Coral: Welcome to the next Soaring to the Sky chapter! In this chapter we get to see an interesting spar, as well as a slight flashback. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter now~
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Kingdom Hearts. I do not own Guthrie and, soon to join, Allen. Well, actually I kind of do own him.
*OPENING*
Let's fly to the sky
(The sun rises as Merry sails across the ocean)
There's not a single cloud in the sky
(All the current Straw Hats watched the sun rises, Luffy on the figurehead)
Let's fly to the sky. (It's time to fly around) Catch the perfect breeze for you
(The camera faces the sky as the title appears on the screen)
Paint the sky with (Let's go to the wonder world) imagination that no one's ever seen
(Camera faces back to the Going Merry as everyone went on with their peaceful business)
OH! OH! Even if it's too dazzling (Come on)
(Xion looked up and saw Marines ahead of them and warned everyone)
OH! OH! under the sun
(They all prepared themselves for battle. Marines fired cannon balls at them)
OH! OH! If it's you, you can make it! Throw away your pride and FLY!
(Luffy, Zoro and Sanji sent the cannons back at them. Usopp fired a cannon of their own with Xion, in her Wisdom Form, unleashed Triple Firaga at them, followed by a Thundaga, clearing their path)
Everyday is plain!
Real talent makes the world go round
(Going Merry sailed through the smoke. Everyone looked content as they enjoyed the sea breeze)
Deceit won't work anymore.
(Scene changed to Jaya in Mock Town, as camera faced each of the Blackbeard Pirates.)
Mayday, the red light is stopping you too
(Scene changed to Cricket's home, showing Cricket with Masira and Shojo side by side.)
Lend me an ear! And I'm gonna stick on my RAP! Wussup!
(Guthrie fights against some pirates and Heartless. One tried to sneak up on him and Chirithy knocked it away.)
"From tomorrow on I'll get serious!"- seriously cut it out with excuses like that
(Allen danced as he dodged the attacks of the pirates and attacked them at the same time)
Increase your money with your dream! Time is money like NASDAQ!
(The Straw Hats looked at Cricket's gold and searched for the South Bird)
When will you do it boy? It's now or never man! This is the moment, right?
(The crew then arrived at the Knock Up Stream and went to the skies.)
Everybody put ya hands in the air and clap ya hands like this like that
Clap ya hands everybody! Everybody just clap ya hands!
(Scenes quickly changed to different scenes. Xion and Guthrie crossed blades, Luffy's one-hit KO on Bellamy, the group trying to catch the South Bird, then finally their first encounter with the Shandia Warriors)
Let's fly to the sky (It's time to fly around) Catch the perfect breeze for you
(The Straw Hat Pirates arrived on Skypiea and were approached by the White Berets and fought them)
Paint the sky with (Let's go to the wonder world) imagination that no one's ever seen
(Scene changed to the group in the Upper Yard fighting against Heartless, Shandians and Priests)
OH! OH! Even if it's too dazzling (Come on)
(Scene changed to Xion fighting against a blonde Organization XIII member with knives and lightning magic)
OH! OH! under the sun
(Changed to Guthrie and Allen teaming up against the Nobodies)
OH! OH! If it's you, you can make it! Throw away your pride and FLY!
(Changed to Luffy battling Enel. In a flash of light, opening ends with all of Straw Hats on Merry, facing the camera)
Last time:
"But how do we get to the Sky Island?" Luffy asked.
"Wait Luffy, we need to know more about the currency-" Before Xion could finish her sentence, a pair of giant red claws came out of the cloud and grabbed onto the Merry by what was left of the makeshift wings.
"Inhabitant of the White Sea, the Speedy Shrimp." With that, the group suddenly zoomed higher up the cloud from the shrimp's back. Everyone was hanging on to something to prevent themselves from falling off the ship. But hey, nothing's going to go wrong. Right?
... Who are we kidding? Of course something's going to go wrong.
After a long ride up cloud, the Straw Hat Pirates arrived at the Sky Island at last, known as Skypeia, the same name on the map Luffy found. The island was huge and beautiful, the buildings were well crafted, giving off a somewhat heavenly vibe.
"What is this place?! It reeks of adventure~!" Luffy said, just as the Merry docked by the beach.
He then jumped off the ship. Usopp, worried he might fall back to the Blue Sea, jumped after him to stop him, only to actually land on the cloud, somewhat. The two than ran further along the cloud beach, Chopper running to join them. Zoro asked Luffy where to drop the anchor, something the boy is not at all concerned about.
Xion sighed and called out one of her Dream Eaters. "Summon: Peepsta Hoo." Gunma appeared by her side. "Gunma will scan the area and find a place for the anchor. Pay close attention to his signal, got it?"
"I hear ya," the swordsman said.
"And what are you going to do?" Guthrie asked.
"I'm going to change my clothes," Xion answered.
After the girls changed into a new set of clothes, the rest of the crew got off the ship and either explored or relaxed at the beach. Before they got off, half the crew realized that while Guthrie's Southbird friend, Soula, flew off when he had a chance back at the Knock-Up Stream, the bad Southbird was still held captive below deck. Seeing that he wouldn't cause any trouble with anyone while in the sky, the crew released him.
Nami wore a bikini, with a cloud pattern, maroon trousers, and went barefoot. Robin swpaped into a yellow sleeveless shirt and purple pants reaching to her calves, with a simple belt around her waist. She sported a white ornament on her left arm and also ventured over to the shore barefoot. Xion wore a white tank top with a black vest over it and had on beige shorts.
"You seem uncomfortable in those clothes," Chopper noted at his sister-figure.
"I've been wearing my coat for so long, I forgot what it's like to wear other clothes," she simply reasoned. "I'm sure I'll get over it." She looked to the side and saw Guthrie practicing his skill with two wooden swords, Chirithy by his side. "You're not too bad at that." Xion stated as she approached Guthrie and his Dream Eater. "I can see how you were able to do well against me when we fought before."
Guthrie stopped training and turned to Xion. "That battle only showed our skills in magic and techniques. I'm only training in my natural skills with a blade."
"Why? I know it's important, but shouldn't you focus more on learning those other skills? You said it yourself that you had only recently become a Keyblade wielder. As such, you should learn how to use the magic and techniques that were given to you with it."
"She's right, Guthrie," Chirithy agreed. "You have to gather up more medals and adapt yourself more with the Keyblade in order to use more magic and techniques. Your natural skills are great, but you should learn to fight with more than that."
Guthrie didn't respond to that, but he looked at his wooden katana, then at the second one he had. Showing a sign of resolve, he looked at Xion, and tossed his second katana at her. She was slightly startled at the sudden moment, that she fumbled the blade in her hands before catching it in both.
"Let me see your natural skills," he told her. "I want to see what you are capable of without the needs of magic, techniques, Dream Eaters, any of that."
Xion wasn't sure what he was gonna prove, but she wasn't gonna back down. After all, she had confidence in her skills as they are, and decided to show she could fight Guthrie and beat him.
Drawing the attention of everyone except Luffy and Ussop, who were too busy playing in the clouds, the pirates watched Xion and Guthrie get into their fighter's stances. They locked eyes with one another, wondering who would make the first move. Finally, Xion leapt forward, and the fight started. She did an overhead angled swing at Guthrie, who parried the attack almost effortlessly, then slashed her at the side, pushing her away.
"Xion-nee!" Chopper exclaimed.
"Bastard! Go easy on her!" Sanji growled.
Xion recovered herself as she saw Guthrie take his stance again. "Try again," he told her.
The female Keyblade wielder huffed a couple times, then charged at Guthrie again. She tried striking him with several swings, but he dodged and parried her strikes with ease, before coming around and kicking her from behind, causing her to fall. She was fortunate the ground was made of clouds, as the fall wasn't as bad.
"How in the heck is he overwhelming Xion like that?" Nami questioned. "She should be mopping the floor with him."
"If they were using magic and skills, then yeah, she would," Chirithy agreed, watching Xion get back up for another round with her opponent. "However, Guthrie has trained with a blade since he was four years old. His parents pretty much forced him to do so, since they knew the lore of the Keyblade, and knew that one day, he might wield one. That's why they taught him to fight with a sword, and he exceeded the limits of even his parents. He even reached the semi-finals of the national kendo championships, and is considered the third best swordsman in his land."
This statement was quite surprising to the watching pirates, but it intrigued the only other sword wielder in their crew. Zoro had to smirk, wondering if he should spar with Guthrie at some point.
"You lack the flow of using your blade," Guthrie told Xion as he put her down yet another time. "You state that I should learn to use magic and techniques to fight, but I can see that you rely too heavily on it, as well as your Dream Eaters. No wonder Chirithy told me that I was suppose to be your guardian."
Xion gritted her teeth angrily, hated to be talked down to like this. "Shut up, shut up!" she roared. She charged at Guthrie, clashing blades with him.
"Now you're too predictable. Your anger is causing you to make bad judgements in your attack," Guthrie continued, easily dodging and blocking her vicious assault. "You're angry because you refuse to admit I am right, right? That's why you're lashing out like this."
Xion roared as she leapt into the air, her wooden katana raised to strike Guthrie down. However, just as she came close, Guthrie focused himself, and before she could act, he sidestepped her blade, came from behind, and struck her back with his blade, causing her to fall face-first into the ground.
Just as she laid there, her head sparked in pain, as she felt something. This feeling, the fact that he easily beat her and how he beat her, all felt too familiar. She raised herself on her hands and knees, trying to focus herself, looking down at the ground, which kept shifting from the bright, fluffy clouds, to a dark, stone courtyard. She gasped in pain as she looked behind, seeing Guthrie standing there. However, his appearance kept shifting between him and another person; a young man with silver hair, wearing an Organization's cloak and a blindfold. Who was he? Why was her head piercing with so much pain? Could this be a memory?
"There will be opponents where your magic and techniques will be worthless against (you can't fight fire with sparks)," Guthrie spoke, yet in Xion's ears, his voice was distorted, shifting from Guthrie's to the other person's. "You are a gifted Keyblade wielder (this Keyblade is a sham), but your natural skills need to be improved on (worthless)."
Xion's eyes were dilated and she couldn't understand. Guthrie's voice was saying one thing, but that other voice was saying something else. Something she was afraid of. Something she wished not to hear. Why was she hearing this? What did this mean?
"Xion-nee! Xion-nee!" Chopper cried out. Xion suddenly came back to reality at his voice. She was surrounded by her team, even Luffy and Ussop joined them. All of them were concerned at Xion's condition.
"Are you okay?" Nami asked her.
"Y-Yeah..." she muttered, falling back into a sitting position.
"You sure. You were completely out of it for a couple minutes," Ussop pointed out.
"You just knelt there, with the most scared expression I've ever seen," Zoro added.
"I... I just..." she muttered, still recalling what she had seen. "I don't know what happened. Sorry to make you worry."
"I'm sorry, too," Guthrie told her, getting in front and crouching down to her. "I might've gone a little too far. I apologize."
Xion recounted their fight and what words he said among the distortion of words. "No. You didn't say anything wrong. You're right. I might need to improve myself without the need of the skills of the Keyblade." She stood up once more, while everyone was looking at her with concern and confusion. Noticing their expressions, the vice-captain faked a smile. "I'm telling you guys, I'm fine! Seriously, no need to worry about me."
As she continued to fake an expression of assurance, she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Guthrie look at her with concern. "As a counselor, we'll discuss what happened there some other time, okay? For now, let's just stop practice, and enjoy this place."
Xion could tell he was not fooling Guthrie at all with her faked innocence. He must be concerned with what she felt at that moment. Knowing she would need to confront this with him, she nodded in understanding.
Just then, they heard something that sounded like 'su'. The group turned and saw a small, white fox dashing to them.
"A fox?" Chirithy questioned.
The group then heard what sounded like a harp being played. They looked up and saw a figure standing on top of a boulder.
"Who is that?! The guerilla?!" Usopp asked, hiding behind Xion.
"The whistle! Blow the whistle! Have him save us!" Chopper said, referring to the Sky Knight as he also hid behind Xion, or tried to.
"No wait. It's not," Sanji corrected.
The figure was actually a young woman with long, braided blonde hair, wearing a pink dress, and have wings on her back. She stopped playing for a second before turning to the pirates. "Heso."
"What does 'heso' mean?" Chopper asked.
"Must be a greeting on Sky Island," Guthrie guessed.
"Su! Come!" the woman called. Her fox responded and went to her side. "Did you come here from the Blue Sea?"
"Yeah. We came up from down there," Luffy answered. "Do you live here?"
"Yes, I do. Welcome to Skypeia's Angel Beach. Would you like to drink that?" She gestured to the fruit under Luffy's arm. He nodded and gave her the green pumpkin-like fruit. "The top of a conasshu is as hard as steel. You can't bite through it. So from the underside..." She turned the fruit over, took the knife out and cut a hole in the middle. A straw was then inserted in it. "Here." She handed the fruit over to Luffy, who took a sip.
"It's goooood~!" Luffy sang.
"What?! It's that good?! Let me try!" Usopp took a sip and was just as happy with the taste.
"I'm Conis. This is Su, a Cloudfox," the woman introduced, picking up her pet. "Should you need anything, please let me be of service."
"Yes, about that. The look in your eyes has pierced my heart-"
Nami cut him off, knowing he was just going to try and sway Conis. "Move it," she said, pulling him away by the ear. "There's a lot we'd like to ask you. This place is just full of mysteries for us."
"Of course. Please ask me anything," Conis nodded.
Zoro looked out at the White-White Sea and saw something. "Hey. Something's coming."
Everyone looked at the direction he was looking at. Conis seemed to know who the figure was. "Oh! My father!"
"Conis-san, heso!" called a voice.
"Yes! Heso, father!" Conis called back.
"What are you guys talking about?" Luffy asked in great confusion.
"Conis, is 'heso' a form of greeting here?" Xion asked.
"Yes. That's right," she answered.
"Hey, what is that? That thing your father's riding?" Nami questioned.
"Ah, you mean the Waver?"
"Whoa! That looks cool!" Luffy stated.
"So that's a Waver..." the navigator said in awe.
"Yes, I'm sorry! I'll stop now!" Conis' father called. Rather than stopping, however, the waver still moved on shore at top speed and crashed into a nearby tree, much to the Straw Hats' shock and worries. "Is everyone all right?"
"WHAT ABOUT YOU?!" Zoro and Guthrie questioned.
"Hey, Luffy! Didn't you bring something like that up from the ocean floor?" Nami asked their captain.
"Yeah, I did," he answered, still drinking the fruit.
"So that's what Noland wrote about in his diary. A ship that sails without wind!"
"Oh, so it wasn't what I thought," Chirithy muttered, rubbing his head.
"Are these your friends, Conis-san?" Conis' father asked his daughter.
"Yeah. We just met," she answered. "They came from the Blue Sea."
"I see. That must have been a difficult journey. This is the White-White Sea. I'm sorry."
Taken aback by the sudden apology, Usopp said, "O-Oh no, it's cool."
"I haven't introduced myself. I'm Paguya. I'm sorry."
"Oh no, it's quite alright."
"Father. Did you catch any fish?" Conis asked.
"Yes. A good catch," Paguya answered. "Oh yes. Would you care to stop by my house? I'll treat you to a little of the happiness of the sky."
"Can we?! We'll go! We'll go!" Luffy immediately answered.
"That's fast!" Guthrie and Chirithy said in shock.
"You'll get use to it," Xion told them.
"A Sky Island cuisine?" Sanji asked. "Will you let me help you prepare it?"
Before Paguya can answer, Nami said, "But first, can I ask you something? This... doesn't have a sail to catch wind... And you weren't rowing it... How was it riding on the sea?"
"Oh. You don't know about Dials?" Conis asked back.
"Dials?" Luffy repeated in a questioned tone.
The next thing anyone knew, Luffy tried out the Waver. The moment he went out to sea with it, he couldn't stop the Waver from shaking and ended up, probably, crashing into something, causing him to fly off the Waver.
"Oh my!" Conis gasped.
"What a tragedy! I'm sorry for lending him my Waver!" Paguya apologized.
"Come to think of it, what happens to people with abilities in this sea?" Sanji asked.
"Oh yeah," Zoro seemed to have also realized. "This sea's different, right? Maybe he can handle it."
Zoro was proven wrong, for Luffy was sinking.
"He sank," Sanji deadpanned.
"No good, huh?" Zoro also deadpanned.
"OH NO!" Chopper and Chirithy went to help their captain out.
Minutes later, Xion was walking back to shore, with Chopper and Chirithy in one arm as she dragged Luffy with the other arm.
"Sometimes, I really do hate my bad habit," she muttered, for as soon as Chopper jumped into the sea, she may have gotten into her worried-and-overprotective-big-sister mode and just jumped right in, forgetting that she had flying Dream Eaters. Yeah, it was a big scare for her, until she remembered she has Dream Eaters who can fly.
"I am sorry for letting a beginner borrow it," Paguya apologized again. "The body of the Waver is very light. Even a small wave can move the rudder. Unless you know the sea well, you cannot expect to be able to ride it."
"I only recently became good enough to use it," Conis said.
"Is it that hard?" Chopper asked.
"With practice, it takes about 10 years," Paguya informed.
"THAT'S WAY TOO LONG!" Chirithy cried out.
"Though it looks like we have a prodigy," Guthrie said, looking out at the sea, where Nami was riding the Waver.
"SHE'S RIDING IT!" Usopp exclaimed in great shock.
"This is the best!" she shouted.
"Nami-san! You're the greatest~!" Sanji swooned.
"Oh my! This is quite extraordinary! I can hardly believe it!" Paguya exclaimed.
"How can she ride that thing?!" Luffy questioned, since he tried to ride it, only to instantly fall off.
"This thing does take a lot to control! It's so delicate it would be impossible for you, Luffy!" Nami said.
The Straw Hat captain didn't like what she said at all. "Oi, Nami! We're going to the Ossan's house! Get off now! YOU DORK!"
Sanji axe kicked him for the insult. "Don't say that to her!"
"YOU DORK!"
Nami simply ignored him as she continued to enjoy the ride. "Go on ahead! Ojisan, can I ride on it a little longer?!"
"Yes, take care!" Paguya answered. With that, everyone walked to Paguya and Conis' place.
"Is this a construction site?" Usopp asked.
"Oh. That's the cloud-cutting site. This is where clouds are cut to be used in manufacturing," Paguya explained.
"Can you even cut clouds?" Zoro asked.
"Looks like it," Xion replied, pointing at some clouds being cut into cube-shaped pieces.
"To get here to the White-White Sea, you came up the Milky Road, right?" Paguya asked them.
"You mean that spiral cloud belt?" Guthrie asked.
"Yes. That was manufactured using the Island Cloud cut from here. There are two natural kinds of clouds up here. The kind you used to sail your ship here is the Sea Cloud. And the fluffy cloud you're able to walk on is the Island Cloud."
"No matter how you look at it, it ain't normal," Zoro said.
"Yes. The solidification nucleus which produces each cloud is different. On the Blue Sea, there is something called the Kairoseiki, correct?"
"Kairoseiki? That has something to do with it?" Robin asked.
"Yes. It is found in Pyrobloin, a sulfur protein particle transported into the sky by volcanoes. When it reacts with water vapor, the differences in density determine whether Sea or Island Cloud will be formed."
"Oh. Of course, that," Luffy said, pretending to understand.
"Yeah, I know all about it. I used to play with those sulfur protein particles when I was a kid," Usopp lied, pretending to understand.
"You can't play with those!" Sanji corrected, as Xion whacked them with her Keyblade.
"And don't pretend to be smart when you're not!" she added.
"Well, anyway, the kinds of cloud you find here are Sea Cloud, Island Cloud and lastly the ones manufactured from Island Cloud," Paguya ended.
Eventually, the group arrived at Paguya's place. While most of them were in the living room, Sanji and Paguya were working in the kitchen. As they tried to relax, they could faintly hear Sanji screaming for some reason. Luffy and Usopp assumed he was just having fun in the kitchen, which the Keyblade wielders of the group doubted. Meanwhile, Robin requested Conis to explain to them a bit more about Dials.
"Let's see... How should I explain?" Conis wondered. She went over to pick up something and handed it to Luffy.
"What's this? You have seashells here?" he asked.
"Yes. Please try saying something to it," she instructed.
"Yosh." He took a few seconds to think of something to say. "Usopp's a dork!"
"Why, why, why did you say that?" the sniper in question asked.
Conis giggled for a bit before continuing her instructions. "Now try pressing the apex of the shell."
"What's an apex?" Luffy questioned.
"It's the top of the shell," Usopp answered, pressing down the spot.
To their shock, the shell repeated what Luffy and Usopp said just seconds earlier.
"AH! THE SHELL'S MAKING FUN OF USOPP!" Luffy freaked.
"And in your voice!" Usopp followed.
"Hey, that's really something. It recorded the sound," Zoro said in amazement.
"So that seashell is a Dial?" Robin asked.
"Yes. This is a Tone Dial," Conis identified. "It is able to record and replay sound. It is one of the shells of the White-White Sea."
"But the sea doesn't have a bottom here. So where do shellfish come from?" Guthrie asked.
"On the reefs in the shallows."
"But I don't see how that can move a Waver," Robin pointed out.
"True, but she said 'Dials' as in in general. Wouldn't that mean there are dials that can do something similar to Tone Dial? Like how it takes in sounds and replays it, there should be one that absorbs wind and releases it. Right?" Xion guessed.
"Yes. The propulsion of the Waver is this one," Conis said, picking up a different Dial. "This one isn't very large, but the principle is the same as the Tone Dial." She brought it up to a wind chime and pressed the apex, releasing some wind.
"So wind comes out of that one?" Usopp asked.
"Let me see that!" Luffy said.
Conis handed him the Dial. "This is a Breath Dial. It sucks in wind and releases it freely. The capacity varies depending on the size. But by putting this on the aft of a ship, it can move light ships."
"Like the Waver!" Chirithy said.
"I get it. So it was blowing wind out to move," Usopp summed up.
"That Waver's neat!" Luffy commented.
"There are many others. Skate types and board types, but the Waver is the only one I can handle," Conis said.
Luffy was watching Nami, who was still enjoying herself with Paguya's Waver, in envy. "I want to ride like Nami. And we have a Waver too..."
"You guys have a Waver?" Conis asked.
"Yeah. Mostly by accident though," Usopp replied. "We picked up an old, beat-up one. But after 200 years, it probably wouldn't move."
"That might not be the case. Dials are made from the remains of a shellfish. As long as the shell isn't broken, they will remain functional practically forever."
It was then Xion realized something. "So wait. Dials are seashells that takes in and releases different properties, right?"
"Yes, that's right. Why do you ask?"
Before Xion could answer, Usopp caught on to what she was going to say. "Oh yeah! We even found some Dials when we found the Waver."
"Seriously?" Guthrie asked, for this was the first time he heard of this.
"Oh yeah! I forgot about them!" Luffy exclaimed in realization. "Xion! You should bring them all here so we would know what they do!"
"After what one of them did to me, I'd rather not," she said.
"Dials are an integral part of our livelihood in the sky. And so, Sky Island's culture has evolved with the Dials' energy," Conis explained.
"I see," Robin said.
It was then Sanji and Paguya came into the room with the food they prepared.
"All right, it's ready! Full-Course Sky Island Special Catch with Fruit," the pirate chef introduced. The group dug into the meal, enjoying themselves. Sanji looked out the balcony and noticed Nami was missing. "Oi! Where's Nami-san?"
"She's there in the sea," Luffy replied.
"No she's not."
"Then she probably went out exploring," Usopp said. "She can handle herself."
For some reason, Conis and Paguya seemed worried.
"Father, will she be okay?" the former asked.
"Yes, Conis-san. I also feel a bit unsettled," the latter replied.
"Is there something we should know?" Guthrie asked, noticing their worried looks.
"Here in Skypiea, there is a place where you must never, ever set foot on no matter the circumstances," Conis explained. "That place is adjacent to this island and could easily be reached with the Waver."
"What do you mean 'never, ever set foot on'?" Xion asked.
"It is sacred ground. We call that place... The Land Where God Resides, Upper Yard."