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chapter thirteen
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ii. sky island arc

The crew and Shoto happened to land on another place where clouds are water too, and because of that, Usopp happily marched around the sand-like cloud while Luffy and Chopper watched him miserably seeing as they themselves couldn't get to that.

"Should we really just stand by here?" Shoto grumbled, not pleased by the idea of having to wait and see if enemies did exist in there.

"Again, we don't have another choice." Robin replied to him, making the boy look at her with furrowed brows, eyes showing just how he hated the idea of not being given another choice to do anything.

"Why always say that we don't have a choice? Why not make one for ourselves?"

"The situation given doesn't allow us to do so."

Silence beamed between them, the mere sound of their crew's cheers and chatters heard. It was unpleasant to know just how he couldn't help that time, it was very heavy to learn that his senses couldn't be of any use.

"Why don't you play with Usopp and the rest?" Robin suggested, motioning her hand towards their happy aura.

Gloomily, Shoto shook his head.

"I'm afraid I'll ruin the atmosphere." Shoto spoke up, looking down as if trying to act tough and stable in front of the crew. And that was when Robin realized it.

Shoto was somehow like her.

Independent, tough in the shell, and hated to appear vulnerable most of the time. It reminded her of her younger self, the independent girl turned into a woman who had no one to depend on.

She can't have another mere young boy live his life while whole-heartedly missing out on the meanings of it.

Using her devil fruit, she nudged Shoto strongly on the back, pushing him on the direction of fun. Feeling himself lose his balance after being surprised without his guard up, he fell forward and face flat landed on the said fluffy clouds.

And it happens that his actions made the crew chuckle lightly at him.

"If you wanted to join in, you could of just asked." Usopp laughed off, jumping on the cloud as well. It was so soft, too soft to be true. Nonetheless, he used his experience to the fullest.

"No, but I-" with a wave of his hand, Zoro dismissed whatever excuse that Shoto was planning to throw their way.

"Come on, no reasons."

Shoto hesitantly stood up, glancing at Robin who gestured for him to go on. Releasing a sigh, the heterochromatic found himself joining their own definition of fun. And even if he couldn't exactly relate to it, he was enjoying himself.

"Come on, Usopp, there's a cloud here!" Luffy yelled.

Hearing this, Usopp ran to his direction, seeing a large figure in front. It seemed really soft and matched one of a pillow. Feeling confident, Usopp tilted his large nose to his Captain, chin up high as he took the matters as a brave action.

"Umm. . . I don't really suggest jumping on things you're not familiar with-" Shoto was cut off by a pained grunt from Usopp who now had a huge bump over his head with his teeth slowly falling off.

Wincing at the sight, Shoto looked away.

Zoro wrapped an arm around the heterochromatic's shoulders, pulling him closer with a thoughtful smile. Everyone seems to be in a good mood than anything else.

"No need to get worked up. Usopp does that every time." It was wrongly phrased but Zoro was meaning to say that Shoto doesn't have to necessarily be stressed over Usopp's usual stupidity with their Captain. Stress wasn't good for the health.

"Everyone! Let's go and eat!" All heads turned to Sanji, he was in presence of another person, a girl with blonde hair and soft features. At most, she looked like an accurate description of an angel with the kind look on her face and also the wings that blessed her back.

"Zoro, Shoto, you didn't pay attention, didn't you?" Luffy started, wrapping stretched out arms that started to suffocate them. "This is Conis, she's gonna let us stay at their home and be our tour guide!" He exclaimed.

The reason why Conis was showing them hospitality was beyond him, so Shoto just assumed that Luffy did a good thing again and it's all going to end up like Vivi with Alabasta.

Conis had a nice home, she even had a nice family. It almost reminded Shoto of the fancy houses in his world.

"Hey, any food requests?" Sanji asked, smoking a cigarette that hanged by the corner of his lips. He was standing by the kitchen counter, amazed by the amount of kitchen tools and its quality.

Shoto stood by the other end, looking seriously as he said, "Cold soba."

Hearing his request, everyone visibly deflated. They had enough of eating cold soba in the ship, mainly because Shoto always requested it every single day. And no one knew what went through Sanji's head but he would always comply to his request.

They called it favoritism. Maybe because everyone probably had a soft spot for Shoto one way or another.

"Not cold soba." Nami lengthened her words, sick of eating the same food again and again.

"For once, I agree."

Sanji looked towards Shoto who was trying to erase his existence while sitting in a cushioned couch. With a sigh he twisted the cooking tool by his hands, a common cook trick.

"Cold soba serving only for Shoto, I guess." He mumbled, glad that Shoto still wasn't discouraged somehow.

After a good few minutes, Sanji served the food, watching as it was immediately devoured by the hungry crew. Luckily, Conis and her father got to taste some, and they were greatly impressed by Sanji's cooking.

Out of the blue, sounds of sirens could be heard, and it alerted them.

And that was when they learned that the sirens came from the officials who runs the place in false protection.

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