"Stay Your Hand, Child:" A Heavenly Visit

(AN: I don't own One Piece or It's A Wonderful Life. Both of the properties each belong to their respected owners)

The following morning, sounds of yawning and grumbling were heard throughout the sleeping quarters of the Sunny. Each member of the crew awoke from their beds and headed off to the kitchen for breakfast…all but one. Soon, the rest of the crew began either eating their meals or sipping their morning coffee in silence. That is, until Zoro quickly spoke up.

"There's something off here" he murmured, which caused the others to look at him strangely. "What are you talking about, Zoro" questioned Usopp, "this is the first time we've had a decent quiet meal in ages." That statement, that single phrase alone felt so odd; all time seemed to freeze.

"Zoro's right" murmured Chopper, "it's never this quiet during a meal." It was in that moment that they, at last realized something was off. They looked around the table and soon noticed that Luffy's chair was empty.

"What the…that's weird; usually, Luffy-kun is the first person at the table for breakfast" Robin surmised. "Maybe he's sick or something" suggested Chopper, "he did go to bed without supper, last night." Sanji could only scoff at this statement.

"C'mon, Chopper" he chuckled, "it was just one night he went without supper. You're making it sound like he's sick with the Plague or something." After that, each member of the crew (sans Sanji) began to murmur with shame.

"We were kind of rough on him, last night" Usopp implied, this caused Sanji to become slightly defensive. "Come on, people; have you forgotten all the things he did that night?!" Each straw hat member nodded slightly in agreement. But even that couldn't shake off the guilt they felt.

"When you think about it, each of those incidents was simply an accident" Robin stated. "But Robin-chan…he…he wrecked the library, scattered all my map papers all across the room" Nami interjected. "Yes, he did…but did he do that or anything that happened last night on purpose or out of spite against us?" questioned Robin.

This was met by a series of unintelligible murmuring. As if everyone didn't really know what to say in their defense. Then, Zoro reminded Robin that she was just as guilty of hurting Luffy as the rest of them.

Such a statement caused the two to glare fiercely at each other. Sensing hostility growing, Chopper and Usopp volunteered to go and retrieve Luffy and they quickly left the room. Several moment had passed since they left and nothing out of the ordinary happened.

That is, until a shrill scream echoed from down the hall. Nami, Robin, Brook, Franky and Zoro hurried down to see what had happened. When they arrived, Nami saw Chopper weeping uncontrollably onto Luffy's bed.

"For goodness sake, Chopper; stop the bawling and talk to us" ordered Zoro. Without saying a word, Chopper pointed at an object on the desk; Luffy's hat. "What the…did Luffy forget his hat or something" questioned Franky.

"Forget that, where's Luffy" asked Nami, gesturing at the empty room. "Probably snuck out of his room in the middle of the night to get in the kitchen" replied Zoro. "No doubt, he's down there munching away at our provisions."

At first, the crew was ready and willing to agree with his theory. Then, they heard footsteps approaching from behind. "What did I tell you, that's probably him now" chuckled Zoro, gesturing outside of the room.

Everyone looked out the door with hopeful eyes. But said hopes were suddenly blown away by a puff of cigarette smoke. "Sanji-kun; did you, by chance, see Luffy in the kitchen?" inquired Nami, to which Sanji only responded with a shake of his head. "You mean he isn't in here" he asked, each member of the crew also responded with a sad shake of the head.

"Where the Hell is he" Sanji growled, "I got a score to settle with him." "I think you did enough to him last night, Curly Brows" scoffed Zoro. This soon led to the duo partaking in yet another fight. As they quarreled, Chopper looked over at Luffy's desk and spotted a piece of paper sitting there.

"Guys, I think I found something" he chimed in, catching the crew's attention. Curious, Robin approached the desk and began studying the letter. "What is it, Robin-swan; a ransom note, a summons…a love letter" Sanji asked, whispering the final part to himself.

"No…it is a letter but judging from the handwriting, it was written by Luffy" she replied. Everyone murmured in confusion, wondering where their captain was and what the letter said. "The captain's penmanship is…regrettably, sloppy. But I'll try to read what it says" Robin assured.

After that, everyone fell silent and urged Robin to read Luffy's note as best as she could.

"To who…whom…aw, screw it; to anybody who cares,"

"If you've found this note; then, you must've found it in the freezer and noticed all the meat's gone. Sanji might need to make one more run, at the next island. It also means that it's been possibly one month or so since I've left the ship and no one's noticed 'til now.

Don't worry about looking for me; by the time you read this, I'll be looong gone. I'm sorry I'm such a failure…and a worthless captain. No one needs to worry anymore, I won't bug anyone again."

"Sincerely,
"Monkey D. Luffy, the Boy who Failed to Become King"

"A.K.A. Idiot Boy"

After reading that note, not one person dared to speak a word.

Meanwhile, on an island not too far from the ship. Luffy had docked the Mini Merry on the shore and did his best to hide it. Afterward, he trudged deep into the thick trees of the island's small jungle.

Finally, he stopped at a small clearing and sat down; cross-legged. "Well…best get this over with now, before I get second thoughts" he mumbled sadly. He then took out all the meat from his pack and proceeded to eat all of it.

From the biggest slab of sea king meat, to the smallest slice of pork loin. Luffy devoured every last crumb of the meat. What made this particular instant of his meat-eating habits different, you might be asking? Well, he intended for it all to be his final meal.

After swallowing the last bit of his meat, Luffy let out a belch and patted his belly. "Sanji may not have liked or respected me that much. But I still respect him for his cooking skills" he praised softly. Upon thinking of Sanji, his mind was soon flooded with images of his former friends.

These thoughts, in turn caused him to sob softly with regret and shame. He then reached into his travel pack and drew out the knife he took. With a heavy heart, Luffy touched the tip of the blade lightly against his abs.

"No matter what happens, I will NOT summon my Haki to stop the knife" he thought bitterly. He cast one final glance at the sky, thinking pleasant thoughts about his friends and readied himself. But just as he prepared to drive the blade through it, Luffy heard a noise.

It was faint, almost like that of a whisper. But Luffy was sure that someone was talking to him, just now. He shook off the thought and returned to his task.

Soon, he heard the noise again; this time, much more loudly. "WHO IS IT…WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Luffy shouted, waving the knife threateningly. To his surprise, no response came; which made him feel both confused and concerned.

As Luffy drove the knife in without any further hesitation, something felt off. He opened his eyes and looked at himself closely. "Did I…Did I do it, am I dead now?" he asked himself, rubbing his wrists.

After that, he proceeded to pinch himself; to test if he was alive. Much to Luffy's disappointment, he was still breathing; as the pinching sensation soon proved. He then looked down and saw his stomach was coated in something.

Without a second thought, Luffy ran his finger along the substance and tasted it…which was rather sweet. "It tastes like…banana?" he murmured in confusion, dusting off his belly. He then looked at his hand and saw that instead of a knife, he was holding an empty banana peel.

"What the…where's my knife, is someone pranking me?" he demanded, searching for any sign of trespassers. Suddenly, a soft yet familiar voice spoke to him. "This isn't a prank, little mortal; it's an intervention" it stated.

Luffy looked about feverishly, demanding to know who was messing with him. As if an answer to his wish, a bright light flashed before the young pirate. Who proceeded to take his battle stance.

What Luffy saw next made him almost bawl his eyes out. For standing before him was his brother, Portgas D. Ace. With a joyful cry, Luffy leapt into "Ace's" arms. Only to suddenly phase through him like he was passing through mist.

"What the…are you trying to make me mad, Ace?" grumbled Luffy, scratching his head. "Firstly, mortal; I am not your departed brother. I've only assumed his form so that my appearance would be welcoming to you" the stranger explained. This seemed to only confuse Luffy further.

"I still don't get it, are you a Devil Fruit user or something?" he asked. The figure only chuckled in response, telling him that his powers and that of his master were greater than that of the Devil Fruits. "You see…I'm your guardian angel, your spiritual protector from on high" he stated.

Luffy only scoffed at the supposed "angel's" words. "If you are who you say you are…then where were you when I got caught by Dadan, when I tried to steal her rum?" The angel could only stammer, unsure of what to say.
Still, Luffy continued to grill the stranger; "or what about the time when Sabo dared me to raid Makino's secret sweet stash during Happy Hour at her tavern…or the time I got busted by those Giants in Elbaf, when Nami 'convinced me' to steal some of their gold?" After being questioned by him for so long, the angel finally threw his arms out in defeat. "OI! Give me a break here, I'm still a newbie at this" he shouted, his former refined tone having faded.

After collecting himself, the angel decided to "be real" with Luffy. "Look, I'm a trainee of an angel; sent by the big man upstairs" he said while gesturing to heaven. "I was sent here to make sure you didn't do anything dumb.

It was that statement where all the pieces came together. "So, you're the guy who swiped my knife away!" he shouted, the angel chuckled and summoned the item back into his hand. "You mean this…sorry, you can't get it back" he said firmly, which only aggravated Luffy even more.

"C'mon, you bastard; I need that" he whined, "why…so you could stab yourself?" the angel asked bluntly. Luffy was about to retort but realized the angel spoke the truth and so, he nodded silently. "Well, little man; I'm sorry to tell you but my boss says I can't let you do that" the angel stated.

"But why, why are you even here" prodded Luffy, "I'm here…because I need to show you you're making a mistake" the angel replied. "Mistake…you're calling me killing myself a mistake?" he chuckled mockingly, unsure of how to react. "YEEES! As your guardian angel, it's my job to help you change your mind and send you home!" shouted the angel.

"If I do this job right, I'll finally get my wings and go wherever I want up there" he sighed happily. But Luffy appeared less enthusiastic and didn't wish to help him. "You're wasting your time here, pal" he grumbled, "just go back and find another idiot to annoy."
The angel facepalmed himself bitterly and asked Luffy why he was so eager to end his life. "Isn't it obvious, pal" he murmured, "I'm no good to anyone, the whole world would be better off without me in it. I wish I was never born, to be honest" Once this statement was made, the angel sighed sadly and clapped his hands.

After that; Luffy soon found himself floating in a black, empty void. "What the…Where am I, where's the sea and the Mini Merry?" he asked worriedly, unsure of what was happening. As if on cue, Luffy's angel suddenly floated past him; doing a backstroke.

"There is no sea, mack" he said bluntly, which made Luffy confused. "You said the world is better without you and that you wished you were never born. So, you got what you wished for." Luffy growled irritably at the angel and demanded more answers.
How could there be no sea without me in the world, huh?!" he asked impatiently. "UGH! Look, where you were before I arrived; that's not around anymore" he groaned. Despite his careful phrasing, Luffy still seemed lost.

"Without you in the world, there is no Mini Merry to take you away. Heck, there's no Thousand Sunny around either" the angel stated. "But how can that be…Franky built it; so, it should exist" Luffy retorted.

It was then that a grim thought appeared in his head. "Wait…in this weird world, is Franky dead?" Luffy asked worriedly. "There's only one way to find out, little man" replied the angel bluntly.

He then reached into his sleeve, pulled out a tin whistle and blew out three toots from it. At first, nothing seemed to have happened; they were both still floating in the void. "What was all that about, angel man?" asked Luffy irritably.

"Be patient, mortal; we need to wait for my ride" the angel stated firmly, putting back the whistle. In just moments, Luffy spotted something flying towards them. At first glance, it looked like a shooting star.

But once it got close enough, Luffy saw that it was actually a ship. The hull and deck were all made of the fluffiest of clouds and the sail was a giant shooting star. "Why do you have a star for a sail?" questioned Luffy, both confused and lost in awe.

"In the void of space, what's faster than a shooting star?" the angel replied. He then gestured for Luffy to enter the vessel. "Come on, no time to screw around" he ordered, "we've got a long journey ahead and I want to make good time."

"'Make good time,' for what; where are we even going?" questioned Luffy. "It's all part of my job, I'm gonna give you an up close look at the world if you weren't part of it" the angel replied. "I gotta warn you, though; a lot of the stuff gets pretty unsavory…are you sure you don't want to turn back?" he suggested.

"Not a chance" Luffy replied, "I'm always up for an adventure; besides, I really wanna see how things are without me." The angel sighed softly and took hold of the wheel, calling out "raise anchor." Luffy stared at him dumbfounded, wondering if he had lost his marbles.

Then, suddenly; the chains of the anchor began to creek and it slowly rose up the side of the ship. "This ain't no mortal pirate ship, boy" the angel chuckled, "this is a heavenly vessel." With that said, he shouted for the star to sail on and it began to whiz forward; causing the ship to move.

Despite all his years of sailing, even Luffy wasn't prepared for something like this. After finally getting his legs to work, he approached the angel and asked where they were heading. "We're off to see the first crewmember you had met…Roronoa Zoro" replied the angel, turning the wheel starboard.

In what seemed like a flash, the ship zoomed off and disappeared into a flash of light.

AN: Wonder what awaits Luffy on this particular voyage and just what will this Luffy-less world hold in store for us? Tune in next time to find out