One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Nine [Rewritten]

"Thank you, no—not right now" Gan Fall shook his head.

"Hey, thanks for everything, Sky Knight guy! Let's dance!" Luffy cheered the minute he spotted that the old man was up and about.

"Come on! Dance with us, Gan Fall!" Chopper happily laughed.

"Chopper, you've been drinking?" Zoro questioned when he noticed a slight slur in the reindeer's speech.

"Like you're one to talk..." I muttered before snorting as I watched how one of the wolves tumbled right over on top of Luffy which then caused Sanji to tumble right over on top of one of the wolves closest to him.

"Hey, old man, I've got a question" Sanji suddenly piped up as lifted his head from where he had fallen. "Conis, is she okay?" he asked.

"Very much so, I sheltered her and her father at my house—they're fine" Gan Fall assured us.

"Great! I was worried she'd never see me again" Sanji lovingly smiled before grunting as another wolf and Usopp suddenly fell on top of him.

"I'm so happy that both are safe, now let's celebrate by tossing Chopper!" Usopp laughed.

"Why me?" Chopper asked before bursting out into a fit of laughter as he was suddenly grabbed and tossed up into the air. It seems that the further the night progressed, the drunker everyone became as they continued to toss the reindeer around and dance the night away. There was something nice and contagious about the air around us as it became cheerful and rowdy the longer everyone partied.

"I'm sorry for eavesdropping" Gan Fall suddenly apologized as he turned his attention toward Robin. "But I heard your conversation about how this island was known long ago by the name Jaya" he mentioned.

"Yeah, that's right" Robin nodded.

"But I believe that you have yet to hear the story of how this island in which we sit came to be known as such a holy land" Gan Fall said. "The ground of the Upper Yard must remind you Blue Sea people of your home far below it—it is similar, right?" he asked.

"It is" Zoro hummed as he snuggled closer and rested his chin on top of my head, clearly getting comfortable as he gave my midsection a tight squeeze.

"In a way, it feels like we're back down on the ground instead of up here in the clouds" I admitted, slumping back against the swordsman as I tried to get comfortable as well.

"Yes, you're lucky—what you see all around us and beneath our feet is something that does not naturally exist in the sky" Gan Fall nodded. "Island Clouds can support plant life, but it cannot generate its own. Greenery and soil are but both foreign things to our light up here" he explained as he grabbed a handful of dirt before letting it fall from his fingers. "Our people have our own name for this, its Vearth, those living among the clouds hold this sacred—it's what they all desire."

-Later-

"Aw! Come on, Zoro—be a pal!" Usopp pleaded.

"Forget it, I'm not going with you..." Zoro grumbled as he shifted around, one arm lazily thrown around my waist as I laid beside him—eyes wide open as I patiently waited for the two to silence themselves. "If you're scared, just hold it 'til morning, you big baby" he huffed in slight annoyance.

"I would if I could, believe me!" Usopp whined.

"Just go take a leak by yourself" Zoro grunted as he motioned for the sharpshooter to leave him alone so that he could get some rest.

"Could you both maybe shut up? Some people are trying to sleep here" I tiredly huffed, lower lip now jutting out into a pout. It was late and all I wanted to do was just go to sleep—the possibility of having to walk through a forest while sleep-deprived come morning didn't exactly sound thrilling.