's just that no one cares."

The dark smile that Luffy now had in place was starting to unnerve Shanks, but he ignored it for the time being. "You're wrong," his voice was firm and unwavering, and Luffy frowned at the definite tone.

"About?" Luffy ventured, his voice much less certain.

"About no one caring," Shanks looked into the teen's obsidian orbs, trying to make him understand that he wasn't alone. The amount of pain that he saw in those eyes made him wonder what the hell had happened to such a young boy. "I care," he said truthfully, and suddenly he wanted to do something special for Luffy.

Shanks pulled off his straw hat from his head, holding it one last time, before placing it on the younger's head. Luffy flinched as the man's arm neared him, but relaxed upon realizing that he wasn't going to hurt him. Luffy reached up and felt the worn straw, wondering why Shanks gave him the hat he always wore to school.

"Why did you give me this?" Luffy asked after a moment.

"It's a present," Shanks managed a smile. "For your birthday."

"Oh..." Luffy's face darkened as he felt tears threatening to spill.

"What's wrong?" Shanks asked, not sure why his student was beginning to tear up.

Luffy gave up and let the tears fall freely down his face. "No one's ever given me a present before."

. . .

Tears were now streaming down Luffy's face as he clung to his most prized possession. "Shanks-sensei..." he whimpered, wishing that the kind man was there for him. Since that birthday several years ago, Luffy had confided in the man and looked up to him. Shanks was a role model that Luffy desperately needed in his life.

Then Luffy and Garp had to move away, and Luffy didn't even have the chance to say goodbye to his former sensei. Sniffing, Luffy realised that it had been awhile since he last thought about his old teacher like this.

A loud bang brought Luffy out of his memories, a noise that told him Garp was home. Luffy quickly wiped away his tears, stashing his hat underneath his bed.

He then walked out into the hall, making his way to the living room. Luffy was to always be ready and waiting for Garp, without being called. He stood by the sofa, unmoving while Garp gave him a look of disgust before walking down the hall to his room. His bedroom door slammed behind him.

Luffy stood still in stunned silence. Did Garp just ignore him? Did that seriously just happen?

Nothing like this had ever happened before, so Luffy was curious to know what Garp was doing. Curiosity aside, Luffy wouldn't just go up to his grandfather and ask him what's up. No, he definitely couldn't do that.

After a few minutes of standing, Luffy's feet began to hurt, so he sat on the sofa. But he didn't dare leave the living room unless Garp told him to. Rules were rules, even if there was a break in the routine.

A good twenty minutes passed before the bedroom door slammed back open. Luffy immediately stood, hoping that Garp would leave him alone. Heavy footsteps sounded in the hall, followed by a rolling noise, like Garp was dragging something. That something turned out to be a suitcase as his grandfather came into the living room.

"I'm going out for awhile," he told Luffy suddenly.

Luffy felt his heart leap with joy. It had been too long since Garp had left Luffy to his own devices.

As if sensing the teen's excitement, Garp fixed Luffy with a heated glare. "I expect all of your chores to be done," he growled.

"Yes sir," Luffy replied. For once, his voice did not waver in the presence of this man.

Without another threatening word, Garp moved to the front door, dragging the large suitcase behind him. Judging by the size, Garp would be gone for several days at the least. Luffy could only hope for so much time alone.

The front door closed with a loud slam, and Luffy was finally alone in the dingy apartment. Although it was silent, Luffy was ecstatic about being home alone. Whenever Garp left like this, it was usually so he could go gamble with his buddies. But then, he was only gone a day or two at the most. Luffy had a strange feeling that Garp would be gone awhile this time.

Grinning, Luffy went to the kitchen to make himself some food. Although his boss had been giving him leftovers, there was only so much cake that Luffy could handle. Frying up some eggs, Luffy decided on breakfast for dinner. Or midnight snack, whatever this was. Once his food was done, Luffy set himself a place at the table and for once, sat down to eat his meal, completely unafraid.

He ate his scrambled eggs in peace, actually enjoying the silence for a change. He wondered what else he could do now that Garp was gone... aha! Television!

Luffy gulped down the rest of his eggs and rushed out into the living room before grabbing the remote and switching the tv on. It had been months since Luffy was last allowed to watch tv. He flipped the channels aimlessly before settling down on a good cartoon. Their television was crappy and cheap, and while they only got basic cable, Luffy enjoyed every minute of it. He turned the volume up loud, for once glad to be in control of something as simple as the tv.

By around two in the morning, Luffy's eyes began to shut from pure exhaustion. Though it was still an earlier time than he was used to, Luffy figured that a good night's sleep would make him feel even better.

Luffy changed into one of his few pairs of pajamas and crawled into his single bed, wrapping his covers tightly around him. He wondered what he would do after his morning shift tomorrow, and decided that shopping would be a good idea. He was running out of food in the house, so he'd have to stop by a grocery store on his way home.

Maybe I can buy something for me, Luffy pondered the thought, and decided that he needed something for himself. His few personal possessions now consisted strictly of his crappy mp3 player and his cherished straw hat. He could use his extra money to go shopping for himself! It had been too long since he'd been able to do that freely, without Garp breathing down his neck 24/7.

Luffy then thought of Garp, who had left so suddenly. Then again, his grandfather was not the type of man to let Luffy know this kind of stuff ahead of time. He was an unpredictable and violent man, and Luffy hated him for it.

Yawning, Luffy knew that he should get some much needed rest. Although he was cozy and comfortable, something still seemed to be missing. Knowing exactly what, Luffy reached under his bed, patting around until he felt the straw beneath his fingers. Grabbing his beloved hat, Luffy settled back down in his bed, letting the straw hat rest on his stomach as he fell into a peaceful sleep.

Short chapter is short. BUT WTF I HAVEN'T UPDATED SINCE AUGUST?! GOMEN NE. m(_ _)m

But really, this is NOT okay. I will try harder to update more frequently!

Kid's attitude will be explained later. Please review since is helps me update! (this is totally not a bribe). ;)