One Piece (Love Story) [Part One]

Chapter One Hundred and Forty Five [Rewritten]

"Great, let's go! Once we get to the bottom, we're going to start a brand-new adventure!" Luffy cheered as we started to pass through a decently long tunnel. "Who's up for finding some gold? Guy's get ready!" he excitedly grinned the minute we started to near the exit of the tunnel. "Blue Sea, here we come!" the excitement we felt was short-lived the moment we exited the tunnel as screams of fright now ripped themselves from our throats the second the ship violently plummeted down the Milky Road with no real warning.

"Everyone! Grab hold of something—the free fall is about to start!" Conis shouted as the ship flew right off the cloudy road and became suspended in midair.

"Freefall?!" we nervously questioned before more screams tore from our lips as the ship began to fall. My arms were quick to shoot out, grabbing hold of the first thing I could grab and pulling it toward me 'til it was pressed flush against my chest as I continued to scream at the top of my lungs along with everyone else.

"Heso!" we heard Conis call down to us one last time.

"Skylar, you're suffocating me!" Zoro shouted, his voice muffled by the fabric of my shirt as he pressed the palms of his hands against my shoulders in a desperate attempt to pull away. But I kept a deathly tight grip on his head, refusing to let go of him as we continued to fall.

"Why are we falling?! What kind of exit is this?!" I babbled, tears springing to the corners of my eyes.

"Octopus!" Usopp suddenly shouted as he began to freak out alongside Chopper the second they witnessed the sea creature burst through the cloudy water and fall toward us.

"What the...?" Zoro gasped as he finally pulled his head away from my chest and quickly grabbed for his sword, face flushed and breathing labored as he tried to compose himself in case he needed to fight. Only to then lose his balance and fall back as the ship violently shook once the octopus wrapped its tentacles around her and inflated its head like that of a balloon.

"Whoa!" I lost my balance as I went tumbling after the swordsman until my body was now sprawled out on top of his own.

"Well, that hurt..." Nami groaned once the ship stopped shaking and was now just gently floating downward thanks to the inflated octopus that now tightly held onto it. Shakily pushing myself up into a sitting position, I frantically looked around to make sure we really weren't still falling.

"Are we dead...?" I weakly asked, face pale and heart still thundering away inside my chest.

"I hope not or I'm going to haunt Conis and her father..." the ginger grumbled.

"What happened?" Luffy groaned, slowly sitting up as we began to take note that we were no longer falling like before and were now just gently floating downward. "Hey, guys! Get a load of this!" he grinned, excitedly hopping off of the railing as he stared up in childish glee at the inflated octopus that now served as our makeshift air balloon.

"What the hell is it?" Sanji frowned.

"A balloon?" Chopper questioned as Luffy laughed.

"That's strange..." I mumbled, before perking up the minute I heard a low groan come from underneath me. Curiously looking down, my face soon exploded with color the minute I spotted the swordsman whom I was currently straddling.

"You really don't like heights..." Zoro groaned, his face flushed a deep red as he seemed to almost avoid all eye contact with me.

"S-sorry" I sputtered, quick to scramble off of him.

"Yeah, ain't it great?!" Luffy laughed, referring to the inflated octopus.

"We're not falling?" Nami whimpered in relief as she realized that the ship was no longer making a quick descent down toward the ocean below.

"O-oh, good—for a minute there, I thought we were goners, all of us" Usopp shakily sighed before the sound of a bell tolling reached our ears, causing us to smile as we quietly listened to it ring as if the Skypieans and Shandorians were bidding as farewell one last time.

Time slowly seemed to tick by after that and it wasn't long before we found ourselves calmly lazing about.

"That was a terrifying experience I hope never to experience ever again..." I grumbled, boredly drawing shapes with my finger across Zoro's chest as he leaned back against the mast. He only grunted in response, a peaceful and relaxed look on his face as if he enjoyed the feeling of my touch—the feeling of my finger gently moving around his clothed chest and creating different shapes and patterns with every move it made.

"This is so great!" Luffy excitedly laughed.

"Tell me about it!" Usopp grinned. "What a way to travel—I love it!" he happily laughed.

"Gold! Gold! Gold!" the two and Chopper soon started to chant as they looked down at the treasure we had retrieved from inside the snake's stomach.

"We finally struck rich! What should we buy with all this loot?" Luffy eagerly wondered. "Hey! I know—a huge bronze statue!" he grinned.