13 Water 7

'Sooo, what now?' Daz couldn't help but think to himself, standing there on one of the piers, which served as arrival point for most civilian ships to Water 7 that didn't require repairs or had some business to attend inside the city.

Turning this way and that way Daz mimicked the munchkin that sat on his shoulders once again, simply taking in the island they had just arrived at. Surprisingly, it was the first time for Daz visiting Water 7, despite said island being one major hub for ships, which was kind of a big business if you considered that around 70% of the planet were actually covered by water.

Then again, all the ships or transportation vassals Daz had ever needed were usually provided by the WG but since the stunt he pulled back in Mary Geoise that obviously wasn't going to happen any longer.

With a new lollipop inside his mouth and the munchkin nearly bouncing around on his broad shoulders, Daz marched right into the bustling crowd that both worked and galivanted around on the piers, while behind him the other slaves bowed deeply once to his back before they too dissolved into smaller groups and vanished into the bustling men and women all around.

Marching along the pier, the two of them soon arrived at an entrance to the inner parts of Water 7, which also served as the beginning towards the shopping streets that were carved throughout the city like tunnels inside an anthill.

Thus, Daz decided to indulge himself and the munchkin for a while and simply sightsee a little. Though the stalls and shops didn't really have all that much to offer for the two of them, Daz still needed something else to wear other than his white smoking and the munchkin hadn't seen something so normal and human in years, if ever for that matter. So yeah, they took their sweet time to say the least.

Along their way they both stopped in a restaurant once, which caused quite a lot of ohhs and ahhs to escape the munchkin at all the food she got to taste, until she looked like an inflated balloon with big eyes filled with wonder, which had the amusing side effect that Daz had to actually carry her for a while because she couldn't hold herself upon his shoulders as she would usually just roll down his back like a football.

A little while later, once their lunch had settled, Daz and the munchkin discovered the munchkin's new favourite food. Strawberry ice cream. Hence, they indulged themselves a little longer.

In the end the two of them spent way too much time at all the different ice cream stores, as the munchkin wanted to taste all the different flavours they had to offer at the different stalls. Obviously, that resulted in some major brainfreezes to Daz's eternal amusement and the munchkin's horror that her new favourite food had such horrific side effects.

After they were done with their food-capads, they made one more stop before the two of them would go look for a place to hit the pillows at. Namely the tailor.

Once they entered the store of the tailor that was recommended from various stall owners to them, one thing in particular came to Daz's and the munchkin's attention. The store reeked of parfum!

"What in the blazes…! How can anybody even breath in here?!" Daz wondered while he wrinkled his nose in distaste, joined by the munchkin tearing up at the strong smell.

"Ohhh~ costumers! Please, come in, come in! Would you like something to drink, hmmm~?" A man, possibly the owner of the store literally purred while skipping into the room from some room in the back of the shop.

The man's appearance however was quite the sight, and that paired with the man's entrance nearly caused Daz to crack up and guffaw the owner of the shop right into his powdered face.

Ye, no kidding. Powdered. As in powdered face white as chalk while a thick sheen of lipstick made sure the man had something else but white, two eyes, and a nose in his face.

Besides that, the man also wore some ridiculously old-fashioned wig and baggy breeches over a pink leggings.

All in all, he looked incredibly gay to say the least. At least in Daz's opinion, but who was he to care so long as the man knew how to sew well enough?

"Ye, no thanks. However, the two of us need some new outfits. The munchkin for obvious reasons and, well, I just want something different. You up for that?" Daz asked the fellow while he took a look around the well lit shop, inspecting all the clothes on display.

"Yesyesyes, clothes for the two of you! Does the short lady have any wishes concerning her future wardrobe? And does the gentleman while we are at it?" The man purred once more while he seemed to restrain himself from twirling on the spot like a ballerina by the looks of it.

"Uhm, no. But uhm, please don't make me trousers like those. I don't think those would look good on me…" The munchkin replied while pointing at the baggy breeches of the tailor, who seemed to ignore her words while Daz nearly choked on his lollipop at the munchkin's forwardness!

"Yes, well, I'll take a smoking in dark red mostly. Though, I'll leave the rest up to you concerning its design. I'm not a tailor. And the munchkin, errr, just give her some girly clothes. She'll be fine. Just let her pick something for herself." Daz said after removing his lollipop from his mouth for now, after all it wouldn't do to die now of all times.

His words seemed to revitalize the tailor's spirits as the man purred even louder and literally twirled like a human tornado towards the back of the store, singing some self-made melody about clothes and their maker or some such nonsense.

Shrugging his shoulders, Daz ignored that and instead fell into a nearby chair while the munchkin wandered some more through the store, inspecting this and that around the shop.

Daz meanwhile was thinking on how to continue from here on out. Water 7 wasn't an island he wanted to spend much time on, not more than necessary at least. That however threw up the question of where to go next.

Glancing over towards the munchkin, Daz had an idea, and thus called the munchkin over to him.

"Say, do you remember the island's name that you used to live on?" Daz asked her, to which she frowned in thought, after which she shook her head.

"Hmm, alright. Anything special you remember about the island? Something that you liked to look at? Or a special landmark that you still remember?" Daz continued to ask while the munchkin's frown got deeper before it lit up in something akin to remembrance.

"Ah! I used to love looking at all the soap bubbles that flew through the air on our island! Mum and I used to go out and chase after them! Does that help?" She asked in turn, to which Daz nodded.

"Yes. I know which island you grew up on. The Sabaody Archipelago. How would you like it if we journeyed their and tried to look for your mum and dad? I can't promise that we'll find them but I think it would be worth a try at the very least." Daz said to which the munchkin's eyes widened before she shot like a small missile towards Daz and nearly strangled him to death by how hard she hugged him around his neck while she kept thanking him as if her life depended on it.

Daz's response was to awkwardly pat her on the back, as he simply wasn't used to such pure shows of affection, let alone directed towards him. Obviously, he was aware of that little fact but for the moment a few pats on the back was all he was willing to give.

After a while of both laughter, sobbing and snot flowing freely silence once again reigned in the shop, with only the muted sounds of the bustling crowds echoing into the shop from the outside.

However, the both of them didn't sit for long in their silence as the shop owner twirled back into the room with both arms of his carrying clothes as if his life depended on the amount he could carry at one time.

"~Here we go my darling customers! For the little lady we have both dresses as well as a few pairs of trousers and shoes for travelling! Go ahead, pick what strikes your fancy.~" The tailor said after which the munchkin practically jumped headfirst into the big pile of clothes that laid before her on the ground.

"~Nownownow, here we are! A good piece if I do say so myself! Wine red as the main colour with black drawings along the sleeves, while some parts are highlighted in grey, equal in colour to your hair! Alongside that we have a slightly lighter coloured dress shirt, of course also in red while the vest is the darkest red I had in stock, just a tidbit away from turning black! If you hold it into the sunlight you may just see the red tinge on it! Together with that we have black leather shoes with metal implants to slightly heighten the heals, the newest fashion according to the newsco.!~" the tailor fawned and in Daz's opinion the man wasn't wrong about doing so.

Daz may not understand much about fashion but he still liked his new suit. Hence, he grabbed his new outfit and after selling his old white smoking to the tailor put his new wardrobe on.

"Thank you for that one. Fits like a second skin and as smooth as sister Bella's nice and thick a— , err, you know what I mean." Daz said while he scoffed into his fist in the end awkwardly while he glimpsed into the munchkin's direction, who simply looked confused.

After paying the tailor the two of them then left, wandering the streets and began heading towards the next best hotel they could spend the night at. Their peaceful walk however was only slightly interrupted by something none of the two was expecting at the time. Namely, a frog. A frog as tall as Daz himself. Never seen before? Ye, Daz hadn't either. But whatever, the grandline is weird like that…