One Piece (Love Story) [Part Two]

Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty

-Chapter Three Hundred and Twenty-

-Skylar's P.O.V-

"Wow! How far down are we?" Luffy asked, already beginning to take note in just how dark it was starting to get the further down we went.

"I don't know—it's getting darker and darker..." Usopp muttered as he looked up at the surrounding ocean, nervously taking small steps back up the stairs as he continued to gawk up at the vast sea that surrounded us.

"That's to be expected, the sun can't reach this far down" I said, eyes closed as I felt rather tired from my earlier crying...yet a content smile was on my face as there was a certain warmth within my chest from knowing that the others still accepted me even after learning the truth. None of them pestered me to continue, only giving me comforting smiles and reassuring hugs before Zoro had forced me back onto his lap were he began pressing soft kisses to my face—mumbling gentle words of comfort as he did so.

"We passed the Euphotic Zone and it looks like we're around the bottom of the Aphonic Zone—about a thousand meters, give or take" Franky estimated after taking a glance around before he went back to eating.

"It's quiet and the Sunny itself feels oddly still" Robin noted, noticing just how eerily silent it had become the further down we went as little sound seemed to happen outside of what little noises we currently made. "It's almost like floating in the sky."

"The sky...I learned so much about weather up there, but I don't know if it's much use underwater" Nami admitted.

"Hey, look! It's a whale!" Chopper happily pointed out just as a giant white whale came swimming by with a smaller blue whale swimming right next to it.

"It's just like Laboon!" Brook gaped.

"Nah, it looks more like Whitebeard" Luffy smiled.

"Whatever they look like, they're quite lovely creatures" I said, peeking an eye open and smiling as I watched as the whale peacefully swam by—taking little interest in our sinking ship. Zoro only hummed in response as he buried his face into my neck, sneaking his arms underneath my dress shirt in the process so that they would fully rest against the flesh of my waist. I couldn't help but shiver in delight at the sensation of his warm hands against me flesh—his palms gently gliding around as he rubbed comforting circles along my back as he pulled me closer. I felt my muscle relax as I found myself enjoying this feeling of him just holding me—a feeling I had been craving the past two years and I could tell that he was the same way upon feeling the content hum he gave as his lips continued to pretty soft kisses to my neck. We were both clearly starving for one another's touch after lacking it for so long.

"I can't think about whales right now, I can't think about anything except the fact that I'm going to die...or at least seventy percent going to die" Usopp frowned. "Why did they tell me that...?" he bitterly grumbled before peering out into the open waters with a pair of binoculars. "Maybe if I keep a look out, I can raise our chances in making it out of this—better than just sitting here," he reasoned with himself, "I don't see any big scary Sea Kings or stuff the ship could crash into, so I guess we're good for now."

"I told you, I'm alright" I softly breathed out to Zoro as he continued to snuggle closer to me, his grip only tightening at my words. "All those thoughts are gone now, never to return again..." I don't know how true that statement was...part of me wanted to believe it was, but a part of me knew that things were never so simple and those thoughts and feelings I have will never fully go away—they'll always be lingering in the background whether I want them to or not.

"I know...but it still concerns me that you even thought that way in the first place..." Zoro mumbled in admittance against my throat, his lips twitching downwards into that of a frown. "It upsets me that I never noticed before that you felt that way and it pisses me off knowing that that bastard had done something like that to you" he growled.