One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda
Kingdom Hearts characters belong to Square Enix and Disney
OCs belong to me.
-Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen-
"I bet Sanji's just excited about Sky Island food being such a new thing" Usopp said, quick to brush off the rowdiness that could be heard coming from the kitchen.
"Yep, that's totally it" I nodded, still listening to Sanji's muffled voice as it almost sounded like he was going off on some kind of tangent.
"So, I was wondering, could you explain some more to us about these dials you mentioned earlier?" Robin asked, quick to make conversation as if she wasn't big on just sitting around in utter silence while we waited for the food.
"Yeah, I'm kind of curious about them as well" I nodded, squirming a little from my spot on Zoro's lap in an attempt to get comfortable—being in a new place always made me feel antsy to the point that sitting still sometimes felt nearly impossible. I flinched when he suddenly grabbed a tight hold of my hips, stilling me before roughly yanking me back toward him until my back was flushed to his chest and his lips were positioned right next to my ear.
"Please, stop moving around so much" he whispered, a strained edge to his voice.
"O-okay?" I nodded. "I could move if you want me to" I offered, looking back with furrowed brows as I watched how he turned his head while covering the lower half of his face with the palm of his hand.
"No, you're fine" he grunted, that strain in his voice still there as the flush on his face slowly became more noticeable as it spread the longer I stared back at him with questioning eyes.
"Alright, if you say so..." I said, facing forward as I wondered what's gotten into him all of a sudden.
"Sure, but it's complex" Conis nodded, willing to share with us more information on dials. "I don't know where to exactly start..." she mumbled to herself, silently looking around the room before eventually wandering over to one of the tables where she then picked up a shell.
"Ah, I've never been this relaxed" Chopper sighed in contentment as he sunk down into the couch cushion beside Zoro and me, looking completely and utterly relaxed as he lay there. I smiled at the sight of him, reaching over and ruffling the fur of his chest which caused him to give another relaxed sigh.
"Hm? This doesn't look like a dial—it's just a seashell" Luffy softly frowned as he examined the shell Conis handed over to him.
"Yes, at first glance, but why don't you put it to your mouth and talk?" the blonde suggested.
"Like this?" Luffy did as he was told as he placed the opening of the shell up to his mouth and spoke. "Usopp stinks" he relayed to the shell.
"Why do you always pick on me?" Usopp whined as he glided right past the captain, causing me to laugh.
"Because it's fun" I chirped which caused Luffy to giggle and nod in agreement.
"Now, just press down on the apex of the shell" Conis instructed.
"Hm? Want to tell me what an apex is?" Luffy asked.
"It means vertex or highest point" Usopp explained as he did what the blonde instructed and pushed down on the apex of the shell for Luffy.
"Usopp stinks" the shell repeated—projecting Luffy's voice like it was a recorded message.
"Ah! The shell is making fun of Usopp too!" Luffy gasped.
"What did I ever do to you, seashell?!" Usopp frowned.
"Hey, that's a neat trick—so it can store any sound and play it back?" Zoro asked as he seemed to finally relax once more.
"That seems like it could be useful in remembering something important or pulling pranks" I hummed.
"Then that shell is one of the dials?" Robin assumed.
"Yes, we call this one a Tone Dial" Conis nodded. "It's a shell from the White White Sea that records and replays whatever it hears" she explained.
"Hey, hold on, I didn't think there was a bottom to your sea" Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Where do these things live anyways?" he asked.
"They live in the shallows and the cloud reefs" was the answer he got.
"I still don't see how that little thing could move your father's Sky Waver" Robin admitted as she continued to eye the shell in Luffy's hands.
"Yeah, it doesn't look like it could actually generate a strong enough force that would allow the waver to move without the help of wind." I nodded.
"Well, that's because this is the kind that powers the waver" Conis said as she bent down and picked up a slightly bigger shell from a lower shelf on a nearby bookcase, not having any problems in holding it up for all of us to see. "It's smaller, but it does demonstrate the same process—here, let me show you" she said, walking out onto the balcony and holding the opening of the shell up to the wind chimes as she pressed down on the apex. Immediately did the chimes start to blow around, clinking together as if there was a strong gust of wind blowing against them and causing them to move.
"So this one blows wind out of its backside" Usopp observed.
"Let me see!" Luffy excitedly exclaimed, eagerly holding his hands out in an attempt to reach out for the shell before cheering when the blonde finally handed it to him.
"This is called a Breath Dial, it allows you the ability to expel wind and use it to your desire" Conis explained as the rubber man spun his arms around before pointing the shell at his face and pressing down on its apex. This caused a strong blast of wind to send his hair flying back as his lips flapped around and revealed his gums and teeth.
"Nice smile you got there, Luffy" I snorted.
"Thanks" he laughed, lips still flapping around.
"The wind capacity varies depending on the size of the shell, if you attach the right size to the stern of your ship, you could move swiftly" Conis expounded.
"I've never heard of anything like that" Robin admitted.
"These dials sound pretty amazing" I grinned, rocking my body forward so I now sat up straighter which caused Zoro to lowly groan in response to my movements.
"I get it now, the waver moved by blowing a stream of wind through the water" Usopp realized.
"That waver is fun" Luffy smiled.
"Too bad you're terrible at riding it" I teased, causing him to puff out his cheeks and pout at the reminder.
"Dials don't just power wavers, there's also the skating kind, the board kind, but I don't go for those" Conis admitted. "The waver is about as crazy as I get" she softly sighed.
"I wish I was out there on that thing instead of Nami" Luffy childishly huffed. "But I could if I figured out how to fix the one we have!" he suddenly grinned as he finally remembered the broken down waver he had salvaged from the seabed.
"How did you ever find a waver in your world?" Conis curiously asked.
"Well, it's kind of hard to tell what it is, you know? That hunk of junk is two hundred years old and a total wreck, there's no way it works" Usopp said, shaking his head.
"We basically salvaged it out of a ship from the ocean, so Usopp's right, it probably won't work with how deteriorated and broken down it looks" I said.
"That might not be the case, dials are made from the remains of dead shellfish—they can last indefinitely" Conis told us. "So if the shell itself isn't broken, you might get lucky" she smiled.
"Told you so!" Luffy grinned in excitement.
"You never said anything like that!" Usopp snapped.
"You didn't even know what that thing was until an hour ago" I deadpanned.
"I know" the rubber man admitted with a cheeky smile that caused the corners of my lips to twitch.
"I'd venture a guess there are many types of dials—is this one here?" Robin asked as she pointed towards a shell on the coffee table.
"Yes, that is a Lamp Dial" Conis nodded as she pressed down on the apex of the shell which caused it to light up.
"Neat! It lit up from the inside!" Chopper awed.
"Right, there are Flame Dials that store heat and fire, Flavor Dials that store various tastes and aromas, and Vision Dials that store everything the user sees, so you can watch it again and again" the blonde listed.
"I want to live in the clouds for the rest of my life" Chopper smiled, tears of happiness rushing down his face.
"To be honest, we really couldn't sustain life here in the clouds without these dials" Conis confessed.
"Huh?" Robin questioned.
"Our culture has evolved with the dials, I suppose in the same way they evolve with the White White Sea" Conis revealed.
"I see" I nodded, catching the two's attention. "Basically, what you're saying is that you all have adapted to using these dials in your day-to-day lives that if you were to lose them it would cause problems, correct?" I asked.
"That's right" Conis nodded before owlishly blinking when we all suddenly heard the sound of snoring echoing throughout the room.
"He fell asleep, didn't he?" I deadpanned, not really bothering to turn around as Robin chuckled and nodded. "Of course, why am I not surprised?" I softly chuckled, shoulders drooping while I shook my head as Conis giggled.
-Later-
"Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served" Sanji grinned. "Today we have for you Sky Island lobster with a special sauce and a side of island fruits I can't pronounce" he truthfully admitted as he motioned down at the feast he had spread out on the coffee table before us all.
"That looks so good!" Luffy drooled.
"You're telling me" I grinned as my stomach growled.
"Let's dig in!" Chopper exclaimed as everyone started to grab whatever they pleased—quickly filling up their plates with various portion sizes of the foods they wished to try.
"Oh, wow! It tastes sweet!" Luffy grinned.
"It's really good" I nodded.
"I wouldn't have expected it from lobster" Usopp admitted.
"Aren't you going to eat?" I asked when I saw Sanji suddenly wander past us all and toward the balcony without bothering to grab any food.
"I will later, don't worry" he assured me with a smile. "But thank you for your concern, Skylar my dear—I appreciate it" and with that, he pulled out his carton of cigarettes and stepped outside to smoke.
"Yum!" Luffy hummed as he shoveled more food into his gullet.
"Hey, guys, do any of you know where Nami is?" Sanji suddenly asked.
"I think she's still riding the waver" Luffy answered.
"She should still be out there, why do you ask?" I asked.
"Because I don't see her" Sanji worriedly responded.
"She probably went out too far, she's like that—who cares?" Usopp shrugged. "You should have some of this" he said, quick in trying to get the blond to come sit down and eat with the rest of us.
"I'm worried, do you think she's okay?" Conis asked.
"I have my concerns, but I can't say one way or another" Pagaya truthfully answered.
"What are you talking about?" Luffy asked.
"Is there something dangerous out there?" I questioned, tilting my head.
"Well, in the clouds there's a place called the Upper Yard that no one is ever allowed to set foot on" Conis explained. "It's not too far away, it would only be a short trip by waver from here—I'm afraid your friend, Nami, set ashore there out of curiosity" she confessed.
A/N: Enjoy
Please Review, Favorite, and Follow.