Memories

"Hmm~", a sweet tune was being hummed throughout the street as a small green haired boy danced his way through the alley.

The boy wore dirty, worn-out white shirt with a patch filled blue shorts . He walked barefoot throughout the street without a care in the world as he kept humming to himself.

The people passing by gave him glares full of disgust but the boy ignored them as he tiptoed his way to a part of the alley that was very familiar to him.

He ran towards a dumpster and tried to peek besides it as he searched for someone.

"Wuff!", a soft bark was heard as the boy showed a bright smile. He turned to see that behind him stood a small white puppy. It wagged it's tail in excitement as the boy bent down to pet it.

"Shiro! I knew you would be around here somewhere", the boy grinned to show a dirty set of teeth some of it were even missing.

The dog leaned it's head towards the boy's hand as it gladly enjoyed the affectionate gesture.

"Oh wait, I got you something", the boy abruptly stopped before rummaging into the pockets of his blue shorts.

The boy brought forward a tightly clutched hand it's content seemed to be breaking through his fist. The dog started to sniff it profusely and lick his fist at which the boy giggled.

"OK ok it tickles!", the boy chuckled as he opened his fist to show a small piece of bread.

The dog chowed down on the piece like his life depended on it. It's tail moved to-and-fro swiftly as the boy patted the white furred creature with gentle affection.

"Yes, yes eat slowly or you will choke. I managed to bring you this piece from my morning breakfast", the boy smiled before looking at the dog solemnly.

The dog had now finished the bread piece as it sat on its bottom and barked at the young boy as a show of affection.

"You are welcome Shiro. But I came here to tell you something", the boy sadly exclaimed as he caressed the puppy.

"I won't be able to come back anymore. Mom said that we will have to move soon due to the men in black coat asking for the money that we owe them", the boy sighed deeply before continuing,

"Why can't they understand that all the money went into dad's medicine! It didn't even save his life anyways so why should they ask for the money back!", he exclaimed in frustration to his four legged companion who tilted his head in response.

The boy took a deep breath as he calmed his nerves before smiling again, "So that's why we are moving in a few days. I hope you won't miss me much", the boy smiled in a melancholic manner.

The dog in some unexplainable way seemed to have understood the boys words as it creeped towards him and put it's paw into his palm and gave a small bark.

*Wuff!*

"I might come back when I've grown up. By then I'll be a rich strong man", the boy puffed his chest , "So wait for me until then", he grinned.

The dog started to wag it's tail excitedly as it gave a few barks full of vigor.

"Eh? Is Tesoro getting lovey-dovey with a dog?", a teasing voice of a young man interrupted the moment as the boy who's name was known to be Tesoro turned back in surprise.

He saw a kid of the same height as him dressed in shabby old clothes that were too big for him. He wore sunglasses with blue shades that had a few cracks in the glass.

"Condoriano! What are you doing here? ", Tesoro asked embarrassingly as he didn't expect a familiar face to see him talking to Shiro.

Condoriano was a skinny and pale looking kid wearing a white tank top with yellow shorts. In addition to those he wore neat polished black shoes and black gloves.

He adjusted his sunglasses, "I was searching for you. I looked everywhere else and so this was the last place where I knew I could find you.".

Condoriano grinned , "I didn't expect that you would rather spend your last moments with the dog rather than your friend".

Tesoro rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, Condoriano was his only friend that stuck around when the financial status of his family plummeted.

"I was going to hang out with you after this, I swear", Tesoro said softly.

Condoriano waved his excuses off as he switched the topic, "So are you going to the show tonight?", he asked as he leaned onto the wall of a building.

Tesoro looked down at his feet as he gave it a thought, "I don't think I should. Mom has been in a pretty bad mood lately and if I come home late today then she might scream at me again.", he muttered as he continued to pat Shiro's head.

"Come on, she would have screamed at you anyways. Besides if you are gonna leave then it might your last chance to get it signed. So let's go, I'll see you there at our spot again ok", Condoriano exclaimed with a grin as he rushed off without waiting for Tesoro's response.

Tesoro sighed deeply before smiling, "He's always like this in a hurry", Tesoro chuckled slightly at the boy whom he considered to be his only friend in addition to Shiro.

After petting Shiro for a while longer he left saying goodbye. Tesoro walked down the alley as he took sharp turns to the left and right which brought him before a old worn out house.

The house was bounded by a broken down fence that were missing several of its pieces, the door looked to be hanging on a small loose hinge but was locked properly.

Tesoro sighed in relief as it meant that his mother was not in the house, he reasoned that she must have been out drinking or something.

He checked under the dirty looking carpet before the door to find that the key wasn't there.

'Mom must have forgotten to place it', he thought as he started to head towards the back of the house where he found a large tree.

Climbing the tree he entered the house through one of the broken windows, he did it so perfectly as he had to enter this way multiple times in the past.

He entered a small room and landed on a dirty carpet with a thud. The room was rather dusty as crushed up paper balls could be seen littered all around there was small bed on the corner with its blanket neatly folded. There was a table to the right corner on which lay a single thick red covered book. He walk over to the desk and picked the book up with great excitement.

Tesoro opened the book to show several drawings and sketches of stages and costumes in one page while the page next to it were filled with songs. His eyes shone with excitement as he started flipping through the pages filled with artistic ideas.

"Yosh! I can't keep Condoriano waiting", he closed the book and held it close to his chest. Tesoro then went down stairs to find something to fill his stomach as he didn't his stomach to make noises and embarrass him in front of the one who made him realize his passion .

The kitchen was dark and gloomy, the windows were broken as paper was ductaped to cover it, there were barely any furniture and the dishes piled on the sink were dirty. On the kitchen table was a lid covered plate with a small paper note placed beside it.

Getting up on the table and taking off the lid Tesoro found a single medium sized sandwich with what seemed to be tuna filling. Tesoro frowned as he never really liked fish but it was the most affordable thing in the market.

He opened the folded paper note and read the message out loud,

"Going out to work. Clean the dishes – Mom".

Tesoro sighed as he looked over at all the dirty dishes. If he started cleaning now then he might not be able to catch up with Condoriano .

"I'll do it later", Tesoro murmured quickly as he shoved the sandwich into his mouth and headed out the same way he came.

The sun had started to set as the sky was painted orange with dark blue fringes on the farther horizon. Tesoro rushed towards the edge of the city where a large clearing of land was filled with crowds of people surrounding a huge stage. He squeezed his small body through the crowd as he made his way around the big stage. There were several people around the back as well but weren't comparable to the front crowd.

On reaching the back Tesoro headed for a large wooden crate and climbed it with little difficulty. Then he used various paths made by the pillars of the stage to get to a secret compartment ending up in a spacious but dark attic-esque space.

Tesoro squinted his eyes to see a small figure waving at him.

The figure ran towards him as his face was now visible. It was Condoriano and oddly enough he was still wearing the cracked sunglasses.

"I knew you wouldn't wuss out", Condoriano grinned, "You just made it the show will start soon".

Condoriano beckoned Tesoro closer to the edge where a slit on the floor could be seen with light shining out. The floor creaked a bit when Tesoro and Condoriano stood at the same place but the boys paid it no attention.

Tesoro peeked from the narrow slit to get the top view of the stage below. The red curtains were yet to be pulled as several people in fancy dresses ran around and arranged props.

"Wow! I wonder what are they going to perform today", Tesoro grinned excitingly as Condoriano nudged his shoulder.

"Look! Near that lady with the puffy green hair, your idol", Condoriano exclaimed.

A man dressed in a red suit with a black cane stick in hand and a black top hat was conversing with a lady in white dress. They were making exaggerated motions with their arms as they argued with each other, the maintenance crew ignored the couple as continued on with their work. At the end the girl threw a bouquet of flowers from a nearby prop at the man's face as she stomped away.

"Looks like your idol is having some relationship issues", Condoriano teased.

Tesoro just observed in silence as the red suited man picked up the dispersed flowers and placed it back into it's place and started to apologize to the maintenance crew.

Tesoro could contemplate the situation no longer as the show had begun.

The curtains were pulled as the dancers began to move in a synchronized manner while the band at the back played catchy tunes. But the people's cheer reached it's peak when one man entered the stage. The lights solely focused on him as he started to dance and sing along to the catchy tune.

The crowd swayed along with his every move, when he tilted to the left the people mirrored the action. The cheering continued as the show went on and continued to grow louder.

Tesoro's eyes couldn't tear itself away from all the smiling faces of the people when the performance had ended. They were all cheering with glee and singing praises of the performers especially his idol, Mr Jackson.

But amidst all the sweating dancers and shouting audience something caught his eye, Mr Jackson was smiling but it was devoid of any happiness. Suddenly his smile wavered when he made eye contact with a woman from the crowd, it was the same woman as before.

"Thank you! Everybody for coming here today", Jackson held a mic in his hand and thanked the audience. They shouted back with cheers and praises that made the stage vibrate a little.

Jackson smiled at all the attention but went silent as a serious look adorned his face, "I have an important announcement to make today so I would like it for all of you to lend an ear".

The crowd went silent with a few murmuring going around. The woman showed a pleasant curiosity as her face lit up in a pleasant expression totally different from before.

Jackson took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his whole body seemed to tense and become rigid but soon relaxed as he let out a long exhale.

He smiled at the woman before looking at the crowd and announcing, "This will be the last time I'll be performing here. So I thank you for all the support you have given me so far. I'm truly grateful!!", he bowed down at right angle and exclaimed loudly.

The crowd went silent instantly as the atmosphere in the surrounding got heavier and heated. The crowd then burst into shouts of confusion and distraught that later transformed into anger and disgust. The stage performers had to start crowd control immediately to prevent any mob fights. The curtains were now slowly closing over the stage.

Jackson throughout this situation continued to only look at the woman in the crowd who now had the most cheerful smile on her face.

Condoriano besides Tesoro was freaking out as he held Tesoro's collar and continuously shook him, "Oi! Tesoro! Breath damn it!".

It's then when Tesoro realized that he had subconsciously stopped breathing when his idol announced that he was retiring. He took a deep breath as his gasping filled the air, he clutched his throat and noticed that his hands had became pale out of asphyxiation.

Condoriano rubbed his back soothingly, "Easy there, take deep breaths". He sighed before continuing, "I know the news must be really shocking for you but I can't believe that you forgot to breath".

Tesoro shook his head slowly before looking at Condoriano with an apologetic look, "Thanks for saving me just now".

Condoriano crossed his arms, "Like hell I'll let you die right now, I need to leach off of you in the future", he smiled.

Tesoro smiled back but raised his brows when a creaking sound was heard loud and clear, "What was tha-!!!".

The floor beneath the duo caved in under the pressure of their weights as gravity pulled them downwards.

On the stage below Jackson was getting an earful by an old lady holding a thick paper roll in her hand.

"Jack!! How can you throw everything you've worked for all of your life!!?? ", the old lady was screaming furiously as the dancers surrounding them looked on in amusement as to how a small sized lady could have a voice that loud.

"Mama, please try to understand it's Esme. Her job is taking her into the Grandline and I want to support her and stay by her side. I want her to know that I'm serious about her, about us.", Jackson tried to sooth the short lady with all of his stage charm.

The old lady frowned and crossed her arms, "Are you sure? Because if you go to the Grandline then you have to compete with other bigger performers and you have to gain new fans, you'll practically start from scratch again!!".

Jackson was now on his knees so that he was at eye level with the old lady, "I know mama, but it will all be made easier if she's there with me. I won't regret anything even if my dreams fail. I just want your blessings before I leave with her".

The old lady looked at Jackson's confident and firm stare before tapping her heels and looking away with a red face, "Hump! Who am I to deny you my blessing if you ask with that pretty eyes of yours. You got your father's eyes after all", she looked back with I sigh before continuing, "Just promise to continue following your heart and write letters once in a while", she smiled.

Jackson grinned wildly, "Thanks mama! I swear if there's any sign that my decision is wrong then it's showing up late to the show" as soon as Johnson said that his face was planted into the stage floor as two little devils fell on his head.

Dust flew up into the air as the people in close proximity coughed extensively. When the dust settled the two boys could be seen seated on the back of Jackson's head as they leaned back on him. The stars around their head disappeared as they groaned and sat up.

"Ugh! Why did the floor give in this time? Did I gain weight?", Condoriano clutched his head in pain.

"Phew! At least we didn't get hurt because we landed on a mattress ", Tesoro sighed in relief as he leaned further into Jackson while patting it with his hand to show the comfy side of it. The mattress he slept on was rather thin and thus he thought all mattresses felt hard.

Condoriano looked at Tesoro in confusion as a mattress would be a bit more bouncy. But before he could correct him the 'mattress' flew up and threw Tesoro and Condoriano off of himself.

"I'm not a mattress you Baffoons!", Jackson exclaimed furiously as he turned around to scream at the two boys. His face was deeply bruised and he was almost unrecognizable.

"You… It's you two again… Tesoro and Condoriano. Did you both cone to cause mischief again?", he asked with gritted teeth as he tried with all his power to calm himself down.

Tesoro and Condoriano looked at him with confusion, "Who are you Mister?", they said in unison.

"Eh? What do you mean? First you plant my face through the stage and now you don't recognize me!", he continued to grow angrier.

The old lady tried to hold in her laughter at this strange sight, if she wasn't close to Jackson when his face went through the stage then she wouldn't recognize him either. She reached into her purse and handed a mirror to Jackson as she failed to hold in her laughter any longer.

When Jackson saw his own reflection in the mirror he almost fainted and had to be held by the dancers to prevent him from falling backwards.

After a while of medical care and first aid by a local doctor Tesoro and Condoriano were resting the lounge with Jackson who held an ice pack close to this now swelled up face.

"I-I.. can't believe Mr Jackson know about us, about me", Tesoro murmured shyly as he held his book close to his side.

Jackson's face was facing the ceiling as the ice pack rested on his face, "How can I not know about the infamous local mischievous boys?", he groaned as he slowly lifted the ice pack.

Condoriano crossed his arms, "We aren't mischievous at all! Those are just rumors", he denied furtively.

"Yeah right, I've seen first hand how 'not' mischievous you boys are.", he laid the ice pack down before sitting up straight and looking at the boys, "So why were you guys in the stage ceiling?".

" Because we can't afford to pay the ticket charges", Condoriano made a weird face as he leaned into the chair before nudging his head towards Tesoro, "And my friend over here is a big fan of yours. Go on show him".

Jackson raised his eyebrow at Tesoro to see him withdrawing nervously as he fiddled with a red book besides him. Now that he thought about it the rumors did went that one of the kids was just dragged into all the mishaps and was rather decent on his own.

Jackson decided that this kid felt more responsible and pleasant to deal with than the previous brat so he tried to put on his charming stage smile to calm Tesoro down, "So you are a big fan of mine, thanks. You don't have to be too nervous just relax".

Tesoro nodded his head and looked at Jackson with a huge smile before handing him his treasured item, "Here Mr Jackson, it's my journal where I've written down all of my ideas and future plans."

Jackson took the book as he started to flip through the pages. His eyes moved from left to right as he analyzed everything with careful scrutiny.

"You see, I want to be big star in the future just like you.", Tesoro exclaimed cheerfully, "I've written down some songs and performances that I thought of in spur of the moment so it's rather disorganized", he rubbed the back of his neck as he admitted his own folly.

Jackson had to admit that most of these ideas were pretty decent for a kid. Although the lyrics for the songs had a childish theme to them but it clearly portrait the heart that was put into it. The performance were rather extravagant and bit too exaggerating as it would require a great deal of Bellies to finance them.

Jackson closed the book with a smile as he looked at young Tesoro, "Let me guess you want me to sign this?".

Tesoro nodded with a grin as Jackson took out his pen and started to sign the cover.

"But I still can't believe you are not going to perform here anymore", Tesoro muttered to himself but was still overheard by Jackson.

Jackson finished signing the book as he gave it back to Tesoro with a smile, "I guess it would come as a shock to my fans."

"Why will you do this though?", asked Tesoro curiously.

Jackson smiled, "It's for a special someone, you sometimes have to take big risks and sacrifices for the people you love. You will know when you're older. Don't worry I'll try to make it big in the Grandline so that you guys can still listen to my songs", he chuckled.

"I guess that will be all, right kids?", Jackson nodded at the kids before getting up to leave.

"Wait! I have another question", Tesoro stopped Jackson before he could leave.

Jackson raised his brows before looking down at Tesoro who looked way nervous than before.

"Umm…. I just wanted to ask if you ever had doubts about following your dreams", Tesoro started at the ground refusing to meet Jackson's gaze.

Jackson recognize the feeling perfectly and knelt down to place a hand on Tesoro's head, "I'm going to be honest with you little guy. There will be several people doubting your dreams throughout your life and some days you might feel like just giving up. But you must continue on and always trust yourself, listen to your heart because even in the lowest points it's all we have.", he ruffled his hair as Tesoro looked up with bright inspired eyes, "And who knows maybe in the future you will find someone who can also listen to your heart and push you to become beyond what you are destined for".

A loud snoring sound could be heard as Condoriano on the side was sarcastically napping before opening one eye, "I feel like I should have left this room when I had the chance", he teased .

Jackson chuckle before nodding in agreement as he knew how cheesy he can be sometimes. The door to the room opened as the trio turned around to see a brunet woman wearing a white dress.

"Jack… I was told you will be here…..", the lady took a moment to process what she was seeing. After a while she immediately showed a worried expression as she knelt close to Jackson as her hand hovered over the bruised swelling.

"What happened to your face!?! Are you ok??", she reached into a purse handing by her right shoulder to pull out an ointment.

Jackson winced with a smirk as Esme started to apply ointment on his face, "So you still recognize me. Now I truly know that love is blind", he teased.

"You should at least stop joking when you are injured", Esme sighed deeply before continuing to apply the ointment.

"Relax it's just a stage mishap", Jack tried to lighten up the mood.

Tesoro looked in bewilderment as he thought 'Is this the special someone?'.

Jack saw the confusion and started to introduce the boys to Esme.

"Oh sorry I did not pay attention to you boys", Esme bowed in apology.

Tesoro nodded shyly while Condoriano snorted in response, "I don't like this lovey dovey environment".

Esme chuckled, "A tough guy persona with pretty sunglasses, you must be the rumored troublesome boy ", she teased Condoriano.

"Oi! The sunglasses are cool! Not pretty!", Condoriano blushed, "And who's spreading these rumors anyway".

Jackson chuckled before whispering something into Esme's ears as she perked up with a smile and got up, "Yes, I still have a lot of packing to do", she exclaimed with a blushed face as she got up.

Jackson followed her as he announced, "I'll help you out.", he then looked back at the boys before looking at Tesoro, " I wish you the best kid, I hope you achieve your dreams".

Tesoro smiled back and nodded with confidence, "Thanks for believing in me!".

Condoriano yawned as he put his arms around Tesoro's shoulders, "I'm getting bored already. Come on let's head back".

Tesoro nodded before leaving the room with red book clutched tightly in his grip.

XXXXXXX

On reaching back home Tesoro saw that the lights still hadn't been turned on and sighed in relief, 'Mom still isn't home. I can quickly clean the dishes before she comes back'.

Tesoro used the previously established method to enter the house. He landed on his dark room but felt like something was amiss. The door to his room immediately opened and the light was turned on. Tesoro shaded his eyes against the sudden light as his squinted eyes started to adjust to the brightness.

"Brat! Where were you??", shouted a very furious voice.