You may want to read the first chapter again. Why? Because I'm an idiot! :'D

One Piece (c) Oda

Mikari (c) Myself

Chapter 2:

First meetings... in most ways. (I hate introducing characters... soooo I was lazy. HAHA... shutting up...)

Why is this ship designed after a ram and a chicken? Pirates have such strange imaginations. They are pirates, right?

So I was lucky not to fall head first into the sea. Bob and I were still on Whirly's Sky Current. What do you call this, Whirly's Sneeze? Meh, it'll do.

I stood up on the face of Bob (as balanced as you could get when flying towards the sky) stretching my arms out like wings. The salt water spraying my skin making me feel a bit floppy.

Now I was really flying.

"I BELIEVE I CAN FLY! I BELIEVE I CAN TOUCH THE-Whoa!"

Whirly's Sneeze had come to an end, causing Bob to glide through the air and then sharply nosedive into the clouds.

If I were to cling any tighter, I'm sure poor Bob would be missing a head by now. Surprisingly, I'd gotten wet from the impact… but since when are clouds wet… and solid?

I flung a stray clump of hair out of my face and gasped as I looked around.

Clouds. As far as the eyes could see. Breathtakingly beautiful.

"Wow, just wow." I hummed, keeping my eyes glued to the scenery as I climbed onto the safety of the deck. I can't begin to imagine what creatures could be flying nearby… or swimming nearby.

I sucked in a deep breath, memorising every detail I possibly could. The air felt slightly different, either thicker or thinner. Well that shouldn't be surprising seeing as we're who knows how high up in the sky. Of course the atmosphere would be different. Derp.

Maybe I should take a photo~! I patted my chest where my camera would usually hang, only to find it missing. Ah, that's right. I took it off in Steve. So it's probably in the ocean below or it is laying around keeping dry.

Before I could act on finding my beloved Snapper (the camera) a blade suddenly found its way near my neck.

"Who are you and how did you get aboard?" Said a male's voice. He didn't sound in the mood for games.

I blinked and calmly turned around, the blade not once moving from its place. Once turned fully, we both sized each other up with a quick glance.

My observations: Lots of green, serious, three katana (Yay!) and three wicked earrings in his left ear. I wouldn't mind a few pairs actually. I meant the earrings, in case you were wondering~

His eyes narrowed dangerously and I grinned at the sudden silence, casually placing my hands on my hips. His eye twitched.

"Hey, what's up?" I chirped, grinning wider. He growled in annoyance, about to come back with some smart remark but was cut off.

"ZOROOOO! Oi! Come chop this sea snake for me~! Eh?" A voice shouted, becoming louder as the owner of said voice walked up to us. Zoro (the swordsman I presume) never once wavered his eyes from mine. But I wasn't looking at him.

My gaze was on the boy who now stood behind him. He wore a red vest, blue shorts and a very familiar looking straw hat upon his head. A look of recognition appeared on both our faces.

My grin was even wider now, if that was possible and I waved. "Luffy-kun! This wouldn't happen to be your ship, aye?"

Luffy then laughed loudly in reply and the both of us were suddenly looping arms and spinning around, laughing some more.

Zoro turned, a tick mark on his forehead. "What the hell?!" He through his arms up in frustration as he was ignored. Realizing I was no threat, he sheathed his sword and waited until he was able to get some form of an answer for his strangely arising questions.

Thanks to all the ruckus Luffy and I were creating, it wasn't long before the whole crew came wandering up.

They all were quite surprised at my sudden appearance and when I told them how I got here, they were shocked to say the least.

"Are you INSANE?!" Was the orange-haired woman's reaction. She slapped a hand to her face when I just shrugged, smiling widely saying, "Maybe."

That's Nami, by the way. The other crew members names are Chopper (a cute little reindeer), Sanji (a blonde guy who loved to swoon over me or any female in general), Robin (a seemingly elegant lady) and Usopp who was currently twitching, out cold on the decking below. Let's not forget the trusty swordsman who warmly welcomed me aboard and of course the straw hat wearing, beloved captain, Luffy! So all up, seven.

Within these few minutes things felt more relaxed and I no longer felt a certain crew member being on edge. No need for names. Nudge, nudge.

But I had a feeling things would go well from now on. I just knew it.

"So, since you're here and all, Luffy won't shut up about you joining us." Nami said, folding her arms.

Heh, heh.

"And I'm guessing this is the first time you've met… or am I wrong?"

Luffy squeezed his arms tighter around my neck, not that it bothered me. I returned the favour slightly, though my arms were around his waist. We were kind of standing, facing each other in an awkward hug with my cheek pressed into his neck.

I grinned, huffing a laugh. "Well, I'll tell you a short and sweet story of how we met." My eyes briefly looked to each member. Good, they were paying attention. Except Zoro, who just fell asleep? Does that happen often… huh.

"Where I lived there was hardly any exploring left to do and since we only had family living there, I guess it got boring at times. Not so much with me, but more so with my sister. Don't get me wrong – I love my sister and family so there's no way I would abandon them."

But anyway, long story short, my sister wanted to leave for a 'vacation' so she took a boat, grabbed me and we set off around East Blue and eventually we docked at the island Luffy lived on. And well, as you can see are pretty good buddies."

It was silent for a moment as everyone processed my words. Chopper was the first to speak up. "Did you… Did you ever go back home?"

Luffy had released his grip during my speech, so I was able to move without extra limbs. His attention was most likely elsewhere. ("SANJI! I'm hungry! Cook me that sea snake already!" "Argh, dammit Luffy! Get off me! I'll cook you something else, alright?!" "YOSH!")

I knelt down to answer Chopper honestly. "I did. And you know what?"

His eyes lit up. "What?"

"That small adventure made me want to have my own EPIC one! And here I am now! With you!" I stood up straight and watched as the young reindeer skipped off to the side with Luffy (who was now chomping on some form of food) blabbering on about their own adventures and ones they will have.

If Sis could see me now. Who knows when that will be? Huh.

"Explorer-san, I believe these are yours." I vaguely caught sight of an arm disappearing into petals next to Robin as she handed me a few items. "Try not to lose them again." She smiled.

The items were none other than my katana, satchel and camera! My eyes grew big and shimmery. "Ah~ Thank you so much, Robin-chan!"

She nodded as Nami finally got to speak. "This means you'll need a tour of the ship then. I'll have to do that later though, okay? We need to find a place to dock… somewhere… on clouds…"

I nodded slowly, barely catching what she said as I closely inspected my belongings. The two women then began their own discussion.

I moved down to the lower deck, making myself comfortable against the rail as I sat down cross-legged. I could hear Usopp mumbling 'Sky Island…scary' on repeat.

Why does he say that? Oh yeah. Considering we're on an unknown island in the sky and I do recall Zoro saying something about him almost being eaten by something beforehand. Wait… how long had I been standing up there gazing at the cloud sea before…? I'm positive it was only a few seconds. Actually let me think back…

: First arrival on deck – background noise :

"USOPP!" "AHHHH!" "I'VE GOT HIM! PULL HIM UP NOW!" "USOPPPP!" SPLASH! THUNK!

….WHOOSH! RAAAARRRR! "EEEEEEEPPP!" "A GIANT OCTOPUS AND SEA SNAKE!" SHING! BAAAANG! FWIP! CRACK! THUD!

("Lalala~!" = Mikari's daydream humming through the whole thing.)

: Back to the present :

Ah… righty-o then! Makes perfect sense now. I then happily continued checking my camera. The lens protector was off but fortunately there were no marks or scratches. My katana was next on the to-check list. But alas, my senses kicked in and I rolled to the side just as a foot came hurdling down into the railing right where I was sitting. Normally I'd just tank the hit, but Snapper was at risk of being damaged.

Not a moment after, I decided to test the shot quality. "Whew, say cheese!" Click~

It turned out to be a great shot of my attacker leaping into the air as he aimed a bazooka at us. He was wearing a strange outfit consisting of a fur or plant skirt, some whacko long shoes and a bull mask. He also held a shield in the other hand. Stylish.

Oh, the bazooka. I glanced around my surroundings. All the boys were down. The girls didn't look like ones who could deflect missiles. So… it must be my job. YAY!~

I stood up, ready for action. I don't recall having to deflect missiles before, but there's always a first for something, aye? Hey, this'll be fun!

My chance though was stomped down as a new arrival appeared from the 'heavens'. Haha, heavens.

…Yeah, no. -Insert goofy grin-

"That's enough!" He shouted, swooping down on some form of animal, most likely a bird. Bull mask moved his shield to block the weapon that came stabbing at him. This sent him hurdling into the clouds below. The other man landed safely on the upper railing near the middle of the ship.

I was able to get a good look at his appearance now. He was an older fellow, dressed in knight's armor, along with a cape to match. His weapon was a silver lance, looking well-worn with use.

I could clearly hear and see Nami's distress as she shouted questions every few seconds. "What!? Who are you?! What is going on!?"

I could've answered her question by stating the obvious, but I'm sure she already knew all that. But yes, who is this man and why the sudden attack from Mr Bull Mask?

The knight calmly answered us, "I am the Knight of the Sky." I imagined him striking a heroic pose, with waves crashing up into the air behind him, along with the dramatic music. His loyal steed stood next to him with a 'Pierrrre!' and the image puffed away and back to normal. Aww.

When I turned back to the cloud sea, Bull Mask was off in the distance. Aw, don't leave yet! We were just getting started!

It was then Nami started firing the questions again.

"What's going on? Just who was that? And what's more… What's wrong with you guys!?" She pointed at Luffy, Sanji and Zoro who were still trying to catch their breath. Sorry, Nami. I can't really answer that question for ya.

"That was pathetic! All three of you couldn't handle him! Mikari lasted longer than you guys, and she hasn't done anything yet! I'm disappointed in you lot!" Nami fumed, running a hand through her hair.

Ah, that's right. She doesn't know about my Devil Fruit. Well shucks.

Chopper, being the polite one, thanked the Knight for saving us. He brushed it off, saying he was only doing his job. I too was grateful for his interference, although I could have handled it easily. But I guess it was for the best. It would've been a bad time for me to fall overboard when everyone is exhausted already.

"It must be because the air's so thin…" I heard one of the boys mumble. That's right, they don't have my ability. Silly forgetful me! But it shouldn't take them long to get used to it. They wouldn't have made it this far otherwise.

I kept to my thoughts as the Knight of the Sky started talking about the White Sea and the Blue Sea. We were currently 7,000 meters above our Blue Sea and the White-White Sea is 10,000 meters above. So I was guessing we needed to go higher if we wanted to truly explore the place.

I smiled slightly as he told us about his Guardian job and that it would cost 5,000,000 extols per blow of a whistle for him to come to our rescue. Wonder how much extols is in beli? Another funny thing is, he was shocked that we came up the 'Knock-Up Stream' (Must be the proper name for Whirly's Sneeze.) and wondered why we didn't come up the normal way. This Knight has no idea…

At long last, after Nami kept asking his name, he said it was Gan Fall and then after saying a few words his steed 'Pierre' then turned into a Pegasus. Or rather a more deformed looking one. Surprise, surprise.

"Well that was certainly strange…" Sanji deadpanned, as everyone sweat-dropped.

"You can say that again, heh." I said, sucking my lips.

"Well now that that's over," Nami sighed, "How are we gonna get higher?"

"Ah, he never did really tell us anything." Robin stated. Everyone agreed with her.

"Not a damn thing!" Usopp huffed. When did he come back to the land of the living?

"Yosh, I know! We'll call him back!" Luffy suggested, picking up the whistle Gan had left behind for us. As soon as he went to blow on it Nami grabbed onto his arm calling him an idiot as Usopp pulled on his face.

"That's only for emergencies! You moron!" The two then let go when Luffy dropped the whistle. "Anyway, we need to move the ship somewhere."

Good idea, Nami. I looked out in search for something, both Zoro and I spotted the same thing.

"Hey, look over there!" We both said in unison. He frowned at me with an 'Oi!'

"Teehee!"

"Argh, just-whatever…!"

Everyone looked in awe at the strange clouds that were either flowing upwards or falling downwards.

"It looks like a waterfall." Robin observed.

"That it does." I mused.

"We'll go over there." Zoro practically ordered. Not that we had much of a choice. Haha.

It didn't take long to reach the 'cloud waterfall' and I couldn't wait to get a good close-up shot of it. Unfortunately there were different clouds blocking the way through to it.

"What do we do?" Chopper asked.

I looked closer at the fuller clouds. I wonder if you could walk on those.

"They're floating above the sea-sky, so they can't be part of it." Sanji noted. I decided to test my thoughts.

"Here goes nothing!" I stated to no one in particular, climbing up onto the railing.

"Mikari, what do you think-"

I leapt off into the clouds before Nami could finish her sentence. "Woo-hoo!"

I expected it to feel more like a bed that you'd sink in, but instead it was squishy and bouncy like rubber! It was soooooooooo much fun!

"This. Is. AWESOME!" I said between bounces, as Luffy, Chopper and Usopp joined in. I pulled Snapper out of nowhere and took some snaps of the four of us with each airborne moment.

"Something tells me we have another Luffy in our hands." Zoro muttered loudly enough for those still on board to hear, rubbing his temples.

"What was that about, moss head?" Sanji seethed.

"Nothing you haven't heard before curly brow." The swordsman growled.

"WHY YOU-!"

"I believe she'll be quite different from our Captain-san." Robin indicated, causing the boys to stop arguing.

"What do you mean by that?" Zoro questioned, folding his arms. Robin only smiled as she watched the youngest members enjoying themselves.

Nami hmm-ed, "Whatever the case, I just hope she knows how to listen. I don't feel like having another idiot like him aboard."

"You said it."

"Well, I think Mikari is a beautiful woman, no matter how she acts!~" (Sanji)

"You always think that, darn cook." (Zoro)

"MOSS HEAD!"

Thwack! "Shut it already!" (Nami)

Once the four of us stopped bouncing, we sunk into the clouds. So I guess it is like a bed too. Maybe we could just, you know, stay here for a while instead? Hehe.

"Oi, look for a route through while you're up there!" Nami shouted. I saluted, hopping around some more before beginning my search.

"Hey, look over here! I found something!" Usopp called. I guess he beat me to it. We all made our way up, me being a bit slower because I couldn't help myself and all the bouncing. It was harder to make it out, but it looked like a gate of sort.

So we did our job and told Nami about it once we reboarded and Usopp directed her which way to go through the clouds. A maze is what it was! Luffy didn't help much with the wrong directions but we still made it either way.

I was shocked stiff when we came up to the gate. It was HUGE! Looked like a star had fallen into the clouds here, but only got through halfway. On it read 'Heaven's Gate'. Quite a fitting name if I do say so myself.

Oh boy oh boy! I was gaping like a fish when I saw how big the waterfall was behind it. GIANORMOUS! I took a few photos of it as well. I'm a tourist, I'll do as I please! Mwahaha!

"'Heaven's Gate'? Is this some kind of joke? It's like we're gonna die…" Usopp stuttered, shaking on the spot.

"Or what if we're dead already." Zoro added to spike Usopp's fear. Well I guess that could be possible in my case. I did kind of fall to meet my doom. But this is a bit too touristy to be actual Heaven in my theory. Just doesn't fit the bill.

"That would certainly account to all the weird stuff here." Sanji agreed. Heh, if the shoe fits.

"HUH, we're DEAD!?" Chopper shrieked, his eyes the size of saucers.

Luffy laughed like a weirdo his eyes squinted, "Heaven? Sounds like fun!"

I clapped him on the back, adding my own cheesy laugh. "It sure does, buddy! Huehuehue!"

We both received looks that said 'You've got to be kidding me' and 'Who are these nut cases here?'

I didn't take note of it and even if I did, I wouldn't really care. I'm used to those looks, hahaha!

"We're not dead!" Nami yelled, shaking her fist. I just batted my hand in the air, continuing my laughter. Gosh, this is so much fun already!

I didn't notice her punch my head after the other's or her cradling it in her other palm. "Eye-yii-yii… what a hard head she has!"

"Hey look over there! Someone's coming out!" Usopp pointed to one of the door's that was inside the gate. A figure came out of it, with a camera flashing. She was taking photos of us! We must be special.

I smiled brightly as she took the photos. Hey, gotta be happy then have a weird face on. Better yet, I should have pulled a funny face. Rats!

We all stared at her. She was very short, with a wrinkly face. She must be one of the seniors here. On her back though, were a pair of mini angel-like wings. Luffy and Chopper were flabbergasted at this discovery.

"Wings!"

"It's an angel!"

We all kind of stared at the angel in silence, wondering how to talk to such a person. In my case, I'd be polite as possible. That usually comes first when treating your elders. But I try my best to be nice to everyone I meet and understanding. But not everyone is like that, ya know. Which is kinda sad. It's a shame I don't get sad often then, hoho!

"E-Excuse me…" Nami started, uncertain. The angel was quick to respond to our arrival though luckily.

"I am the appointed lookout of Heaven's Gate, Amazon." Ah, that's a different name. But I should've be too surprised with the amount of names I've come up with for objects. Like Snapper for instance. But that fits the purpose of said camera. Like: Snap, snap! Photo taken! But Amazon is a person, so it doesn't exactly count… moving on!

"Sightseeing? Or fighting?"

I blinked at the options. Well, technically we are here for sightseeing, but if we had to defend ourselves (Key word: IF), then yes we would be fighting. But I'd rather it stay as option one because honestly, I don't enjoy beating up strangers or anyone for that matter.

"S-Sightseeing would be closer, I guess…" Came Nami's hesitant answer.

"We wanna go to Sky Island!" Luffy called out. "Sky Island's on the other side of this gate, right?"

"What do you mean, fighting?" Zoro asked. But I never did say I didn't enjoy sparring. Huge difference there, right?

"It doesn't matter which. Just pay the immigration fee, 1 Billion extol per person, and be on your way. That's the law." Was Amazon's firm reply.

It's the law. Then that means we have to pay it. But how much is extol in beli? You know, I never was one to do my research on things like this. In fact, I never research! Hahaha!

"1-1 Billion!?" Usopp stuttered in shock, his mouth hanging open.

"There's that extol thing again." Sanji muttered in annoyance. I guess that means none of us know what currency that is. Blast.

"1 billion extol… so that makes it 8 billion?" Robin calculated. Yep, 8 people. I wonder if I have enough to pay for us all, unless they already have some cash lying around. I'd be glad to help my new crew out!

Usopp started muttering nonsense, causing Nami to slap a hand over his mouth. "Excuse me, but about the money…If by some chance… we didn't have enough…"

"You can pass."

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is she serious? Free entry? This must be our luckiest day! YIPEE!

"Or, you can also not pass." Huh? Ah, there's a catch to it. "I am neither a guardian nor a warrior. I only listen to your will."

So that means we can choose whether we want to pay or not? Sounds fishy. But it was never my decision to decide our course of action since joining the Straw Hats. I'll leave that to Luffy~!

"Okay, let's go!" Haha, I knew it! He's hardly changed since he was a child. But that's why I'm his friend! Heh. My guess is he's not going to pay either. Even though I feel wrong about that, I did say I'd join his crew. Can't back out now!

I was broken from my thoughts when the ship started shaking and huge crab claws appeared on each side of the ship. I really need to know the name of this ship. I can't call it Bob anymore, aye?

As everyone panicked (minus Zoro, Sanji, Robin and myself), Amazon murmured a few words which I didn't quite hear and then we were suddenly shooting off across the clouds.

To say that this was fast, was exactly what it was.

FAST.

But, with my experience with 'fast', this was incredibly slow to say the least.

Who said I didn't enjoy it anyway? (Currently at the front of the ship waving my arms around like a maniac, laughing out loud.) Although, this was also a small reminder of someone whom I hadn't seen in some time. And it made me miss her. Not enough to let down my good mood, because she wouldn't be happy if I did that. Aunty always told me I was like a breath of fresh air for her.

I couldn't totally grasp that concept, but I'm sure I'll understand it fully someday. I guess it had the same meaning as what my Uncle said: I'm the sunshine in her life. And you know what? I'll never dampen those rays of happiness I send off. Because I'm special like that, haha!

It was then once we reached the top, after so much yelling of both fear and joy, with all those twists and turns, that I calmed down (just a tad) so I could read the sign that we passed.

GODLAND, SKYPIEA.

Oh. My. Word.

We're here.

ON A FLOATING CLOUD IN THE SKY!

WHICH HAPPENS TO BE AN ISLAND!

THAT IS CLOUDS!

…

…

HAHAHAHAHA.

Oh yeah~

Yo, yo, yo! What is up my homies? Aye, aye?

...Yeah not happening. T.T

But anyway, all I can say is sorry for such a late chapter. I kind of lost my muse for this because all these other new games a movies came out and I was soooo stoked with all that... and yeah.

But anyway, I'm kinda back now. All I need to do is get back in a rhythm of writing this.

Since its the first few chapters, it is soooooo hard to get into the groove of it. Plus the first chapters always seem boring. Which they are. To me anyway. o.o

Also, don't forget. Character developmentess...ness... stuff...

BUT YES!

Thank you sooooo much to everyone still reading this and if you bother staying... LOL!

No promises on next chapter, meaning I have no clue as to when that will come. But it WILL come.

So, toodles!~