Idiot Boy! The Tears of Straw Hat Luffy

(AN: I do not own One Piece; that is the property of Eiichiro Oda and Toei Animation, respectively. Nor do I own It's A Wonderful Life. The film belongs to its director, Frank Capra and Liberty Films. So, don't anyone here sue me; are we cool? Good, enjoy the story)

The Straw Hat Pirates, among the most infamous and well-known group of sailors ever known on the Blue. Led by their charismatic leader, Monkey D. Luffy (best known as Straw Hat, among his rivals and enemies.) These pirates faced many challenges along their voyage to find the famous One Piece.
They've battled Fishmen, the marines, powerful admirals, mighty warriors, ferocious beasts, mad warlords like Doflamingo and scores of other dangers across the world. Yet, in spite of it all; they still came out on top and released their friends or each other from years of emotional torment and anguish.

But despite all these trials, there was one thing the crew very often struggled with…their captain's spontaneous personality. This day, in particular started out rather normal. All the crew was at different parts of the Sunny, attending to their own affairs.

Zoro was lifting weights, Sanji was prepping ingredients for dinner, Franky was tending to the engines of the ship, Brook played his viola while "yohohoho-ing" merrily, Robin was in the library with Nami, Usopp was keeping watch up on the Crow's Nest and Chopper was working on his latest batch of tonics for medical emergencies. As they went about their business as usual, they soon felt that something was off. "Hey," Usopp called down from the nest, "anybody seen Luffy around, it's too quiet here!"

As if on cue, the rubber-bodied captain suddenly popped up beside him. "HEY, USOPP" shouted Luffy with enthusiasm, this sudden outcry took the ship's resident sniper by surprise. So much so, he began to lose his grip on his telescope.

Usopp juggled it repeatedly in his hands, trying desperately not to drop it. Which, unfortunately…he did; Usopp gasped in shock, as the item began to fall down towards the sea. As luck would have it, Luffy's hand suddenly stretched down and snatched it in the nick of time.

"Phew! That was a close one, almost lost your spyglass" chuckled Luffy, handing Usopp the telescope. The poor fool didn't even notice his friend's eyebrow and lip twitching irritably. After taking back the spyglass; Usopp gazed at his friend, smile a slightly twitching grin…and bopped him hard upon the head.

"IT WAS NO THANKS TO YOU THAT I ALMOST LOST MY SCOPE, LUFFY!" he roared. Luffy nursed the sore spot on his head with a groan and murmured how sorry he was. "Sorry? Sorry?! This is the fourth time this has happened in the past three days" Usopp said firmly.

"I said I'm sorry" he mumbled, "I didn't mean to scare you, I was just waking up from a nap." Usopp couldn't help but facepalm himself irritably. "And why were you napping in the Crow's Nest…again?! You were on guard duty, remember?" he growled.

"Well…I got bored during it all and I guess, I must've fallen asleep or something" he replied. This statement resulted in him being flung out of the nest and onto the deck of the ship. "If you want to take a nap…SLEEP IN YOUR ROOM AND LET ME DO MY JOB!" he roared loudly.

Just before he slipped into unconsciousness, the last words Luffy heard from him were "idiot boy." His pain did not stop there, however; for the resulting crash from his fall caused Zoro to lose his grip on his weights. Before the swordsman could react, the heavy bar pressed hard atop his chest; almost crushing the wind out of him.

Luffy soon recovered, seconds later and saw his friend choking madly. "Hang on, Zoro; I'll save ya" he assured and without pause, lifted the weight over his head and threw it to the side. With the heavy load finally off of him, Zoro began to cough loudly; desperately filling his lungs with air.

Luffy quickly hurried to his side and asked his first mate if everything was okay. "Should I take you to Chopper, maybe he can help" he suggested. Through his one good eye, Zoro glared icily at his captain. "Before you do anything, Captain; tell me…WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?!" he shouted, gripping Luffy by the throat.

"I almost choked from being crushed to death, because of you!" he seethed with rage. Luffy coughed loudly, as he desperately tried to get his words out; while being choked. The only thing he could do was point up to the Crow's Nest and mumble words like "sorry" or "fell."

"You clumsy idiot, can't you be careful while climbing out of the nest?!" Zoro roared. He then released Luffy, grabbed for one of the free weights nearby and tapped it into his open palm. This all made Luffy feel rather nervous.

"Um…Zoro, what'cha gonna do with that?" he asked fearfully, "it seems, Luffy that the only one who will need Chopper's help…is YOU!" he roared, swinging the weight down. The scene cuts to moments later; as Luffy (now adorning two swollen eyes, busted up teeth, a bloody nose and hand grips on his throat) approaches Chopper's room. Meanwhile, the little blue-nosed reindeer doctor of the Sunny was hard at work at a small chemistry set.

"Excellent, these ingredients the Mink Tribe gave me will do wonders for my new healing serum" he cheered proudly. He then dipped a needle into a beaker and filled it with an odd colored fluid. Then, ever-so carefully; he added one drop of it into a dish and smiled.

"Very good; now, it just needs to cool and then…"His train of thought was suddenly disturbed by the sound of a door bursting open. This caused the young reindeer to stumble back in surprise, bumping into his worktable.

He looked down and sighed with relief, having seen his latest medicinal mixture was still safe. He then looked over to see just who it was that disturbed him. Much to his slight dismay, it was Luffy.

"What is it now, Luffy" he grumbled softly, "I'm in the middle of working on something important." Through his swollen lips, Luffy did his best to speak clearly. "Sowwy, Coppuh; I bus mead bum bedisbin" (Sorry, Chopper; I just need some medicine.)

"Well, can't it wait until later; this is important" Chopper asserted slightly. Luffy could only give a small whine in response. "Buh by head herths so blad" (But my head hurts so bad.)

Without hesitating; Luffy, through his swollen eyelids, does his best to seek out anything to relieve his pain. He soon comes across a big bottle of pink fluid and pours it on his swollen eyes. Upon seeing this, Chopper lets out a shriek of alarm.

"NO, LUFFY" he cried, "that's disinfectant fluid, it burns the skin!" But it was too late; upon pouring the fluid onto his eyes, Luffy soon felt the stinging pain of the chemicals and began running about the room. Chopper sighed softly, walked to another cabinet and proceeded to collect rolls of bandages and some medical wipes.

Minutes later, Chopper lightly pushed Luffy out of his room in a huff. "Now, stay outside and don't bother me for the rest of the afternoon" he grumbled softly. Now, Luffy's head was rather thoroughly covered in bandages.

But his ears were still open enough to overhear Chopper murmur the words "idiot boy," just before he closed the door. Upon hearing his, Luffy felt as though something was ripping apart in his chest; as if his heart had almost been torn in half. This was the third time someone had called him "idiot boy" in one day.

"Normally, when one has been around their crew and heard as many jabs at themselves as Luffy has; it would seem like nothing. But for some strange reason; today, the crew's words had begun to have an emotional impact on him.

"Maybe I'll go hang with Brook" Luffy thought, "there's no way I can make a mistake there…right?" With that thought in mind, Luffy proceeded to find the skeletal musician. Surely; he, of all the crew, would welcome his company today.

Meanwhile, at another area of the ship; Brook was in the midst of singing his iconic melody of Bink's Sake. It was then that he began to tap his chin in thought. "No…I should try something else for a change" he murmured, while trying to think of new ideas.

While he scribbled on his music sheets and sung softly to himself. He failed to hear the shrill yet gravely sounds of Luffy's voice, singing his song. The rubber man swung his arms about, while singing merrily.

Upon reaching the end of the song, he gave a loud laugh. "Man, Brook; have I ever told you yet how awesome your song is?" he asked pleasantly but received no response. Confused, he looked over to his friend to see if he was alright.

The skeleton man remained vigilant with his work. Time after time, he tried his best to think of a new song for him and the crew to sing. But with each attempt, his brain (or possible lack there of, since he is dead) seemed to be drawing a blank.

"Hey, Brook; what'cha doin'?" asked Luffy innocently, "I'm trying to come up with a new song to play for the crew, when we have fun or need cheering up" Brook replied with an exasperated sigh. This caused Luffy to smile beneath his bandages. "Oh, maybe I can help" he requested, "I know a really fun song to sing."

Before Brook can tell him to stop, Luffy began to sing his "Baka Song." He did it in a voice so loud, one could see several sea creatures plugging up their earholes painfully. As Luffy belted out the final high note, Brook gripped his pencil so tightly that it split in two.

Luffy took notice of this and chuckled a bit. "Oops, looks like you broke your pencil" he stated. Brook looked at his broken writing utensil, then at the pieces of discarded paper he threw about the floor and then at Luffy with a fierce look in his eyeholes. "Yes…it seems I did break my pencil" he murmured, while approaching Luffy slowly.

"But it seems you broke my train of thought and now…I'M GONNA BREAK YOUR NECK!" he roared with great rage in his voice. What followed next was a chase all across the deck. Until Luffy, at last, took cover inside of a door.

"I'LL TEACH YOU TO DISRUPT MY WORK, IDIOT BOY!" Brook's voice shouted from outside the door. Luffy heaved several breaths loudly, trying his best to calm his nerves. Welp, chalk another mark on the "idiot boy chart, he thought.

As of that moment; either called him "idiot boy," tried to murder him or "blessed" him with a combination of the two. The only ones he had yet to cross paths with were Franky, Sanji, Nami and Robin. He thought it best to try and not get on anyone else's bad side for the rest of the day.

At that moment, Luffy began smacking his lips dryly. "Wow…all that running's made me thirsty" he wheezed softly, then proceeded to find something nearby to drink. Eventually, he came across a big barrel; one almost as tall as him.

He took a step closer to the barrel and soon noticed a delicious aroma. "Mmm! Smells like Franky's cola" Luffy cried with delight, it was then that he realized he must be inside of Franky's workshop. "This must be a new batch of it that he made for us" Luffy cheered with delight.

His eyes then began darting side-to-side, as if he was plotting something. "I'm sure, Franky wouldn't mind if I had a liiittle taste of the cora before the others" he thought softly. With that, he propped open the lid and took in a quick but deep swig of the drink.

It was at that moment when Franky, finally returned to the shop. When he opened the door, he dropped his tools out of his hands and his jaw dropped through the floor. "LUFFYYY!" he shouted, "what are you doing here and what are you doing to my new barrel load of cola?!"
With his belly slightly full of fluid, Luffy waddled around so that he would face his robot friend. "Don't worry, Franky" he assured, "I didn't drink it all, there's still half a barrel full." As Luffy made his way into the hall, Franky called out to him.

"You don't understand, that batch was an experimental mega thrust batch" he stated. Luffy only tilted his head in confusion, while letting out a soft burp. "That batch you just sampled; once used, it can send our ship flying out for miles at near warp speed" he said while flailing his arms dramatically.

As if on cue, his stomach began to churn and gurgle violently. Before Luffy could ask Franky what was happening, he popped. With a thunderous belch, the rubber man was sent flying down the hall like a cannonball that's been fired.

As he disappeared into the distance, Franky shook his head and mumbled "idiot boy" under his breath. Still full of cola, Luffy flew faster and faster down the hall. Until, at last, he crashed through a set of double doors.

Eventually, he crashed hard against something…but he didn't no what. For his body and mind was still recovering from the massive amounts of sugar he ingested. He then heard sounds of crashing and spotted papers flying through the air.

After letting out one more soft belch, he pushed himself onto his knees. Where he was met with the sight of two pairs of long, voluptuous legs. Both of which were tapping their toes.

He looked up to see the disgruntled glares of Nami, the ship's Navigator and Robin, their resident archeologist. "Um…ladies, I can explain" mumbled Luffy nervously; Nami only looked at him with a single stare. The sort of look that could make even the most blood-thirsty of pirates turn chicken.

"You get twenty seconds" she stated simply, which caused Luffy to blink in confusion. "How can I explain myself in twenty seconds?" he asked, pushing himself onto his feet. "No, Luffy…twenty seconds is how long you have to run; before I MAIM YOU AND THROW YOU TO THE SHARKS!"

Luffy let out a yelp of shock and turned to Robin for recompense. But she only gave him another icy stare, in response. "Nami-chan and I agreed that, the next time you mess up something. Twenty seconds would be your time for a head start…but for receiving your punishment" she said grimly.

With that said, Luffy quickly headed out the door. But soon felt is bandaged face ram into a powerful right hook. Staggering slightly, he looked through his bandages and saw that it was Sanji who struck him.

"Hey, what was that for?" he cried, rubbing his cheek. "Three reasons; for breaking my kitchen wall, when you threw Zoro's weight. For causing Nami-swan and Robin-swan to get angry and finally…just because!" With that, he and Nami proceeded to chase Luffy down the hall until he reached the safety of his bedroom and locked the door.

Utilizing his Devil Fruit powers, he pressed himself against the door to prevent his angry friends from getting in. But surprisingly; they gave in, after jiggling the handle only twice. As they proceeded back down the hall, they gave him their final words.

"If you're smart, Luffy; I'd stay in there and keep as far away from us as possible" growled Nami venomously. "And after all the shit you caused today, you're not getting ANY supper tonight!" added Sanji with equal furious passion. Before they went too far off, Luffy could swear he heard the words "idiot boy" being used against him…again.

Weary, beaten, sore, hungry and saddened; Luffy proceeded to his bed and plopped down upon the pillow. As the night fell and everyone else went off to bed. Robin passed by Luffy's door and glared at it softly for a few moments.

Finally, she let out a tired sigh and retreated to her room. "Luffy's done some things before but this…never thought he could be this reckless and imbecilic." Meanwhile, in the room; Luffy could hear every word his "friend" had said about him.

Granted, while he didn't know what the word "imbecilic" meant. In his heart…or whatever was left, after the others tore it to pieces, he knew the truth. He knew that it was her way of calling him the one thing everyone else did…"idiot boy."

"That's it…if Robin, of all people is calling me that. Then…it must be true" he mumbled sadly. He sat upright on his bed and sighed wearily at the thought of the crummy day he had.

In truth, this was but one mark on a loooong list of screw ups he caused his crew. He then reached up and took his hat in his hands. His mind then filled itself with memories of when Shanks gave it to him and the promise he made to give it back, after he became Pirate King.

Once that thought came into his head, Luffy growled; almost tearing his "treasure." "Who am I kidding" he thought grimly, "I'm no pirate king…I'm a loser, no good to nobody." He sniffled slightly and looked at a picture on his desk.

It featured himself and the rest of the crew at Sabaody. Just after they reunited from their two-year separation. As he looked at all their smiles, he himself also tried to smile.

But it quickly faded, as all manner of bad memories filled his head. From when Vivi called Luffy a failure for almost choosing to fight Drum Island's people over saving Nami. To the moment where Luffy witnessed his greatest tragedy, Ace's death.

One by one; every memory where he annoyed the crew, unintentionally put them in danger, every scolding, every "fist of love" and every instant where he failed to protect everyone filled his thoughts. With shaking hands; he placed the photo back on the desk, fell to his knees and for the first time in a long time, he cried.

He wept for what felt like ages, until he suddenly heard Sanji's voice roaring outside his door. "KEEP IT DOWN, IDIOT; I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" he shouted. "I DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU CRY, YOU'RE NOT GETTING DINNER!"

With a sniffle and a murmur, Luffy wiped his eyes and looked out his window. There; he could see glimpses of himself as a child, also crying. Which was then met with Ace bopping him and telling him he'd leave him behind, if he didn't stop.

Once the images faded, Luffy looked around the room and then at himself in the mirror. With tearstains on his cheeks, he glared at his reflection and took off his hat. "You're no captain" he mumbled, "a real captain takes care of his crew, inspires them. But you…you're just a useless idiot boy."

With that in mind, he placed his hat on the desk and left his room. He then made two quick stops on the ship. The first being the kitchen (specifically, the meat storage area) and the library. Once in the library, he took a piece of paper and…rather sloppily wrote a note. Once the note was done, he returned for his hat and left it in the kitchen. A message to the crew that their captain has withdrawn his position.

"It's for the best" he thought; "these guys are all smarter, stronger, braver and more talented than me. They can find Roger's treasure without me getting in the way." With a heavy heart, his sac of meat on his back and his eyes moist with tears; Luffy was off. He gave one final glance at the hall where his former crewmates' sleeping quarters were and departed.

But not before collecting one final item from the kitchen, Sanji's sharpest knife. The sort he would use to cut up Sea King meat. With all his goods in hand, Luffy made his way below deck. The only words that passed his lips, as he trudged on were the weak mumbles of "idiot boy.

Finally, he found what he wanted; the Mini Merry II. "With all my stuff, this won't get me far" he mumbled. At that moment, Luffy spotted a small island just seven miles away from the ship. "But I suppose that place will do. It's not like I want to be found anyhow" he grumbled angrily.

With that; he placed himself into the boat, started the engine and sped off towards the little island. As he rode off, the waters echoed slightly with the murmurs of "idiot boy" being repeated over and over.

(AN: As Joker said in The Killing Joke, "all it takes is one bad day." In this case, Luffy had a MAJORLY bad day. One could only wonder what he'll do next or what the crew will do, when they find out he's gone. Tune in next time to find out)