I'm cold.

This was the thought that stood at the forefront of my mind as I kept sinking down, endlessly down.

I felt heavy, tired, scared, desperate and… so terribly, terribly cold. As all fight left my body, I unconsciously reached out my hand upwards, towards the light, the surface… my life. I blearily made out a silhouette drawing closer but I was too tired to await the owner. My vision went blurry and then slowly faded away with the rest of my consciousness.

…

"Do you want to live?"

"Please help me!"

"Then shall we make a contract?"

"I'll do anything!"

"Kyurururu! Then we have a deal."

…

One of my most hated nightmares are the kind where you feel like you are falling from a high place, and the only thing awaiting you is the cold, hard ground.

I was having one of those nightmares, except when I should have woken up as I hit the ground, I didn't and actually crashed into the surface. Face planting it, more like.

"Motherfucker…" I muttered as I sat up, surprisingly unhurt given the circumstances, yet still in pain. I stretched my back and heard a rather unattractive 'crack' sound. Oh yeah, definitely in pain.

I was sitting in a pile of crushed wood, most likely crushed under my weight from the fall. I looked up to see from what place I had fallen but paled at the sight that greeted me.

In a full-circle around me stood a group of scary looking people, all with their own version of apprehensive, guarded expressions. Except for one guy who's eyes seemed to sparkle and whose jaw had literally fallen to the floor. Was that healthy? I wouldn't have thought so, but then again, I was no doctor.

"Are you an angel?!" I gave the boy a bewildered look before looking around at the sound of groans from the other people and observed their facepalms. Was this normal behavior for that boy? Must be tiring then.

"Yes." Came my reply, because really, what did he expect me to say? It seemed to have been the right answer though because the tense atmosphere almost completely dissipated, weapons –wait, weapons?- were sheathed and put away and the group's posture became more relaxed.

"COOL!" The boy's reply was this time joined by a… a… fluffy little bear cub who stood on his hind legs and was positively the most adorable thing I had seen in my entire life. And he was wearing a pink top hat. I felt light headed and I wasn't sure whether it was because of the fall or from a cuteness-overload.

"If you're really an angel, then where are your wings?" I looked to my left to see a young man with green, cropped hair and a mean looking expression. A non-believer, huh? I'd show him.

"Because I'm a fallen angel, duh." I cast him a 'are you stupid?' look for good measures. "I obviously wouldn't have fallen if I still had my wings."

I had no idea why I was so stuck on backing up the idea of me being an angel. I was pretty sure I wasn't one, but when I began to think about it, I wasn't sure about who I was at all. What was my name? Where was my home? My family? The more I thought about it, the more my head hurt and I was starting to feel a little anxious. Who am I? I couldn't remember.

"If you're an angel, then tell me what heaven is like." Glancing behind me, I noticed a young girl with pumpkin colored hair and with a stuck up expression and posture. It was pretty clear that she didn't buy my story. Well that would only be fun, then. To see which one of us lasted longer.

"That's classified information, sister, I can't tell you that if I ever want to have a chance of returning." I noticed with concealed glee that the girl narrowed her eyes at my answer. Angel: 1- Jack-o-lantern: 0.

"I have a question for you, little girl." Standing in between the green haired guy and the pumpkin princess was a slightly younger looking man with big, black curls on his head and the longest nose I had ever seen. "Why did you lose your wings and fall?"

This was the toughest question yet, but… "It was God's desperate attempt at curing my potty mouth."

Silence consumed the place for a few seconds before various exclamations filled it,

"COOL!"

"She is a SUPER ANGEL!"

"Is she your distant relative, Usopp?"

I tuned all of that out in favor of locating the owner of the soft chuckle that rung out pleasantly behind all the noise. I found my target behind me, standing beside the pumpkin haired girl, with an elegant hand covering her mouth and eyes squeezed shut in glee. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen; with ivory black hair, delicate frame and a mysterious yet attractive aura around her.

She must have found out I was staring at her because she soon let her hand fall back to her side, offered me a kind smile and then looked to her right where a man with blond hair and a cigarette in his mouth stood, "Why don't we give her some food, Sanji-san? She looks hungry."

I was pretty sure the reason I was drooling was because of her beauty and not because I was starving, but I wouldn't really say no to free food. I loved free stuff, I realized.

The man in question grinned cheekily at the suggestion "What a splendid idea, Robin-chan!" He then turned to me and reached out a hand, bowing like a gentleman as he did so, "Come with me, little lady, I'll make you a more delicious meal than any you could ever find in Heaven."

I stared at him for a while, deciding that I quite liked him, before reaching out my hand. "Those are big words, mister." I replied as he pulled me up with much ease, resulting in cracking sounds from the wood beneath me and dust filling the air around the debris.

I only then looked down to observe my attire, having no idea what my clothes looked like. I had to hand it to myself, I had style. I was wearing a denim skirt with suspenders, a white short-sleeved dress shirt, red stockings, blue rain boots with white shoelaces and a red ribbon around my neck. The downside to my outfit was that it was rather dirty for some reason- and so was I, although I was equally as muddy as I was littered in scratches and bruises. Which was weird because it didn't hurt. For the sake of experimentation, I poked a pretty, purple spot on my left arm, only to hiss like a cat at the pain that blossomed at the contact. Yeah okay, maybe it hurt a little bit.

I dusted myself off with as much elegance as I could muster before following behind the blond man who I believed was a cook, or at the very least the one in charge of cooking. As soon as I took my first step, however, I heard a very loud 'squish' sound coming from under my feet which made me stop. I stepped out of one of my boots, picked it up and flopped it over, observing with fascination as the water that had probably filled half of my boot splashed onto the surface below my feet. Then I put my boot back on, repeated the action with the other boot and then continued after the cook who had stopped to observe my motions, his cigarette dangling out from the small gape on his mouth.

I heard the wonderfully melodious chuckle coming from behind me once again, and knew that the beautiful woman had found my actions entertaining. Another great win for me that day.

I realized soon after I continued following the blond man that I was on a rather large ship. A curious thing, which I had not noticed before, was that the ground below me, despite being made of wood, was also covered in a thin layer of grass. The really weird thing, however, was that the grass seemed to be real, judging by the fact that it smelled absolutely fantastic. There was also a slide leading from the second deck to the first, and a swing attached to a lone tree near a staircase. My guess was that this was an amusement ship of some sorts, but it would be weird if that was the case, because then the residents would be good with children, and that didn't really seem like the case, judging by my welcome party earlier. It hadn't been welcoming in the slightest.

But then again, I did essentially fall from the skies and onto their ship, damaging it and then lying my ass off about my identity, so they pretty much had an excuse not to be trusting of me or nice for that matter. Yet they still were rather nice to me, offering me food, not cutting me up with their sharp-looking weapons and chuckling at my antics. My first impression of them was ultimately a rather good one.

The kitchen was very spacious and had a very warm, home-like feeling to it. "You can just sit down at the table, little lady, I'll bring you something warm to eat in no time." I did as the cook told me and took a seat that was the closest to the door and with my back facing the wall behind me. This way I could sit comfortably while watching the cook do his magic.

I had just sat down when the energetic boy from before barged into the room, a huge grin on his face and eyes locked on me. "Hey, angel, join my crew!"

I stared at him for a while before opening my mouth to answer, but the green haired man who came after the boy was faster, "Oi, Luffy! Don't just invite whoever to join us!"

While they argued on this topic, I began to wonder what kind of a crew he was talking about. A sailor crew? An amusement crew? Then again, when I though of a crew sailing the seas, the first thing I thought of was…

"Are you pirates?"

The two young men stopped arguing in favor of looking at me. The energetic boy, the same grin stretching his face to abnormal proportions back in place, quickly broke the silence. "Yeah! Wanna join?"

"Sure." My answer this time was a quick one, coming before anyone could interrupt. My situation was a clear one: I had no memory- not of myself, my family, my home- nothing. I had no idea where I was or how to look after myself and it was clear as day that I needed help. I couldn't afford to be picky about my comrades and besides, they all seemed like a rather nice bunch. I could have ended up on a much worse pirate ship than this.

I noticed the green haired man giving the other boy a 'we'll talk about this later' look, and noted that while the boy seemed to have the authority on the ship, everyone present did not yet accept me. Maybe no one did, except the energetic boy, but that didn't really bother me much, especially not if he was the captain.

I was brought out of my musings when a plate was placed in front of me, filled with something completely unknown to me yet looking like the most delicious thing I had ever seen. The smell was not to be belittled either, instantly making my mouth water and my fingers twitching to grab the fork and start stuffing my face. And that was exactly what I did.

The man hadn't been joking when he said he'd make a dish more delicious than any in heaven. Not that I had any memory of having ever visited heaven or tasted their food for that matter, but I had no doubt this was on par with what could be found in the holy place.

"Hey, Sanji, make me some of that too!"

So the cook's name was Sanji. It hadn't really registered before when the beautiful lady had addressed him but I would make sure to never again forget the name of the holy cook. Saint Sanji. The name was carved in my heart.

"You've already had dinner, idiot." I guessed the cook wasn't polite to just everyone. But that was okay as long as he treated me kindly.

I finished my food on record time, licked the plate clean and placed it back on the table just in time to see the rest of the crew filing into the room. Not all of them sat at the dining table, some of them preferring the island in front of the holy ground (the kitchen) and some sitting behind me where a couch was.

The orange haired girl stopped in front of me and looked at me past her nose, "You're in my seat." She didn't really beat around the bush, did she? Well, I wouldn't really mind another battle with her.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't see you name on it."

"My mistake, I'll make sure to write it. In your blood."

Woah, she was one tough cookie. I was starting to like her in a hateful kind of way. "Careful princess, keep frowning like that and you'll look old before you reach puberty."

She gaped at me for a couple of seconds before her face contorted into one of absolute fury. My eyes widened when I noticed a thundercloud appearing above her head and I wasn't sure if it was real or just my mind playing tricks on me. It seemed rather real, though.

"Why, you…" She took a step closer to me and before I knew it, I found a pair of knuckles pressed onto the sides of my head and suddenly, without warning, she started twisting them into my head with excruciating force and speed that it brought tears to the crook of my eyes. I yelped, cried out and wailed for her to stop but she didn't listen.

"I don't want to hear that from someone who shouldn't even know what 'puberty' is, you stupid brat!"

I must have really struck a nerve with that one. "I give, I give! I'm sorry, princess! Forgive me!" A second passed and then the pressure stopped and I immediately patted the sides of my head to see if she had rubbed me bald. With a sigh of relief, I sagged back into my seat. My hair would live to see another day.

Angel: 1 – Gorilla Woman: 1. I had the feeling our war would be a long one.

"Sanji, would you make me some tea? I need something calming." I watched the pumpkin princess carefully as she cicrcled the table and sat on the other side, a few seats away from me. To her right was the pirate captain, then an empy seat, and then the green haired fellow.

"Anything for you, Nami-swan~" Was Sanji's reply before he did some kind of a ballet twist on the floor and then started doing his magic on the holy ground.

"Hey, hey, angel, my name is Luffy and I'm going to become the pirate king! This guy here-" He pointed towards the green haired man, "-is Zoro. He's our swordsman. And the scary girl over here," He was thwacked on the back of his head before he could finish that introduction, "is Nami and she's our navigator." He then continued to introduce everyone on the ship. Sanji, Robin, Usopp, Chopper, Franky; cook, archeologist, sniper, doctor and shipwright. I wasn't sure I would be able to remember all of those names right away, but I would do my best.

"What's your name?"

The question squeezed all air out of me. I should have expected it, but I still wasn't ready. I had no idea what my name was but knew that I should probably have one. I realized my silence had gone on for a few seconds too long and therefore made up my mind, gave the boy a sharp AYI (Are You an Idiot) look before answering, "We don't have names in Heaven, but rather go by numbers."

Luffy looked rather confused at that answer but then asked, "Then what's your number?"

"8846." I was being quick to think here, but most of what I said- if not all of it- was bullshit. I quickly realized after my answer that I didn't want to be called '8846' for an unknown long time. "… But I realize that the custom is different in this place and therefore you can help me find a new name for the time being…"

The captain lit up like a firework, immediately opening his mouth to reply, "Then, let's call you-"

"-Brat."

I stared at Luffy for a while before moving my gaze towards the pumpkin princess who had answered for him and narrowed my eyes. "Veto."

"Then how about Angel?" Came Luffy's answer and I thought about it for a while before answering with a "No." Before quickly brewing up an excuse for my denial, "that would give away my identity. You see, if the wrong people knew I was an angel, they might want to capture me and make experiments on me." I shuddered to show the captain that that would not be a pleasant experience. The real reason, however, was obviously that being called 'Angel' would be embarrassing to no ends. I wouldn't ever be able to respond to that name with a straight face.

The sweet smell of tea filled the dining room and I suddenly felt myself become drowsy. I crossed my arms on the table in front of me and rested my head on them, "It would be good if my name was short and easy to remember without giving away my true identity…" I muttered and began to think about it on my own.

It wasn't long before I drifted off into dreamland.

"Hmmm… Then how about… umm…" Luffy had been coming up with names left and right for the last ten minutes but none of his suggestions had been answered so he figured none of them were good enough. He had never realized before how hard it was to find a name for someone who could voice their opinion on it. His name had just always been Luffy so he had never thought more about it but now he was starting to wonder what he would like to be called if he didn't have a name already…

"Luffy, you do realize that the brat fell asleep a while ago, right?"

"Ehh?!" His head snapped towards the little redheaded girl and sure enough, she was fast asleep, drool trickling down her chin from her gaping mouth. He sagged in his seat with a hopeless sigh, "But there were so many things I wanted to ask her, like if she pooped and-" He was thwacked on the back of his head again by Nami who yelled at him to not ask people about such things.

"Hey, Luffy, are you really going to let her join the crew?"

Luffy looked at Usopp who was sitting on the couch next to Chopper. The two of them had been completely silent ever since they came into the dining room, safe for the occasional quiet conversations between the two.

"Yeah, she's already our nakama."

"You realize that the girl must have come from somewhere, right, Luffy?"

The young captain looked at his navigator, confusion written all over his face, "Yeah, she came from heaven, she already told us."

"That was obviously a lie! We've already been to the skies- the only thing there are sky islands, there's no heaven."

Before Luffy could answer, Usopp came to back him up, "Well it's true we've been to the skies, but there's no knowing if heaven really does exist. That's not to say I believe the kid, but we can't be sure that heaven's not a real place."

"She was really lying?!" Luffy finally asked in shock, not wanting to believe it. His only answer was silence all around. He stared at the table in front of him for a while, a frown on his face as he concentrated. He then looked at the girl and furrowed his brows, showing his face of stubbornness. Until the girl told him herself that she was lying, he would believe her.

"Heaven or not aside," Nami broke the silence once again; "It will be dangerous for the girl to stay with us. I will acknowledge your decision in making her a crewmember-temporarily, but we should make it our goal to find out where she comes from and if she had any relatives or companions."

Luffy opened his mouth to argue but was this time interrupted by Robin, "I believe Nami-san is right. It is very dangerous for a little girl who does not know how to take care of herself to travel with a pirate crew. Nevertheless, we should take great care of protecting her since she has already joined, until we find out where she belongs."

"But what if she doesn't have a place to go and she's really telling the truth? And we can just teach her how to fight and-"

"SHE IS NOT A PET!"

The air in the room chilled considerably and Luffy looked in shock at his sniper, not having expected that outburst. Usopp in turn was fuming, his face looking as scary as it did back in Water 7 when they had their fight. "She is a human girl that could seriously get hurt or killed if she stays with us for too long. Are you going to take the responsibility for that, Luffy?"

The young captain was speechless, but soon realized that what his crew was saying was true. It was dangerous for the angel to stay with them. He went back to staring at the table in front of him, the rest of crew also becoming deep in thought.

The silence dragged on for a minute or two until Nami heaved a long sigh before pushing herself out of her chair, "I'm calling it a day, I'm exhausted." She then walked towards the sleeping girl in Nami's usual seat, stopped in front of her, grabbed a hold on the back of her shirt and picked her up like a kitten, holding her at some distance away from herself like she was something dirty. Well, to be fair, the girl kind of was looking rather messy, even on Luffy's standards.

"Franky, the first watch is yours. Good night."

Her only reply was "SUPER!" from their shipwright and Robin and Sanji bidding her a good night before she walked out of the room, the strange girl dangling in her grip, her chin on her chest and mouth still wide open as she kept sleeping like a rock.

Once Nami made into the woman's quarters, she stopped for a while to figure out where to put the little girl, quickly deciding to put her on one of the lounge chairs. She then disappeared again to fetch a spare pillow and blanket.

Once the navigator was sure the girl wouldn't die from the cold during the night, she got herself ready for bed, blew out the flare in the lanterns and laid down in her bed. She quickly fell asleep, dreaming sweet dreams of strangling her captain for being an idiotic blockhead and stamping on annoying little, red haired angels in dirty clothes.

A/N: Constructive criticism would be much appreciated! It's free to give and hey, who doesn't love free stuff?

Thanks for reading!