Luffy had given the order to cut down the bean stalk that was the width of a large barn and the length of a sky scraper... How the... You know what? It's Luffy and his crew, they'll always figure out how to make the impossible, possible.

"So how are we doing this? Do we just... Cut it?" Usopp pondered out loud, hand on his chin in thought.

"Well we need it to fall at a certain angle if we wanna get Luffy to that bell." Tani responded out loud, currently sitting on the cloudy ground while Chopper applied some more of that relaxing cream onto her bruise.

"Oh I could create a tempo cloud that's strong enough to blow it in the right direction," Nami chimed. Her clima-tact already clinking together as she grinned. Zoro and Sanji stood up together.

"I'll cut the bean stalk down," they said in unison, only to glare at the other and start arguing over who would cut it down. Shouts of "What are your shitty little swords gonna do?" and "More than your legs you moron! Swords actually cut things," you know, your classic Zoro and Sanji shenanigans.

"You can't do that." came the tired, gruff voice of Wyper called out. Attention was turned to him. "The bell is an important relic of my peoples history. Defended by the legendary warrior Calgara," he declared.

The name seemed to trigger something in Tani's head. She clutched at her forehead as flashes of a red haired man with tan skin filled her thoughts. He stood before a tall man with a round nose and hazelnut hair. The men smiled at one another.

"I'll ring the bell everyday, until you return again," The red head... Calgara, declared to the hazelnut man. The other smiled with excitement in his features.

Then the flash ended. Wyper continued his monologue.

"The bell is what my people have fought for. Ever since our land was thrown into the sky... So that one day, we could ring it again. To ring it and declare to the world that we're still here." he said with a solemn expression. "So that Noland would know that we're still here," he declared.

And that did it.

The flash hit Tani again, she toppled forward with her head in her hands. The flashes of a life that didn't belong to her. The lives of Calgara and Noland, friends against all odds, who loved and cared for each other like brothers. Their ups and downs, the golden bell... Ring the bell... RING THE BELL!

"We need to ring that bell!" Tani screamed. Turning to her companions, who looked at her with shock. "Noland the lair! Cricket needs to know that the city of gold is here! Ring the bell and Calgara and Noland will find peace." she claimed. The whispers of "ring the bell" grew in volume, more voices joining the chants.

Wyper was the one confused by the girls ramblings.

"You know of Noland?" he asked with awe. She nodded.

"Noland was seen as a liar by his people, because the city of gold was missing. He was executed for his "lies" by the king of his land. He never stopped claiming that the city was real." Tani said solemnly. "We need to ring that bell," she repeated. Wyper agreed, even if it meant getting the help of these outsiders.

"Wait... What's the stalk going to land on though?" Tani questioned. Questioning sounds escaped her crew mates throats. Tani's hands moved while she spoke, though her arms were still cuffed. "Well there's no way that the stalk will land on anything once it's cut. So if Luffy wants to get to the bell, he would have to run faster than humanly possible." she paused, because Luffy probably could do that. "Well humanly possible by this world's standards. He'd also need to consider the massive golden ball melted into his arm." she concluded. The crew looked to Luffy for answers.

"What if he was already at the top of the stalk?" Usopp suggested. Nami shook her head.

"It would take too long to get him up there, by the time he's at the top, Enel would have destroyed Skypiea." Nami countered. As if on cue, a massive storm burst to life. Bigger than any storm that had come so far. Echoes of Enel's laughter could be heard bouncing like thunder. Luffy narrowed his gaze.

"Tani," he turned to her. The girl looked up at him and nodded in acknowledgement. "your shoes can fly right?" he asked. She nodded again. "You'll fly me up really fast, that's the only way I can kick his ass," he concluded. The crew barked at that. Nami, Usopp, Sanji and Chopper shouted at him about Tani's fear of heights. Arguing on the girls behalf. Luffy ignored them though and waited for Tani to answer.

The girls brain ran at a million miles. She wanted to do it, knew she had to if she wanted to save not only her crew, but the hundreds of people on angel island and upper yard, to ring that bell and quell the voices that begged for the crews help.

However she still froze at the thought of purposely throwing herself into the sky... It was frightening, her blood ran cold and cold shivers danced up her spine.

But how will I ever get stronger? She pondered the thought. She knows it's going to be terrifying, but what has she got to lose? If she doesn't do it then her friends will die. If she does do it, she has a safety net that is her wavers. She has no reason not to do it. So before her brain can protest any further.

"I'll do it," she said firmly. The four crew members that argued against the idea had to pick up their jaws from the ground. Chopper whined about her wounds, then Usopp pointed out a bigger issue.

"What about your hands? Those cuffs are melted on-" he couldn't finish before Zoro casually walked over to Tani and whipped out a sword.

To say everyone was screaming would be a lie (Luffy, Zoro and Robin didn't react in panic). The rest protested and shrieked when he slashed in her direction. Tani had her eyes slammed shut with fear, she trusted Zoro with her life... But this was still terrifying! She felt like a show girl performing with a magician that would cut her in half. The sound of the swordsman sheathing his blade with a click, alerted her to the end of this ordeal. Her eyes slowly lifted to see that her wrists were still coated in the gold, but they weren't connected anymore. So she had free mobility, though a little heavy and slow.

Zoro smirked at the panicking crew before turning to Usopp, Sanji and Robin. "So we cutting this thing down or what?" he spoke with authority. Taking control of the situation like a true second in command. The group nodded and followed after Zoro.

Nami turned to Tani and gave her a concerned look. The younger of the girls steeled her expression and sighed. About to speak when Nami cut her off.

"Stay safe Tani," she smiled sweetly. Giving Tani an extra boost of confidence. The red head turned to run away, she needed to start forming that wind tempo if this was going to work.

Chopper trotted towards Tani, a doctors glare on his features. He then turned to Luffy. "You better make sure she doesn't hurt herself, or else." he threatened. Luffy barked with laughter before promising to keep her safe. Chopper gave one last instruction, "You need to push the golden ball up, if Luffy holds onto your waist it could cause major damage." Tani agreed and with that, chopper ran off to help knock the stalk over. Leaving just Tani and Luffy.

The captain looked at her with a mix of great pride and determination. Tani was nervous, she wasn't even trying to hide that fact... More importantly...

"Wait but I'll be faster than you? This wouldn't work would it?" she feared. Luffy shrugged.

"It'll work," he says simply. Tani let out a shaky breath. Her nerves deciding to lock up her limbs. Luffy held out his free hand, slipping it into her own hand. The warmth of the gesture managing to break the short lived spell. He walked her towards their starting position, the girl felt her cheeks burn as Luffy squeezed her hand in comfort.

They stood at the base of the stalk, Zoro and the others already making work on the massive plant. Nami was channelling some dangerously strong winds already. Tani felt her stomach flip with nervousness, it felt like the start of a relay race during a sports carnival. This wasn't some silly little race to earn a blue ribbon though, no this was a matter of life and death.

"Ring the bell!"

Tani steeled herself. She had a job to do.

Luffy let go of her hand and walked in front of her, the massive golden ball on his arm was now what filled her view. Tani breathed in slowly, placed her hands on the ball and breathed out. Focus on the goal Tani, stay calm and focus.

"Ready?" she called out to Luffy. The captain remained still, his breathing levelled. He widened his stance, getting ready to bolt.

"On my mark!" Nami called out, the wind of her creation slowly starting to grow harder to control.

"Three!"

Tani widened her footing, she knew she'd need to run for the first couple of moments in order to gain enough speed. Right foot forward. Left foot back.

"Two!"

Luffy looked like he was sweating, his skin taking on a slightly redder tone. His straw hat flipped behind him.

"One!"

We can do this!

"GO!"

Nami threw the wind at the stalk at the same time as Zoro and Co landing the final blow to the bean stalk. It tilted, as if in slow motion. Luffy bolted, Tani following behind while pushing the heavy ball of gold. She put as much pressure of her stomach muscles and arms, but the bruise still hurt like hell. She had to hold back a wince, she can whine later.

Luffy built up speed, his skin growing redder and redder, hell he looked like he was steaming! Wind whipped the transparent wisps of steam from his skin, leaving a bright glow of pinky-red on his normally sun-kissed skin. He was a lot faster than anyone human should be going on foot. Tani clicked her heels and gained the boost she needed to keep up.

The clouds forming above were growing bigger and scarier by the second. Lightening strikes rained down on Angel island in the distance, the whole place was nothing but a deep hole in the clouds. Tani couldn't watch though, she kept her gaze on the ball in front of her and a focus on her breathing.

"Ring the bell!"

Enel's ark came into view, as did a small cloud that held a golden shimmer.

The bell!

"We're getting closer!" Tani cheered brightly. Luffy didn't say anything but she knew him well enough to know he was just as pleased with the progress.

A call from Enel's ship, almost caused the capped girl to freeze. That bastard was close now. The bubbling of a powerful attack was on the rise.

"RAIGO!" He called, millions of strikes burst through his fingers into the sky above. The angry cloud grew in size, almost large enough to consume the stalk ahead of them. Luffy may be null to the electric attacks, but the charred black on her already dark skin was enough to cause a mini heart attack at the sight.

"Tani!" Luffy called back to her, his voice completely serious. She paid very close attention to his next instructions. "when I say jump! You jump!" he commanded.

Tani felt her throat clog up, this was no giant swing level of hight... This was a big jump, one that most sky divers wouldn't dare do without the equipment. She protested.

"I can't! I can't do that!" she screamed at him over the winds cries. He wasn't facing her so she couldn't read his expressions.

"Yes you can! Trust me!" he responded. Tani rationally knew that Luffy would never make her do something that would kill her, but her irrational little brain was screaming bloody murder. She was going to die if she jumped, don't listen to the fool that can't die from large heights, don't do it! You won't survive!

"Tani, jump!" Luffy commanded.

So she did.

She gave the ball one last push forward, then threw herself off the side of the bean stalk. She panicked and screamed on the way down. It was a massive fall, at least 60ft high. She spun around during her descent, blurs of green, navy blue and white flooded her vision in a mess that could rival her own thoughts.

She did this not even 30 minutes ago! Now she has her hands free and isn't holding onto a man that's one head taller than her. Alright! You can do this!

She calmed her breathing as best she could, it was still faster than she wanted but it would have to do. Her arms fanned out to stop the spinning, it took a second or two but she was steady. Her wavers sped up her fall, so she needed to move her feet forward, just like last time.

Tani tossed her legs forward, but she did it a little to fast and flipped her entire body around like a pinwheel. Alright take two. She thrust her legs forward again, this time with less force. Low and behold she managed to stabilise. She was bulletin through the air now, her body in a semi-pindrop, the wind caused her arms to fly up so she kept them as straight as possible. Tani was treating this like a dive into the pool, distancing the thoughts of "height" and "sky".

Thunder and lightening shrieked though the sky, Tani turned to look up and saw with her own eyes, the chaos that Luffy was bringing.

Luffy had somehow managed to keep himself airborne long enough to dispel the storm cloud that threatened to destroy upper yard. The dangerous clouds lightened up and slowly started to break open into blue skies. The golden ball on Luffy's arm glittered in the escaped sunshine.

Enel had grown massive, he looked like he'd absorbed the lightening from the storm. Not that it would matter because Luffy would not get hurt at all during the battle that would ensue.

Tani had to turn her head away, because the ground was getting closer and she needed to concentrate on landing without breaking any bones.

She started by straightening her non-charred leg a bit more than the aforementioned leg. This would be taking the brunt of the impact. She tilted her body back slightly, her heel was what needed to hit the ground first.

Like last time, she spotted her nakama at the base of the now cut down bean stalk. It was a short lived comfort as the world around her rumbled. The impact of what she could only guess was either Luffy punching Enel, launching Enel into space or a mix of both. Tani didn't look up to find out.

*GONG*

The deep chime of a long forgotten relic, echoed through the very bones of all who heard its song. A long lost sound that sang for the hundreds of years it had been forced into silence.

It was mesmerising. Tani lost her train of thought, hell she even forgot she was falling. In awe of how powerful the bells ring was.

"THE BELLS BEEN RUNG!" The voices in her head cheered. It was almost as deafening as the bells song itself. The ghosts of the past had been pleased, their burden now lifted. They were free...

What was that? What just touched her back?!

Tani looked behind her to find a couple of arms had bloomed from her back, then some more grew from her legs. A pair of hands grabbed her feet and clicked them together to stop the wavers from boosting her forward any faster. Tani turned to stare at Robin on the ground, her arms crossed over her chest with a faint smile on her face. A trail of arms sprouted from the ground, all of them aimed forward to catch her in her fall. Hands grabbed her feet, then legs, waist, ribs (very carefully), until the girl had landed safely on the ground with no problems. The arms popped out of existence, leaving behind their little petals that fluttered in the wind innocently.

Tani turned to her crew, all of them staring up at the shadow of Luffy that filled the sky. The jolly boys victorious laughter bounced off the trees, clouds and any other object within three islands range at least. The crew found themselves laughing with him, relief at their victory and survival.

Now where the hell was Luffy going to land after he falls back onto the island?...

"Let's go find our captain then," Tani joked. The rest of the crew snickered with her. Splitting up (Zoro was made to follow Nami) to find Luffy.

Tani stopped in her tracks when she spotted the ghostly forms of two men. She knew who they were, their features and expressions showed they were at peace.

Noland and Calgara.

They nodded to her, she nodded back. They turned away from her and walked away, their forms disappearing into the unknown.

Tani wasn't sure what the hell was going on, but she was happy that the men were finally free.

Now to find Luffy.

...

Tani followed the sound of a bell. She grinned wider than a cat, rushing forward to find a tangle of rubber limbs dangling from the tree branches like a big boa snake. Luffy looked up at the sound of twigs snapping. His eyes grew wide with excitement.

"Tani!" he cheered, his limbs pulling back to his body, snapping branches on the way. It was only now that Tani noticed the lack of gold on his arm. Luffy dropped from the tree, and by dropped it means he launched himself out of the tree and into Tani like a boulder.

The snake limbs curled around the girl, knocking her over onto her behind with an "oof" Luffy was giggling with joy.

"Hazelnut Gramps had to have heard that right? Now his dream's come true," Luffy spoke with so much happiness, you'd almost forget that he'd been fighting for hours. Tani gave a small hiss as Luffy squished his arm over her bruise. He instantly let go when he heard the sound. His eyes filled with concern. Tani was quick to brush off the silent apology his face was conveying.

"How's your arm?" she asked, pointing at the arm that once housed the golden ball. Luffy held it out for her to look at, the lower half of the arm had stretch marks burned into the red of his arm... Oh speaking of red.

"You were practically steaming on that run up," Tani commented. Her hand lightly rubbed at the stretch marks on his arm, those weren't going to be fading any time soon. He gave her his iconic "shishishi" laugh.

"It's a new move I've been working on," he beams. Tani awed at that, he continues "Basically I speed up my blood and it makes me go super fast!" he explained with enthusiasm. How does that even work? "I still need to name the move though. I was thinking gum gum speed, but that's sounds really boring and this is too cool to be something boring." he pouts childishly.

"We can think of a name on the way back to Merry?" Tani suggests. Luffy instantly loses the pout, jumping to his feet and pumping a fist into the air. Tani chuckled and turned to walk back the way she came, Luffy walked beside her.

"How about... Quick silver?" Tani suggested, breaking the silence.

"But it's red,"

"Oh right... Ummm... How about speed demon?"

"That's a Zoro thing,"

"Hmm... Wow this is hard,"

"I know! And I have really cool names for everything else," Luffy pouted again, "hey, you don't name any of your moves." he said with something akin to offence. Tani shrugged.

"It happens in the cartoons back home. It's what the heroes and villains do, and I'm not hero." she answered simply, stepping over a protruding root. Luffy scoffed.

"You're being dumb again," he accused. Poking her cheek with his finger, brows furrowed in distaste. "You should name your attacks because it's awesome." Luffy concluded. Tani rolled her eyes.

"And waste time not only announcing what I'll do so my enemy can counter it." she debated, turning to look him in the eyes, "But spend more time calling out an attack rather than actually doing it?" she crossed her arms in front of her chest with a smirk in her face.

"Gum gum surprise attack," Luffy called out. Grabbing Tani's cheeks and stretching them as far as they would go. Tani slapped at his hands in protest. When he finally let go, she rubbed at her hurting cheeks. "See! My attack was way cooler," Luffy said with pride. Tani rolled her eyes, slowly slipping her hands into her pockets to grab her weapon of choice. Not that she'd tell Luffy...

*bonk*

Tani surprise attacked Luffy's torso with her two yo-yo strings. The aqua-green bases of her yo-yo's bonked against his nose and forehead. He couldn't move because the strings held his arms against his side. Tani barked a laugh at the amusing sight.

"See! You never saw that coming," she teased. Luffy glared at her without any real malice. Tani yanked back, the yo-yo's untangled and were rolled back into her pockets. Luffy rolled his shoulder, something about his expression made it clear he was up to something.

The pair walked in a comfortable silence, the both of them thinking to themselves. Tani was considering a bunch of names for Luffy's new speed up move. She kept thinking of words with "Gum gum" added to the front, but it always sounded really silly or down right stupid.

Luffy wasn't paying attention and tripped on an uneven dirt patch. He clasped around Tani and dragged her down with him. She landed half on top of him, half with her legs coated in dirt. She could feel Luffy's laughter from her heads position on his torso. Was he always this warm or was that her stupid cheeks again. She never reacted like this when the other guys or girls touched her. She didn't wanna call this a crush but she sure as hell didn't have any other words for it.

Was it a crush because if it was a crush than she was... Oh... Oh yeah that's exactly what it was wasn't it...

Well shit.

"Tani?"

She was going over this new development in her head. This was as dense as a brick and so overly affectionate that she wouldn't be able to tell if he was interested back.

"Tani?"

Tani's never had a crush before, well fictional characters don't really count because she could never date them. Luffy is someone she can actually interact with and talk to. What was she even supposed to do? Most movies make a big deal out of the confession. What if this wasn't even a crush?

"Oi Tani, Tani?" a poke to her cheek broke her from her thoughts. She stared into the abyss that was Luffy's large eyes. She pushed him away in shock, don't sneak up on day dreamers. "You're face was all weird looking," he pointed out. "Is it because of that bruise that Chopper wouldn't stop talking about?". Tani made an indignant squawk at that before playfully pushing Luffy in the shoulder.

"No, it's just this um... Oh it's a mystery girl thing," she replied. Luffy looked like he'd just been told the meaning of life. "Anyways, what were you saying?" she steered the topic away from her daunting realization.

"I wish we had that boat. The one we made funny faces on," Luffy said. Tani sighed wishfully at the thought.

"We'd go so fast if we had it," Tani spoke, thinking about driving the boat at 40 miles an hour. Shifting the gears with a satisfying cli-

"That's it! I have a name for your new move," Tani shouted with excitement. Luffy whooped with enthusiasm.

"What?" he asked. His eyes shining like a galaxy. No shh Tani! No thinking about how cute he is when you're having an internal crisis

"Gear second," she announced, Luffy turned his head in slight confusion. So Tani continued, "Well on the boat, when we wanted to go faster. We had to shift gears, so it's like you've shifted from first gear, on to a second gear." she explained. Luffy looked awestruck, practically bouncing on his feet. "Plus if you get any better upgrades, you can name them after the other four gears." she added with a thumbs up.

"That's so cool! See, you can make up awesome fighting names!" he shook his balled hands like an excited child watching a super hero movie. Tani sheepishly rubbed at her neck while willing her blush away.

Luffy was bursting with energy that he shouldn't have after such a long day of fighting for their lives. Tani was pretty much dead on her feet with how exhausted she was. A fact that Luffy was now aware of, and wanted to put a stop to.

The captain stepped in front of her, Tani blinked in confusion before she found her legs being swept from underneath her. Luffy managed to place her into a piggy back position (how Luffy managed that? Psshh beats me), Tani latched onto his neck in surprise. Luffy just laughed like he always does and ran off with Tani in tow.

...

The crew managed to all make their ways back to the Merry just as the sunset was starting. Robin was the first to arrive, the older woman sat on the deck with something in her hands. Luffy came barreling onto the ship with Tani on his back, he'd been bolting through the jungle like it was nobodies business... Tani now had many twigs she would need to untangle from her huge nest of tangled locks.

Luffy dropped Tani onto the deck carefully, before running off the see if the others were coming back soon. This is when Tani noticed what Robin had in her hands.

"Is that my camera?" she asked in surprise, now that she thought about it. She hadn't really used her camera during the trip, so it wouldn't be a surprise to think that she hadn't noticed it was absent from her bag. Robin just smiled with her eyes closed.

"Yes, you weren't using it and I know you wouldn't mind if I took it." Robin responded. Tani wanted to refute that but it's true, she didn't want to take any photos that reminded her of how terrifying the sky islands were. "I took many photos, however I'm not sure how to view them." she admitted. Tani held out her hand for the camera. Robin handed it back.

"I'll get them processed the next time a dimension store is within range... Huh, I haven't been to one of them at all since we left Alabasta." Tani pondered to herself aloud. Robin turned to see that Usopp and Chopper had arrived, waving around big sticks that they'd found. The woman found herself feeling more content with the people she found herself with.

It took another ten minutes before Sanji arrived, the chef was hauling a massive shark behind him because this is Sanji we're talking about. He was talking to himself aloud over what dishes he could make with the catch. Usopp, Luffy and Chopper were all playing around with the big sticks, pretending they were swords and thwacking each other. Tani found herself sitting in her spot, Walkman in hand while she relaxed to the sound of music.

It was another ten minutes before they heard Nami shrieking at Zoro that "For the last time! East is not to the south you dimwit!". That was everyone back now, so that could only mean one thing.

A feast was to ensue.

Luffy made a huge deal out of the crews need for a celebratory feast at the end of such an adventure. Sanji was quick to work on the massive task at hand. Tani and Usopp both offered their services in such a task, which Sanji was grateful for even though he tried to deny them. Tani was washing a bunch of pots when she noticed something moving in the darkness outside the window.

"Straw hat!" a deep, masculine voice called out. They sounded familiar. Everyone rushed out on deck to stare at who had shown up. His tan skin and red hair couldn't be mistaken.

"Oh it's Wyper," Nami commented. The man stood with a smile on his face, which looked odd because the guy only ever scowled.

"Straw hat pirates," Wyper addressed, a few more individuals that Tani didn't recognize appeared. There was also Gan fall, Pierre the horse bird, Conis and her father as well as a mix of both angel islanders and Shandians. "You have our thanks, for saving our land and reclaiming a part of our history." Wyper thanked. The rest of the people cheered and thanked the crew.

"Hey, hey guys!" Luffy bounced while addressing his crew. "More people means bigger feast! Let's ask them for a party!" the captain cheered.

So here they were, about an hour or so later. Celebrating the straw hat crew's victory. Tani found herself sitting on the sidelines with a cut of what she guessed was fruit punch that tasted like that pumpkin looking fruit.

The girl stared at the massive bonfire that was lit in celebration. Usopp was nearby telling entertaining tall tales to the crowds. Zoro and Nami were having a drinking contest, the two were neck and neck. Sanji was cooking with the many other cooks and chefs that wanted to help. Luffy and Chopper were dancing around like maniacs, having the times of their lives while doing it.

Tani took a sip of her drink and watched the dancing go on. She'd been to prom and school discos before, but she never participated in the dancing. Firstly because there were so many people that she'd get lost in the crowd, but she also never had anyone that wanted to dance with her.

She took another sip of the punch.

Luffy grabbed Chopper by the hooves and started spinning him around while the smaller of the two cheered loudly. Tani wanted to get up and join in, but she couldn't really build up the courage to do it. So she took another sip of her punch...

And it's empty.

With a small groan, Tani got up from her spot on a broken off rock wall. The food was being served on the other side of the party area. She started walking around the dance floor. That's when she heard it.

"Oi! Tani!"

It was like a death sentence wrapped in pure intentions and the promises of a good time. The girl didn't have time to react before she found an arm looping around her chest and hips, very carefully avoiding the bruise. A yank and she was flying backwards at mach speed. Tani wanted to stamp her whiplash card and get a free neck brace because she was going to have a snapped spinal cord before the age of 20.

"Luffy be careful-"

"Let's go dance!" Luffy said, ignoring Chopper who was scolding him. Luffy unwound his arm from the dizzy girl and entwined his hands in her own. Pulling her deeper into the dancing crowd, keeping his eyes on hers. Tani's heart pounded in her chest, it felt like it would explode.

Luffy stopped walking through the crowd, planting himself and quickly pulling and pushing his arms back and forth in a very simple dance motion, Tani followed his lead. One arm forward, the other back. Rinse and repeat. Slowly Tani felt her feet mirroring the motion, Luffy would kick one foot forward while she kicked back. There was a skip in their steps, a bounce on the heels of their feet. A laugh that bubbled in their chests as they got more daring. Luffy let go of one of her hands and flicked her to the side, his arm stretched out, Tani did the same. They twirled back to each other, smiling and giggling.

Was this what it felt like to go to prom and dance? Was this what it was like to have a date for said prom? Tani hoped it was because this felt like pure bliss.

Tani lifted one arm up and twirled Luffy around underneath, he whooped with joy. Tani couldn't stop laughing, it was like she was drunk on the feeling. A mix of teenage emotions and newly lived moments. She found herself staring at Luffy. The world around them seemed to quiet down and blur, her focus solely on him.

Was she truly sure she had a crush on him? Like 100% certain, no questions asked?

He met her gaze and bared his signature smile.

Yep! Without a shadow of a doubt, this is what a crush on Luffy feels like.

Now... Does she have the guts to act on it?

The duo continued to dance a little less in sync now. Tani using her feet and arms more than wiggling her body around. Luffy was all over the joint, a mess of flailing limbs that couldn't be stopped. Some of the party goers were cheering for him and his wild moves.

Tani lost herself to her thoughts. She'd never really thought about a future with someone. Sure she'd dreamed about dating fictional characters, but they were easy to morph into the perfect partner. Luffy was a real, breathing human being.

Luffy was now shoving chop sticks into his nose and mouth, his lips stretching impossibly wide to accommodate the wooden sticks.

Well human enough...

Back on track! Luffy was one of a kind. Loyal to a fault, never even once considering to abandon her or the rest of the crew. He was charming and kind, even if he could be real blunt about his opinions. He was one of those people that could draw anyone in... And that's what gave Tani concerns.

Luffy could have literally anyone he wanted if he really tried.

So what was special about Tani?

It could be the years of social outcast-hood, her low self-esteem or her many other internal issues, but she knew that Luffy was one hell of a guy. Anyone that has him as an ally is lucky, as an enemy means defeat, as a captain you're considered something special...

Tani questioned everyday why he still wanted her on his crew. She had her moments of usefulness but those weren't as an abundant as Zoro's dedication to swordsmanship, or Nami's expertise on weather forecasting without fail. Everyone has something extraordinary about them.

She was aware that she herself was a novelty. An alien to them. Yet they kept her around...

He kept her around.

How many times had he reassured her that she was important to the crew? That he would never be pirate king without her there? Clearly she was important.

But was she significant other important?

Ugh! Stop having these thoughts dumbass. This is a party! Not some highschool drama movie.

While the crowd started to swarm Luffy, Tani took that moment to sneak away and grab some more punch. That was enough dancing for today.

She failed to notice Luffy turning back to look at her. Dissapointed that she'd left before he could dance with her again.

...

The night wore on. Once the feast was served, all hell broke loose. Luffy ate like it was going out of fashion, it was the whole island vs Luffy. Everyone had to scramble to grab their share and run before the dragon that is Luffy, could protect his hoard of meats and other foods.

The straw hats were experts at this game, so they were quick enough to grab something substantial and make a break for it.

After the feast, the party slowed down. People dropped to the ground to sleep off their full stomachs and drunken brains. All in all it was one hell of a party.

The next morning started off slow, everyone groggy from the uncomfortable positions they slept or the horrid hang overs they were suffering from.

The straw hats gathered around each other, though Robin appeared to be missing. It was very in character for Robin now that they all thought about it.

"Alright everyone, I had a dream last night about all the riches we should have found in the city of gold," Nami started. Everyone was yawning and stretching while she spoke, "And that got me thinking. That massive snake that Luffy, Tani and I got stuck in had heaps of gold in it." she spoke with sparkles glittering in her berri shifted eyes.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that Nami?" Usopp asked skeptically. The red head slid an arm over the snipers shoulders, and with her free hand started to poke him in the chest. "Well my cowardly friend, the big old snake has been sleeping as solid as a rock for hours. Robin mentioned something about snakes sleeping for 16 hours-"

"Why was Robin talking about snakes?"

"Because she's Robin, that's why. Don't interrupt me," Nami said with a glare. "Anyway, to keep it brief. We're going to steal all the gold we can from within the snake." Nami declared. The small crew all stared at her with wide eyes. Usopp went to make a statement when Nami interrupted with a sinister look in her eyes. "It'll be like a real pirate adventure," she said sweetly. Luffy took the bait hook, line and sinker.

"Yeah! Real pirates get treasure at the end of an adventure, we're gonna get that gold." he declared. Whelp! Guess they're gonna go all Indiana Jones on this joint. Usopp took this opportunity to speak.

"Won't the people be suspicious of us if we all go in together?" he asked. Then he pushed his hand into his bag and whipped out a handful of rubber bands. "What if I distract them with these? Maybe I can win them over and get some more of those really cool dials they have so many of." he suggested. Nami hummed.

"That's actually a really good idea, well done Usopp." she said with a slap to his back. Usopp huffed.

"Oi, all my ideas are good ideas." he pouted angrily. Nami and Tani deadpan stared at him.

"Fingers running down a chalkboard," Tani said in a monotone voice. Everyone except Luffy and Zoro gave off a shudder. Usopp gave a sheepish expression.

"Ok... Most of my ideas,"

The crew laughed.

They spent most of the afternoon hauling gold out of the slumbering python. Usopp did a marvelous job not only distracting all of the island people from the thievery that was occurring right under their noses, but gathering up a wide range of dials that could be useful for them in the future.

Zoro hauled the final bag of gold onto the ship with a thunk. Merry's treasure room has never looked so complete. Tani flopped onto the deck with a huff, her arms burned from carrying all that weight.

"A drink for a lovely lady," Sanji's suave voice spoke from above her.

Tani looked up to see a yellow and orange drink with a slice of mandarin and a straw on the side. Tani accepted it with a grateful smile, sitting up and savouring the refreshing beverage.

Usopp had returned, looking like Santa with the massive brown sack slung over his shoulder. Clanking with the sound of dials. He was brief with his greeting before running off to his work space (the broom closet) to deposit the traded goods.

"I wonder where Robin went," Sanji pondered, taking a seat beside Nami. The red head looked up from the drink she'd received to think.

"I haven't seen her since last night," she said. Zoro lifted an eyelid from his sleeping position.

"Nobody has, she wondered off at some point." he mentioned, "She probably got lost or something,"

"That's rich coming from you algae head," Sanji teased. Zoro snarled at him, his hands already itching to grab his blades.

"What was that?" Zoro sneered. His eyes taking on that monstrous look. Sanji waltzed over to the swordsman and leaned real close.

"I said you're a directionless moss ball that can't tell the difference between left and right," Sanji replied smugly.

"Can you two shut up for a second? I think I see Robin," Nami called out from the railing of Merry.

Sure enough, it was Robin. The woman was waving from her position in the distance. That and the massive golden object that was being dragged behind her. Luffy was the first to react.

"They've got a canon!? That's so cool!" he shouted excitedly. Usopp and Nami on the other hand...

"Set sail! They're gonna blow us up!" the cowardly duo shrieked.

"But what about Robin?" Tani called out while Zoro and Sanji ran to their positions. Nami stood in her navigators spot.

"She can catch up," the navigator responded. Tani nodded with a sigh before running to untie ropes from the lower sails.

Robin started running when she noticed the boat was moving, that enigmatic smile of hers gracing her face as she bloomed a rope of hands towards the railing. Chopper was their to help her up.

"My my, off so soon?" she said sweetly, taking a seat on the deck chair that she'd claimed as her own. The crew ran like clockwork, racing around to catch the winds and go sailing.

Once they were ripping through the cloudy ocean, the sound of cheers and thanks were sent their way. People from the island were waving goodbye. Luffy waved back with great enthusiasm.

"Straw hat!" a voice called out, followed by the loud and obnoxious sound of a horn. Looking below them, they spotted Conis and her father waving from their small speed boat. "We'll show you the way to the islands exit," she called out. Speeding ahead with the boat. Merry was set to follow.

...

"An octopus?!" Tani called out at the entrance of Cloud end. It looked like the start of a rollercoaster, with a flashy entrance and dark tunnel that would most certainly lead to a massive drop. Tani was already inching closer to Luffy.

"These octopus have an air sack that inflates to large that they can make anything float in the sky." Conis explained. "It's the only way that you guys can get off the island safely," she said. Tani groaned, she was so tired of falling from all these high places.

"We better get going," Nami said. She turned to Conis, "thank you for the help, it was lovely to meet you all,"

The crew waved goodbye as the octopus latched onto their boat and started sailing further into the tunnel.

It was completely dark, except for the light at the very end of the tunnel. Tani felt Luffy's hand slip into hers, well she assumed it was Luffy because he was the closest person to her. She held his hand tight. He must have known she was nervous.

The light grew larger and larger.

Here we go.

The blue of the ocean filled their views, though it was short lived as they were sent free falling towards it rather quickly. The crew felt their feet lift from the ground, Tani was quick to vocalize her dislike to this.

"Oh god the octopus isn't working!" she elongated every word. Luffy pulled her into a hug, giving her something solid to cling to.

The octopus decided to activate now. Inflating like a hot air balloon and halting the boats fall. The crew all slammed back into the ground. Tani ended up headbutting the captain, though he was just fine. Blunt force trauma apparently didn't work on the rubber man... It did on Tani.

The whined about her head hurting, Luffy just laughed it off before lifting her off him and without giving her a chance to even comprehend what happened.

He kissed her on the forehead.

If you were to read Tani's thoughts right, all you'd get is the windows dial up noise. Her head just unable to compute that he'd just done that.

Then she finally caught up.

"Wha-what what? Luffy what did you? Why did? Kiss? Why wha-" she fumbled. Luffy pointed and laughed at her.

"You're face looks so funny right now," he snickered. Tani stopped flailing her arms. "does your head feel better?"

"My head?"

"Yeah! Makino would always give me a kiss on the forehead when I hit it," he grinned, "I always felt better right away,".

Tani rubbed at the spot on her head, the throbbing wasn't there but it never really lasted. Plus Luffy being made of rubber probably softened the blow... Wait hasn't he headbutt her before? He never kissed her then... Maybe she's over thinking it.

"Uh, yeah... Yeah I feel better now," she sounded breathy. Calm down stupid heart. Luffy looked satisfied, jumping to his feet and pulling Tani up with him.

"Hey Nami, how long until we land?" Luffy called out. Nami put a hand to her chin to think.

"About three hours," she concluded.

"Cool," Luffy said simply. "Sanji! Is it lunch time yet?"

"I'll get on that," the chef sighed, turning towards the kitchen to get started on something to eat.

"On to the next island!" Luffy cheered.

The adventure on the sky islands was over. Wonder what's in store now?