One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.

-Chapter One Hundred and Twelve-

-Flashback-

"Skylar! Hey, Skylar, where are you?!" Sora called out, head turning left and right as he wandered down the manor's winding halls in search of his younger twin. He looked from the painted portraits of various people—mainly late family members with the occasional family portrait—that rested comfortably on the walls to the occasional vase of flowers that were seated atop their respective tabletops...

He hated this house.

Hated how big it was for a family of only five...but at the same time...he also loved it. He loved how easy it was to hide oneself away inside a house so big whenever they needed to. It was always so easy to just disappear for hours on end and never be seen again for the rest of the day—just like Skylar was currently doing.

"Please come out!" he pleaded after a moment of silence. "Cloud and I have a gift for you!" he tried enticing her as he continued his search. He didn't know exactly what had gone awry in her lesson today seeing how he wasn't there to witness it. Some days their father required them to attend that day's lesson together and other times he insisted on one-to-one lessons. He claimed that they all didn't need to learn the same amount of information that the others had to learn—he claimed that a Marine Admiral must know more than a lower-ranking Marine does...or at least that's how he'd usually put it whenever he would drag the youngest of his children away. Sometimes Sora wondered if their one-on-one lessons were just an excuse to prevent them from sticking up and helping one another whenever one of them would show signs of struggling to answer a question.

Father certainly hated it whenever he'd catch them helping each other...he especially hated how his youngest would always help her older twin due to the boy's tendency to constantly fall ill and miss out on lessons due to being bedridden. It wasn't his fault that his immune system was so much weaker than his sister's...it wasn't his fault that something as simple as a fever would leave him bedridden for days on end to the point that he could barely do more than sleep and deliriously mumble to himself.

"What is it?" Sora halted the second he heard his sister's familiar delicate voice. Quietly did he watch how on all fours she crawled out from underneath one of the tabletops—her dress dirty and tattered with dirt in the shape of boot prints. It looked like it might have been beautiful once, but now it looked like something you would expect a commoner to wear...at least that's how his mother would put it if she was to see the condition that the dress was in. No doubt she'd laugh at the sight before sneering in disappointment at how filthy her youngest child appeared.

"Oh, sis..." Sora's gaze sadly softened the second he saw how Skylar's left eye was swollen shut, a nasty purplish-yellow tint to it as a cut ran across her cheek—a bruise was already starting to blossom on top of it as well. It seems that today's lesson really didn't go over well at all.

"You know I wish to be alone before night falls and the party begins..." she quietly whispered, slowly pushing herself to stand up on shaky legs that looked as if they could break at any moment. There were bruises and cuts starting to form on them as well...it seems he went all out this time around. Sora bit his quivering lips as his eyes started to sting with unshed tears. Looking down, he couldn't help but feel like a coward as he no longer wished to stare at the disheveled state of his little sister. He knew all too well what she was referring to...

Their birthday party.

It was the same every year—an extravagant party thrown by their parents under the guise of celebrating another year since the twin's birth when in reality, they just wanted to show off any new purchases or renovations that have been done to the manor. Whenever it got close to one of the children's birthdays, their parents would always end up spending the money on themselves instead of buying gifts or arranging a real birthday celebration. With swollen chests filled with pride, they'd invite friends and comrades and anyone else of similar status over just to boast about their new purchases or arrangements made to their home. It seemed they got some sort of pleasure in taking the attention away from the children when it came to their supposed special day while simultaneously acting as if that wasn't the case...

There was something nauseating about the way they effortlessly played the role of caring parents as they'd play pretend and have their guests still greet and wish their children a happy birthday—as they'd still force their children to attend the gathering and play host for the guests while quietly assuring everyone that all they wanted was to see everyone have a good time and nothing more for their birthday.

"You find her?" Cloud asked, approaching his younger siblings with his hands hidden behind his back as he tightly clutched a bouquet of tiger and white lilies. Slowing down to a halt, the blond silently stared down at the now five-year-old girl who tiredly stared back up at him with dull and exhausted eyes that looked as if they just wanted to go to bed and sleep forever. Quietly did he drink up the sight of her broken and bruised body as if his mind was slowly trying to process what exactly it was looking at.

"Yeah..." Sora mumbled, finally lifting his gaze...yet he still couldn't bring himself to look his sister in the eyes and instead opted to stare at the vase of yellow chrysanthemums nearby. He silently noted how they were already starting to wilt much to his surprise—his mother loved her flowers and did everything to keep them alive and healthy, to see some already in the process of wilting meant it was already their time to go and there was nothing more anyone could do for them. "We...we have a gift for you..." hesitantly did he force himself to look back at his sister, a shiver racking up his spine the minute he locked eyes with those unnervingly familiar eyes...

Her eyes were so beautiful and yet they had the misfortune of being the same as their father's. So cold and sharp.

"A gift?" for a split second, her eyes brightened as she curiously took a step forward. Sora felt himself relax the instant he saw the way her eyes brightened with curious excitement, melting away that cold and sharp exterior as they soften into something so warm and far more loving than the man she inherited them from could ever hope to be.

"That's right!" he widely smiled upon seeing her excitement as he tried his best to ignore the way her black eye twitched due to her sudden change in expression. He knew he shouldn't focus on something so negative when the gift he and Cloud had prepared was so sweet. "While out in the garden this morning, we spotted something you might like" he explained.

"Garden? You don't mean mother's garden, do you?" instantly, her excitement washed away and was replaced with worry—replaced with concern and even slight fear at the thought that her brothers had dared to venture out into their mother's garden despite knowing the consequences.

"Yeah..." Cloud softly smiled as he pulled the bouquet of lilies clutched tightly in his hand out from behind his back. He grinned at the gasp that slipped past the brunette's lips and watched as she hesitantly reached out and took them. Gently, her fingers began stroking the soft petals as her blue eyes looked down at them in utter awe as if she had never seen something so beautiful before. It was difficult to sneak out into mother's garden without getting caught considering how often the woman tended to wander and work within her own garden—despite how busy of a schedule she seemed to have with her constant drinking and neverending list of clients, she always made time for that garden of hers.

"But...how...?" Skylar quietly asked as she tilted her head. "Didn't mother say we're forbidden from ever entering her garden—let alone picking her flowers?" she frowned, wincing at the memory of the violent rage their mother had practically flown into after catching the twins curled up asleep in her garden. Quietly did she watch how the two exchanged glances before looking back at her with bright smiles.

"It was worth it" was all Sora said.

"Today's a very special day—you and Sora deserve to be happy" Cloud smiled as he kneels down and rested a hand on top of his sister's head. "If we have to go through hell just to make one of you happy today, then we will"

"That's right! Besides, just seeing you so happy for once was enough to make up for my aching back" Sora chuckled as he took his younger sister's hand and pulled her in a tight hug. A hug Cloud was quick to join in on as he wrapped his arm around the two.

"I love you both and I want you to remember I'm here for you, we'll be okay as long as we have each other..." he softly murmured in their ears, causing Skylar's lower lip to tremble as her eyes now watered. Tightly clutching the bouquet, she threw her arms around her older brother and heavily began to sob.

"I...I love you two so...so much..." she messily hiccuped, tightening her grip around the blond as she continued to weep while the two brothers gently smiled.

-End of Flashback-

"Miss Swordswoman?" I slowly blinked at the sound of Robin's voice as my gaze drifted from the flower and towards the woman who now stared at me with a raised brow.

"Yes?" I asked, curiously tilting my head—she didn't really say anything back at first, just silently stared as if she was assessing me.

"Is there something between you and Mr. Swordsman?" I choked on my own spit as her question threw me off guard, coming out of a left field and just punching me in the guy. "The way you two acted earlier, I wonder, are you perhaps—"

"Friends!" I interrupted, nervously laughing as my cheeks flared up in embarrassment. "We're just really close friends, that's all—no need to go asking silly questions like that...besides, I already got Nami teasing me about this so I don't need you doing it too.." I said, grumbling the last part to myself as I repositioned the flower back into my hair. Ignoring the amused look she shot my way before she turned her attention elsewhere with a hum.

"I didn't figure on getting wet from walking through clouds..." Zoro grumbled as he finally came ashore and stopped right beside me before raising an eyebrow. "Nice flower" he complimented, plucking the flower from my hair once more as he rolled it between his pinched fingers while examining it. "Where did you get it?" he curiously asked.

"Sanji" I answered before harshly smacking his arm when he suddenly tossed it over his shoulder. "Hey! Jerk!" I frowned, watching as he only shrugged before throwing his arm around my shoulders. There was a twinkle in his eye and a sly grin on his face as he leaned in close, looking just about ready to say something before suddenly stopping when his gaze was attracted to something on the ground.

"Huh? What's that?" bending down, he curiously grabbed a hold of something that was sticking out of the clouds.

"What did you find?" I asked before owlishly blinking as I watched as he suddenly pulled a small, white fox right out of the ground. "Oh, a fox..." I mumbled, watching as the small mammal in his hands started to just struggle as he continued to hold her up by her tail. "Hey, can't you see she's uncomfortable with you holding her like that?" I scolded, lightly elbowing his side when I saw he was still holding the squirming animal.

"Sorry!" Zoro apologized when he finally realized the error in his actions, quickly dropping the fox and watching as she shook her fur out before rubbing herself against his legs as if to accept his apology. "What do we have here? A fox?" he questioned while bending down to get a closer look.

"Aw! What a cutie!" I cooed, dropping down to my knees and holding my hand out as if to motion for the small mammal to come closer. She took a small step and tentatively sniffed the palm of my hand before finally, she began bumping the top of her head against my hand—making a noise of contentment as I began petting her.

"Huh? Is that music?" Luffy asked, looking up from the squared fruit that he was still trying to eat as the sound of a harp could suddenly be heard playing nearby.

"Look, there's someone over there on that cloud!" Zoro stood as he pointed toward a pile of clouds where a young woman was delicately playing a Lever harp. She didn't seem to take any notice of us as she continued to play, her eyes closed as if she was enjoying the beautiful melody she was playing.

"Oh great, it's another monster" Usopp groaned.

"I don't think that's what it is" I tilted my head, gathering the fox up in my arms as I stood. I smiled as she nuzzled her head against my chest as I continued to gently stroke her fur.

"Where's that whistle? Where's that whistle? We can ask the Sky Knight to save us!" Chopper frantically cried, his head quickly turning from side to side in search of the whistle we had been given.

"No, we can't—that's not who we think it is! That right there is an angel!" Sanji swooned. For a second, I thought he was just being romantic until I actually got a better look at the blonde and saw that she too had small, angel-like wings like the ones Amazon had on her back.

"An angel?!" Usopp gaped.

"Heso!" the blonde happily greeted the minute she finally noticed us, a gentle smile pulling at her lips as she didn't seem startled at all by the sudden appearance of a bunch of strangers she didn't know.

"Heso?" Sanji and Luffy echoed.

"You think she's trying to say hello?" Usopp asked.

"That's what it sounds like" I shrugged, continuing to stroke the top of the fox's head.

"What does "heso" mean?" Chopper curiously asked.

"It kind of sounds like hello" Zoro said.

"Su, come here" the blonde suddenly said, causing the fox in my arms to make the cutest sound I've ever heard before she wiggled her way out of my grasp and scampered over to the angel. "Did you come from the Blue Sea World?" she curiously asked.

"If that's what you call it—we sailed up a river of clouds to get here" Luffy smiled. "Speaking of here, is this your home?" he asked.

"Yes, it sure is, and I'd like to welcome you to Skypiea's Angel Beach" the blonde nodded as she returned the captain's smile. "Heh, I bet you would like to drink that" she giggled before taking the fruit in Luffy's arms and cutting a small hole in the bottom. "The top of the fruit is as hard as steel, it's impossible to crack, so you must cut through the underside like this—here you go" she handed the fruit back to the rubber man after sticking a straw into the opening she had just made.

"If it's that good, then I have to try some" Usopp grinned upon seeing Luffy's reaction to trying the fruit. "Come on, give it to me!" he pouted as he attempted to take it from the captain who refused to willingly hand it over.

"My name is Conis and this little one is Su, she's a Cloud Fox" Conis introduced both herself and her fox. "If you need anything at all, please let me be of service" she offered.

"That's kind of you" I smiled.

"Yeah, about that, your eyes are setting my heart on—ah!" Sanji cried out as his ear was suddenly snatched up and harshly yanked by Nami.

"Lay off!" the navigator growled. "Actually, we've got a ton of questions—I hate to bother you, but we've never been to anyplace like this before" she said, her sweet smile quick to return as she looked back at the blonde angel.

"Sure, ask me anything you want to know" Conis nodded as she gave a patient smile, calmly waiting for the questions to begin rolling in.

"Guys, something's coming" Zoro suddenly spoke up, cutting Nami off before she even had a chance to ask anything. Quickly was everyone's attention drawn away from the blonde in front of us and instead out toward the cloudy ocean where Zoro was pointing.

"Oh, that's my farther" Conis clarified the minute we spotted an older man come riding through the clouds on some strange contraption and straight toward us.

"Heso, Conis!" the older man greeted with a wave.

"Heso, father!" the blonde waved right back.

"Can't you say hello like normal people" Luffy frowned.

"Conis, what's that thing he's riding on?" Nami curiously asked.

"Yeah, looks weird" I nodded, curious as well.

"Ah, that would be my father's waver" Conis answered.

"Whoa! That's awesome!" Luffy excitedly grinned the second he caught sight of the strange contraption the man was riding on.

"A Sky Waver?!" Nami widely smiled.

"Gain way! Stopping this thing is a bit of a trick!" the old man called out just as the waver shot out of the water and onto dry land where it zoomed right past us and struck a palm tree head-on. "My goodness, is everyone alright?" he asked, shakily standing and rubbing his head.

"You're the one who crashed!" Zoro snapped.

"Are you alright, sir?" I asked as the man nodded, his hand still resting against the back of his head where a bump now began to form.

"Hey, Luffy, didn't you bring back something like that waver from the seabed?" Nami suddenly asked as she curiously examined the Sky Waver.

"Huh? Yeah, I did, didn't I?" Luffy nodded as he thought back to the pile of junk he and the other men had salvaged from that galleon, his lips still attached to the straw he was drinking the fruit juice from.

"Huh? Then that must be the boat we read about in Noland the Liar's book" Nami hummed. "A boat that can sail without wind..." she muttered as she recited the line that we had read from the Log Book back at Cricket's place.

"Did you make some new friends, Conis, my dear?" the man asked as he looked to his daughter for an answer.

"Yes, they only arrived a few minutes ago from the Blue Sea World" the blonde nodded.

"Oh, still adjusting? There must be many things that puzzle you about the White Sea, I'm sorry" the man apologized.

"There's no need to apologize" Usopp dismissively waved.

"Yeah, it's not your fault we don't understand everything about this place" I said.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself sooner, my name is Pagaya" he apologized once again before finally introducing himself.

"Oh...uh...it's very nice to meet you" Usopp smiled.

"So, father, how was the fishing today?" Conis asked.

A/N: Enjoy

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