Growing

Neo closed her eyes and slowly exhaled. Feeling out for the nature around her, she got a mental picture of the area she was supposed to be focusing on. When it was stable in her mind, she summoned thirty earth crystals and hovered them in a round circle. Beaming their green glow down to the ground, several trees, bushes, grass, and flowers sprouted out of the soil and reached for the sky above them while filling the air with their fresh scents.

"Wow!" Archer said. "That's amazing!"

"What are you so impressed about?" Conner asked. "You've seen all of this before."

"Why must you be such a downer about everything?" Archer asked with a glare at his friend.

"Why must you be so amazed at every little thing?" Conner crossed his arms over his chest.

"This is amazing," Archer said. "Neo's abilities are amazing. Even you have to admit that."

"Of course they are," Conner said. "I think we all can agree with that. But that doesn't mean we have to get excited over every little thing she does."

"Sometimes you two fight like an old married couple," Shachi said, cutting the fight off before it could go any farther.

"Well, maybe they were husband and wife in another life." Penguin snickered.

"Husband and wife, huh?" Bepo said. "That makes me ill."

"Hey!" Archer and Conner snapped.

"I'm sorry." Bepo hung his head.

Neo tilted her head as she stared at the mini forest that she had just created under Law's order. She didn't really see what was amazing about it either. But she did wonder how strong she could possibly be with them and felt a small amount of an unfamiliar feeling building in her chest. The feeling made her feel great. So great that she wasn't bothered at all by Archer and Conner's small argument.

Law was, like always, standing beside her. He ignored their argument, since it didn't upset Neo. He then said, "All right, now, you five head into the thicket. Hide yourselves and hold really still. Neo?"

"Yes!" Neo jumped and turned to the captain.

"Turn away from the thicket and don't use your crystals for the moment," Law ordered. Once Neo nodded and did as she was told, he then nodded at the five crewmates he picked out for this training. They nodded back and headed for the thicket. He made sure to give the men enough time to hide before turning back to Neo. "Okay, now I want you to use your crystals to try and search for our crew hiding in the thicket."

"I don't really understand the point of this, Captain," Neo said honestly.

"It's just a test. You're obviously connected to nature. I'm just trying to figure out what all you can do and not do," Law explained. "It's just a theory, but you should be able to use nature to find the crewmates who just went into the thicket. If you can, then this will help you in the case of a sneak attack. Do you understand now?"

"Yes, sir, I do." Neo nodded.

"Then proceed," Law said. "Try and feel out where they are."

"Yes, sir." Neo nodded again and turned back to the thicket. She stared at the small jungle she had created before summoning her wind crystals to accompany her earth crystals. She then closed her eyes and tried to push away the tension that gathered in her body.

Law watched patiently as her crystals began to glow.

Neo engulfed herself in the glow. She felt her senses opening up and connecting to every plant life on the island as well as the wind and creatures. She finally released the tension she was holding in as she felt the plant life and wind guiding her mind around the thicket. The first one she found was Bepo. He was easy. She could feel his animal side with no problems. So wrapping a vine around him, she lifted him above the trees. Peaking through one eyelid, she saw Bepo waving to her. She waved back before closing her eye again.

Ten minutes later on in this exercise, she finally found a second one of the crew that Law ordered into the thicket. She wrapped a vine around him and lifted him into the air. Neo peaked through one of her eyes again. He waved to them as he hung over the top of the trees just like Bepo did. It was Archer. She closed her eye again and searched out for the rest of them. Fifteen minutes later, she found them all. She opened her eyes and blinked at the five men hanging in the air from her vines. "I did it? I did it."

"You did." Law smiled. When she looked at him, his eyes widened and his heart fluttered wildly in his chest. The corner of her lips had pulled into a light smile. He couldn't believe it. She was actually smiling. And she didn't even realize she was doing it. He swallowed, trying to get his heart to stop beating so erratically from how cute he thought her smile was.

"What is it, Captain?" Neo inquired.

"Nothing." Law tried to force himself to look away from her, but he couldn't. This was her first smile, probably in her entire life, and he wanted to etch it into his memory so he could keep it forever.

"Um, Neo?" Archer called out to her. His voice brought Neo and Law's eyes back to the men suspended above the tree line. It also caused her smile to fade. "Could you, please, let us down from here?"

"I am so sorry!" Neo covered her mouth with her hands and lowered the men down to the ground.

They adjusted their wrinkled jumpsuits as they walked over to them.

"Don't worry about it." Conner smiled. "No harm done. You were amazing. It didn't take you long at all to find us."

"Uh, thank you," Neo said, shifting on her feet. "Bepo was the easiest to find."

"Because I'm an animal?" Bepo asked.

"I think so." Neo nodded. "I can feel you easier because you're closer to nature than humans are."

Bepo nodded. "That makes sense."

"That was incredible though! I've never been up so high!" Shachi smiled brightly. "I think it's going to be fun to train with you!"

"When do we get to do that, Captain?" Archer asked hopefully.

"I think the time is about right," Law replied. He then looked at Neo. She looked back at him. A twinge of disappointment settled into his chest when he saw that her smile wasn't coming back. "Are you fine with that, Neo? Think you can handle the entire crew now?"

Neo thought about it before nodding. "Yes, sir, I believe I can handle it now."

"Let's head back for now," Law said.

With a group nod, the pirates turned and headed back to their camp. During their walk four of the five members chatted happily about Neo's successful training session and their upcoming training with her as one hung back to talk to Law.

"Hey, Captain?" Conner said.

"Yes?" Law inquired.

"Just a suggestion, but I think it would be a good idea if Neo were to learn how to track without the use of her crystals. I mean it's good that she has this ability and can find people hiding in nature. She can easily find us if we ever get separated, but there might be times when she can't use her crystals. It would be good if she had the ability to track the regular way," Conner explained.

"Hm. That's a good suggestion," Law replied. He eyed his subordinate and thought about how Conner was the best tracker on his crew. "I'll add it into her training schedule. Since you're the best tracker we have, would you be willing to help her with that?"

"Sure thing, Captain. I'll be glad to help her out with this. I'll go tell her about it." Conner smiled and picked up his pace.

Law watched the man go. He paused to watch the crew chatting with Neo. Conner was already stomping footprints in the ground so he knew the man was already teaching her how to track the normal way. Bepo, Archer, and Shachi seemed excited to help Conner in teaching her how to track while Penguin was looking her over for signs of distress. His own eyes turned to Neo at that point. There were no signs of stress at all building up in her. It made him glad to see her enjoying being with the crew like this. But it also made him a bit jealous. A frustrated growl released from his throat. There was no reason for him to feel like this. So why did he? Why was he wanting to pull her away from his crew and keep her by his side at all times?

Forcing his thoughts away from that, Law tilted his head and focused on how Neo has grown even more comfortable with the crew. She wasn't shying away from their excited chatter at all. His mind then drifted over to what all Neo had done with her crystals today. Questions about her replayed over and over in his mind while he thought about the small forest she had created. How strong was she? What was she really capable of doing? Should he push her even farther than he was? Or should he give her a few years before attempting something bigger like a storm? Considering the images he saw from her in her memories she shared with him, surely she could recreate a storm like that. But there was no way she was ready for it. Still, he wanted her to try to form another storm, even a small one. Though the thought quickly left his mind. She might not be quite ready for that just yet, even with him helping her.

Soon his mind, without his permission, wandered back to her smile. Her very first smile. And he had been the one to receive it. His heart fluttered again. His cheeks tinted a light pink when he sensed Bepo beside him. He cleared his throat before speaking. He found himself asking, "Bepo, what does Neo smell like to you?"

"Huh?" Bepo blinked when he looked at Law. "Smell like? That's an odd question to ask. What do you mean, Captain?"

"I know you've mentioned before that she smells like nature. But does she smell human to you?" Law asked, keeping his eyes on Neo.

"I never really thought about it," Bepo replied. He pulled his eyes from Law and looked at Neo. He blinked several times. "I guess she doesn't really smell like everyone else. It might be because she smells like nature. Maybe that's hiding her human side? Though, honestly speaking, I don't think she is human."

"I've had that thought several times before." Law finally looked at the bear.

Bepo turned his eyes to Law and noticed the light pink hue on his captain's cheeks. He remained silent on the subject for the moment.

"To try and explain it better it's like being in the sub for weeks then walking out onto the deck. The smell of the sea, the dirt, the sun, the wind, the trees, flowers…she just smells like it all. And she also has a sweet smell to her. Kind of like sugar." Bepo locked eyes with Law. He noticed the captain flinching at his words. He also noticed the jealousy settling into the man's steel colored eyes. "You really do have a crush on her, don't you, Captain?"

"I do not," Law hissed through gritted teeth, his hat cast shadows over his eyes to avoid more eye contact with the bear. There was no possible way he was really developing a crush on this girl, this child. It wasn't possible. He refused to believe it.

"Uh huh," Bepo mumbled. "Then why are you avoiding eye contact with me now? And you were blushing a minute ago. What was that about? I know you were thinking of her."

"I do not have feelings for her, Bepo," Law said, still avoiding eye contact. "She's just a child. For all we know she literally is a child. We have no idea how old she is."

"That's a lame excuse. You know she's not a child at all. Well, not technically anyway," Bepo said.

Law huffed and fully turned away from Bepo, a signal that he didn't want to hear anymore about this topic.

Bepo, knowing he's pushed his captain far enough, walked off to join the crew in their chatter about Neo's training session. Bepo chuckled to himself he figured that his captain and friend wasn't ready to talk about his developing feelings for the only girl on their sub.

A few minutes later, Law's eyes drew back over to Neo. His steel orbs automatically went to her lips. Her smile jumped back into his memory, making his heart flutter yet again. He growled at himself and rubbed the back of his neck. "Ridiculous. I'm not falling for her at all. She is just a child. Even if she wasn't a child, she won't be ready for a relationship like…"

Law sighed with a low growl. "I don't have feelings for her. End of story."

Neo flung herself to the right when a couple crewmates threw some rocks at her. She grabbed the rocks in her winds and propelled them back. The crew dodged them. She then tried to trap them in her vines, but they easily dodged her attempts. She switched to her water crystals and tried to tag them with water. Behind her, Penguin and Shachi slowly crept upon her. Penguin nodded to Shachi. Shachi nodded back then charged at Neo.

Neo sensed him without the use of her crystals. She whipped around and trapped him in a gust of wind. While she was distracted with Shachi, Penguin lunged at her. He didn't tackle her. It was Law's orders that no one grab her right now. Even though she was ready to train with the entire crew, Law didn't want to push it. Instead he told the crew they were to just tap her shoulder.

Neo flinched when Penguin touched her. She released an aggravated sigh. "I didn't sense you at all."

"It's all right," Penguin said with encouragement in his voice. "This is why you're training with us all now. You'll get the hang of sense multiple targets sneaking upon you in no time."

"Yeah," Neo mumbled while lowering Shachi back to his feet.

"Let's keep going," Shachi said. "You'll get the hang of it soon."

The group got back into training. Neo continued to try and trap or tag the group as they dodged her attempt. Occasionally, she would fling some crewmates into the air then let them slide down vines like she did with Penguin. She dodged objects that they would throw at her then propel them back at the crew. She created vine steps that allowed the crew to get high off the ground. They then would jump down to tackle unsuspecting crewmates.

Law was sitting out of their training like always. He was leaning against a tree that Neo had grown yesterday. He watched them for a while, with a satisfied smirk on his face. His eyes then drifted to Neo. His smirk shifted into a genuine smile as he watched her.

She was dodging the crew's attacks with ease until a sudden gust of wind, that she didn't create or sense, knocked her off her guard. When the gust slammed into her, she engulfed it with her crystals. The added wind caused her to lose her control and she sent herself flying away from the crew.

Penguin gasped and called out her name. "Neo!"

Law jumped to his feet when Neo's body hurled towards him. When she got close enough, he held out his arms and easily caught her. She had her eyes tightly closed unaware she was now safe in his arms. He could help but chuckled. "You can open your eyes now."

Neo slowly opened her eyes. She looked around before landing her eyes on his. Her body twitched then instantly stiffened at their closeness. "I'm sorry. I guess I have a lot more work to do on sensing when nature is going to throw something at me like that. I was too distracted by the crew I didn't even notice the gust coming. Then I accidentally combined the gust with my own winds and sent myself flying."

"There's nothing for you to apologize for. You really haven't had practice with sensing the wind coming up like that. You've always just dealt with the winds you've created. We'll increase that part of your training one day when it's windy enough for it," Law replied.

"Yes, sir." Neo dropped her eyes to his chest and thought about his words. She didn't notice Law staring at her or the fact that he was still holding her.

Law was looking at her face before his eyes lifted up to her hair, to the dark blue ribbon that was still holding up her blue tresses. His lips dipped down into a light frown. He often wondered where and when Penguin had gotten the ribbon, but never questioned him about it. He knew it was good for her to receive gifts from the crew. Along with training with them, it would help her get more comfortable and increase her trust in them even more. The thought of his crew giving her presents made his frown fall deeper. He really didn't like it, but knew it was necessary.

"Uh, C-Captain? Is something wrong?" Neo asked.

"Hn?" Law pulled his eyes back to hers. He noticed her body was slightly less stiff as she stared at him. "No, nothing's wrong."

"Neo!" the crew called.

Law sat her back down on her feet when the crew came running over to them. His hand lingering a little too long on her side, letting the crew get a clear look and snickered. He shot them a glare while finally pulling his hand off her.

"Are you all right, Neo?" Bepo asked. "You really went flying there."

"Yes, Bepo, I'm fine." Neo nodded. "The captain caught me."

"We noticed," Conner said, causing a round of snickers to pass through them.

Neo tilted her head at them in confusion before she looked back at Law when he released a low growl.

The crew jumped and scattered.

Law sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I think that's enough training for today, Neo. The sun's going to set soon."

"Yes, sir. I didn't even notice it was getting so late." She looked out to the setting sun while reaching up to pulled at the ribbon. The sea and sky was painted with a beautiful array of yellows, oranges, and reds. The sun darkened the undersides of the clouds floating across the sky that added in some purples and blues. With a tug, the ribbon released her tresses. She shook out her hair before running a hand through it, unaware that Law was watching her every move.

"Still bugs you having your hair up?" Penguin inquired.

"Yeah." Neo wrapped the ribbon around her finger before tucking the folded piece it into her pocket. "I don't think I'll ever get use to it."

"Hey, Neo!" a crewmate called out, earning her attention. "I was just thinking that, if you wanted to, maybe you could increase the plant life around the island. We could use it in our training sessions."

"Yeah!" another crewmate cheered. "We could make a game out of it. Like, we could chase each other through the woods, trying to tag enough other or something, work on our ambushing tactics, stuff like that."

"That sounds like fun!" a third crewmate said.

"Slow down, guys. We don't want to over work Neo and her crystals," Penguin said. "We still have no idea what all she can do. If we push it too hard, we might end up hurting her. Her magic is connected to her stamina after all."

"It was just a suggestion," the crewmate, who made the suggestion, said with a shrug. "I don't want her to over do it either."

"Well, I could try," Neo softly spoke to them. She jumped and collapsed her hands in front of her when they all turned their attention to her. "I mean, if it's all right with the captain."

"I don't see why not. You'll need more space to track things in anyway. Just as long as you take it easy," Law replied. "Just do small patches of trees and plants at a time. And you must stop if anything starts to hurt you in any kind of way or if you get too tired."

"Yes, sir." Neo nodded. With her feet aching in her boots, she started wiggling her feet around trying to find some relief from the tightness of being confined. "I will."

"We can work on that tomorrow morning then," Law then said. "We'll see how many plant life you can create without getting tired. Then I'll want you to take a break. After that, if nothing comes up with you or your crystals, you'll continue until lunch. We'll break for lunch then see how you're doing after that. If you're not too tried, you'll continue to train with the crew for the rest of the day." He noticed her twitching and wiggling her feet. "You can take off your boots now. You're done training for the day."

"Thank you, Captain." Neo nodded as she slipped her feet out of her boots with a relieved sigh to be out of the confining things. She was unaware of the crew holding back their snickers at how protective their captain was being over her and this new development while she wiggled her feet into the sand below her.

"No way!" Shachi exclaimed.

"How powerful can she possibly be?" a crewmate asked.

"This is just incredible," another one added.

"I…I don't understand," Neo said softly. "How is it possible that I can do all of this?"

"That's good question," Law mumbled. He, Neo, and the crew were staring out at the island they have been on for the past several weeks. What was once an almost completely barren island was now lush with all kinds of trees, bushes, flowers, vegetables, and fruits thanks to Neo growing more plants on the island. The few animals they had seen were coming out more to forage for the fresh food that she had created for them.

"I don't understand how I did this. I just sensed the seeds that were already in the ground and paired them with my crystals. I had to create some seeds with my crystals for some of this, but… shouldn't I have laminations?" Neo asked.

"Limitations, Neo," Penguin gently corrected. "I was kinda wondering the same thing."

"Do I even have limitations?" Neo asked.

"We all have our weaknesses, Neo," Law spoke out. "Eventually, we'll learn what yours are. We've already learned that using your crystals for extended periods of times wears you down. So that's a weakness, but we all have that one. None of us have an endless supply of energy. Speaking of which," He turned his eyes to her, "how are you feeling? Are you tired? Or dizzy? Lightheaded?"

"Um." Neo thought about his questions before answering. There was a bit of a drain on her body from creating all of this but nothing major. "I'm a bit tired, but I don't feel like I'm going to faint or anything."

"Any headaches?" Law asked.

"No, sir, I'm fine. Really." Neo turned full body to him and collapsed her hands in front of her.

Law eyed her body and her expression carefully. He slowly nodded, satisfied that she was fine and answering him truthfully.

"I'm not sure how she can possibly have limitations when she can do all this," Conner exclaimed. His eyes, as well as his crewmates, were locked onto the full jungle before them. None of them even noticed the concern their captain had over Neo just now.

"Do you think the fruit and vegetables are eatable?" Archer asked.

"Why wouldn't they be? Her potatoes were eatable," Penguin said.

"Only one way to find out for sure. How about a lift?" Shachi turned to Bepo then jerked his thumb towards an apple tree.

Bepo nodded and stood below the tree.

Shachi then ran towards the bear. Once close enough, he jumped and planted his feet into the bear's connected paws. Bepo then tossed Shachi into the air with ease. When high enough, Shachi grabbed an apple off the tree then landed gracefully on the ground.

"I could have just used my winds to get one for you," Neo said.

"Don't worry about it." Penguin nudged her. "He needs the exercise."

"I heard that!" Shachi snapped.

Penguin smirked with a shrugged. "You were supposed to hear it."

Shachi grumbled before taking a bite of his apple. His face lit up when his teeth sunk into the red flesh and the apple's juice washed over his taste buds. "It's so juicy! Yummy!"

"Really?" the crewmates exclaimed.

Neo used her winds to pull down a variety of the fruit she had created. The crew gathered it up, sampling them while heading back to their campsite for lunch and to let Neo rest.

"At least I'm good for something," Neo mumbled while the crew continued to complement her on how good her fruit was.

"Aw, don't say that," Shachi and Penguin simultaneously said and, without thinking about it, grabbed onto her in a sandwich hug.

She squeaked and stiffened at their unplanned closeness.

They immediately released her in a heart pounding panic. "We are so sorry!"

Law glared harshly at them when they peaked at him. They froze in place and wondered what their captain was going to do to them.

"I-it's okay." Neo fidgeted. She twiddled her fingers, but raised a timid smile to them when they looked at her. "You just surprised me that's all."

Law's glare disappeared as his eyebrows rose high on his forehead. He was shocked that she was okay with them hugging her. They all were.

"Hey, you're smiling." Penguin pointed out, breaking free of his shock.

"I am?" Neo's fingers rose to her lips.

"So cute!" Penguin and Shachi squealed. They grabbed onto her again and rubbed their cheeks against hers, tickling her skin.

Law couldn't help but smirk, he mentally reminding himself that he got her first smile. And only he knew it. His smile dropped from his lips and his eyebrow rose again when what she did next surprised them all yet again. Her smile morphed into a soft laugh. And her laughter was filled with soft, chiming bells.

"Uh, Neo?" Penguin paused in his cat like snuggle against her.

"What?" Neo blinked in slight confusion at the strange looks the crew was now giving her.

"You laughed," Shachi pointed out with a gentle smile of his own.

"You have bells in your laughter," Bepo said. He tilted his head with a smile, looking like a cute teddy bear. "It sounded very sweet."

"I did?" Neo's fingers dropped to her throat. "Bells?"

"You've never laughed before, have you?" Penguin asked.

Neo shook her head. "No. I don't…I don't think so."

"Well, you have a very pretty laugh and smile. I hope we get to hear and see more of them," Penguin said.

Neo tilted her head. She watched the entire crew smiled and nod in agreement with Penguin. Her eyes then drifting over to Law. He was silently staring at her with his typical calm, unreadable expression. It made a strange feeling bubble up in her stomach and heat rushed to her cheeks.

Law walked over to her and looked more directly into her eyes. Easily noticing her flinching at the intense way he was studying her. His eyes slightly widened when he noticed the color of her eyes. They were no longer dark and lifeless. They had become the same electric blue he saw in her nightmare and they held a small flicker of life. He wondered when that had happened. Was it because she laughed just now? Could that had changed her eye color? He knew they were still gray earlier this morning. It also made him wonder what kind of creature would have bells in their laughter. He's heard some men talk about a woman's laughter had bells, but they were just speaking metaphorically. No human being literally had bells in their laughter. It was physically impossible. But Neo did have bells in her laughter. And he wasn't just imagining it. His entire crew had heard it as well.

Neo swallowed and shifted from foot to foot when Law continued to stare at her without saying anything. She asked, "I-is something wrong, Captain?"

It took Law a few seconds before he could answer her. His hat dropped over his eyes. "No, nothings wrong. I was just thinking about how much you have improved and grown. I'm very pleased and proud. We all are."

"Th-thank you, C-Captain." Neo shifted uncomfortably, but held a small smile on her lips, making both their hearts pound again.

"Let's get something to eat." Law quickly noted her getting uncomfortable and wanting to put an end to it and his thumping heart. "I'm sure you're hungry after all you've done today."

Neo nodded.

The rest of the crew had already made it to their campsite when Law, Neo, Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin started to follow after them. Suddenly, a bad feeling washed over Law. He whipped around and scanned his eyes around the surrounding area. When he could find nothing out of place, he started to turn back around. He paused when he noticed Neo was staring off in the same direction he was looking.

"What is it, Neo?" Law asked when he noticed her eyes held confusion in them.

She said, obvious unsure about something, "I thought I felt something."

"Like what?" Law inquired. He turned his eyes in the direction she was looking. He carefully scanned the area again. His bad feeling was still present.

"I'm not really sure," Neo replied. "It kind of felt like I was manipulating plants again."

Law shot his eyes back to her. His heart thumped again his chest, but not in a good way. Something wasn't right. He just didn't know what it was.

"I guess it was nothing. I don't feel anything anymore," Neo then said. She turned and walked over to the crew.

Law remained where he stood. He kept his eyes glued onto her until she was within the safety of his crew before scanning the island once again with an intense frown.