.: Wasn't really expecting to post again anytime soon. In addition to the holidays, I'm also having to do important life stuff right now. Luckily, I got the feeling that continuing to write this chapter would far exceed 8000, so I decided to split the content up and give you all something smaller. We're about to get into a week-long voyage full of adventure, self-discovery, and romance. As it currently stands, I am planning on each day being a single chapter, but that could change. :.

The Girl with A Half-Soul

Chapter 35:

A Big Hand for the Little Lady

The vacant jailhouse had a single occupant inside its walls. This was par for the course. So much so, that the occupant snoozed peacefully at his desk. His feet were propped up and his hat covered his face as he snored. If it was quiet enough for him to do this, then it was suspicious. Boom Town was rarely ever this quiet.

It was too good to be true. Sheriff Garrett was rudely awakened by crashing thunder that sounded like it was a few doors down. He physically shook hard enough to fall out of his chair. After a groan and rubbing his lower back, he pulled himself up and looked out the barred window to see there was no rain outside. This was the second time today that this had happened. Taking that trip with the Straw Hats revealed that the orange-haired navigator was the one who was responsible for it.

If she did it the first time, that had to have meant the same for the second time. He stood for a second wondering if there was a specific reason why. It could have either been a serious reason for why or something completely innocuous. As the single source of justice in this town, he was obligated to investigate. He sighed and placed his white stetson hat back over his scalp. Maybe he could "miss" the event and just call it a night.

Oh, but if only it were that easy. All he saw was drunkards making a break for it. Most of them could not walk in a straight line, let alone run in one. More trouble was brewing at the saloon. Yeah, that was nothing new. There were many times when Garrett debated sitting next to the front door of it every night just so people would try to behave themselves better, but he had never gone through with it. Depending on what he was about to come across, he might have to reconsider the notion.

By the time he arrived, he heard laughter. But when he peered inside, he found it wrecked and empty. Everyone behind the building felt like they triumphed for the first time today. They were enjoying every minute of it. That was what drew the sheriff back there.

"They'll think twice before messing with our crew again," Luffy commented in the middle of his laughing.

"He better remember my face when he even thinks about hurting a lady again," Sanji muttered as he shielded his cigarette to give it more life.

Inside the glass dome, Aurilee smiled as she watched the pirates and cowboys together. She and Chopper could not hear what all was being said, but spirits were cheery by the outcome. Next to her, Robin opened her eyes to see what was going on around her. "Hey, Robin," Chopper greeted. "You're hurt. I need to check you for a concussion."

Butler visited again to absorb the glass back into his body. The contact with his hands caused the invisible dome to liquify and slurp away until they were freed. Usopp was there to help Aurilee back up. He had to pull so hard that he practically squatted until enough leverage was sustained between them. If that did not prove how much heavier she was compared to him, she did not know what else could have.

"So yer the wun who made that storm earlier!" Jen beamed at Nami. Her big brown eyes were sparkling with veneration as she got closer to check out the Clima-tact. "I wuz chasin' after horses awl afternoon. It awl maykes since now!"

Nami giggled at how easily impressed she was.

Garrett stepped into the area and immediately noticed a few unconscious people on the ground. The clear winners stood around without a care in the world. Billy was the first to notice his presence and quickly retracted his devil fruit powers altogether. "Sorry to do yer job for ya, Sheriff," he said as he approached him. "I know it looks bad–"

"How many times does this make it?" Garrett interrupted as he scanned the scene and the participants. Just as he expected, the Straw Hats were here. "And didn't I tell y'all to stay out of trouble?" he asked Luffy.

Luffy looked at him with an empty head.

"We finished a fight. We didn't start one, Sir," Rip explained as he removed his hat respectfully.

"Can anyone back that up?" Garrett contested. "Because I see all your witnesses are either laying on the ground or already a half mile away."

When they all glanced at each other without a good response in mind, Sanji spoke up. "Look at what they did to Nami and Robin," he disputed. He tried to show off the forming bruise on the side of Nami's face, but she pushed him away. "Robin can't even get up! You think we started some pointless fight? We only gave back just as much as they did."

Garrett sighed and adjusted his hat. "I need y'all gone by the mornin'."

The remark caught everyone's attention. "Gone?" Oakley repeated.

"Yes. Gone. I don't care where y'all go, but ya cain't stay here."

"But that's not fair!" Usopp objected. "We get targeted, and we're the ones getting punished?"

"If you cain't stay out of trouble, then take your trouble somewhere else!" Garrett argued as he turned around. "You got till mornin'." After that, he disappeared.

Zoro smirked and brushed it off without anything to add, but Usopp was just baffled. "Really, Luffy? You didn't have anything to say to all that?"

"What? We were leaving in the morning anyway," he replied.

"Wail, looks like our vacation's gettin' moved west faster than we planned," Oakley summarized. She brushed some dust off Butler when he returned to her side and then adjusted his bowtie so it was not crooked. "Could be worse."

"Not sure 'bout y'all but we clean up are messes," Billy told the pirates as he stepped toward the back door. "Thanks for the help, though."

Ware knelt to touch some of the shattered glass on the ground. His devil fruit powers worked to gather it all, which led him inside the building where most of it was. While the rest of them were following, Jen's upper half stopped while her bottom half kept going. Her gaze was now glued to someone who piqued her interest. "Dang, what's yer name, baybay?"

Usopp looked to her. "Huh?"

Rip casually nudged his friend to keep going instead of trying to get cozy with a stranger. She knew that if she resisted, he would actually put his foot down with her, so she just continued on as if nothing happened. That was supposed to be the end of the alliance between their groups, but there was still something important keeping it alive.

Aurilee hurried as fast as her pregnant waddle would allow her. "Wait," she said. "Can you tell them about it, too?"

Rip paused. Having the pirates notice that she went straight for him got them curious. "'Bout wut, Darlin'?" he asked.

"The Wendigo. I wanna know more about it, and the island."

"Wendigo?" Luffy echoed.

"What's that?" Sanji questioned.

Rip hesitated before he went into details. "I told you everything I know," he insisted. "And all I know about the island is that the setting sun led me to it. Other than that, I don't know where it's at."

The attempt to abate her hope failed. "So we have the follow the sunset. That doesn't sound too hard."

"What's going on?" Nami asked. "Why are we going to follow a sunset?"

Aurilee opened her stance to face her along with the others. "Behold, I have found a man who has actually seen my father with his own eyes."

The announcement did not exactly rouse their excitement. Instead, they all just stood there. All these legends they had been following got them nowhere. Now suddenly there was a person who miraculously had answers to their prayers. That was too good to be true.

"He described him perfectly!" Aurilee insisted. "Come on. At least hear him out."

"Okay," Zoro nonchalantly replied. "What's a Wendigo, Mr. Cowboy?"

"A demon wolf that possesses humans and eats them," Rip answered.

Zoro laughed. "Pretty specific."

"And you saw one?" Sanji questioned. And he thought Usopp was a bad liar.

"Yep. On some remote island I washed up on," Rip confirmed.

Aurilee posed with her arms to nonverbally say "Ta-da!" in response. The crew still was not buying it, though.

"How can you be sure?" Nami questioned Aurilee. "I'd rather have proof than immediately sail to some random island by following the sunset."

"I'm not the man to ask for hard evidence," Rip confessed. "I definitely know what I saw, but the only reason I could put a name to it was thanks to the natives of this island. They know more about the Wendigo than I do." He looked to Aurilee to finish the rest. "Which makes a lot of sense when they say it originated from them. Because you look like you belong in their gene pool, and you're confident that what I saw like twenty-five years ago was your dadday. My opinion? Go find the Lun'aecho yourself to find the truth."

Most of them had to take a moment to register what he just said, but they did not have the opportunity to express their surprise.

Rip seemed as if he was challenging Aurilee. This was her future, after all. It should be her who grabbed it by the horns. "Then I will," she declared assuredly. "Will you take us to them?"

"Give me a reason to," Rip deflected. Since they worked together in the bar fight, he wanted to see how far pirates would go to get the help they wanted. A lot of them were greedy or unable to make compromises. Why should the Wild Westerners go out of their way for them? Heading to Lun'aecho territory would add days to their trip, and they would do anything but relax.

Aurilee did not hesitate to go inside to prove her worth. She started pulling furniture back where it belonged if it was knocked over or misplaced. A pile of broken glass was still accumulating toward Ware, and Butler was simply forming new bottles and cups to refresh the supply for the owner. Oakley was sweeping behind Jen as she picked up chairs to place them upside down on the tables. For some reason, the musicians on the stage were still there and playing a softer tune. Billy was leaning his elbow against the stage as he watched what was happening.

Rip entered as the Straw Hats looked inside. It was not normal for a cleanup to happen. Did real cowboys always apologize like this? They were fearsome when in action, but they still upheld certain standards for themselves. Even when they were not the aggressors, they did it anyway.

"Well, we gonna give him a reason?" Zoro asked.

"Couldn't we just get directions and go by ourselves?" Usopp wondered.

"Probably, but they know more about the natives than we do," Nami reasoned. "It might be better to let the ones more familiar with them be leading the way."

Chopper squeezed himself between all their legs. "Robin has a concussion and she's banged up, but she'll be fine," he shared. "Are we going back to the inn?"

"Not yet," Luffy answered. He stepped inside and immediately pushed a table that Aurilee was trying to pull to help her out. If the captain was going to help, then that meant they all were.

Sanji did not join the others so he could go retrieve their archaeologist. He picked her up in a cradle so she did not have to exert herself anymore tonight. "You okay with waiting a few minutes, my dear?"

"What's the harm?" she replied.

He smiled and brought her inside so she could sit. While they all worked, her, Rip and Billy watched. Lots of pushing and pulling tables and chairs. Dust and dirt were swept out the doors. All the new glass bottles and cups were stored away neatly while Butler absorbed the broken glass into himself. Anything else that was broken was reassembled and fixed by Usopp with some assistance. Zoro and Sanji cleaned up behind the bar and made sure everything would look normal for the next day. It was soon good to go for a reopening.

The only thing left was mopping the floors so none of the spilled alcohol would attract bugs. Aurilee was mopping one half while Ware mopped the other. The musicians finally finished the night when one o'clock ticked by and left them all alone. Sanji stood next to Rip as they all let the final chore be done. "So, has she convinced you yet?" he questioned the cowboy.

Instead of answering him, Rip looked to Billy. "Can we move into Lun'aecho territory instead of stopping at the next town?"

Billy scratched his chin and chuckled. "I wasn't the only one who noticed, huh?"

Sanji leaned forward. "I don't get it. Why are you making it sound like Aurilee is one of your natives?"

"You'll see come tomorra," Rip said. "We'll leave at the crack of dawn. You better get what sleep you can."

The inn room was expected to be cramped for the eight of them. Those expectations were duly met. The queen-sized bed with the worn-out quilts covering it took up most of the floor space. The dresser and desk pressed against two of the other walls were not helping either. It was the adjoining bathroom that gave them a bit of breathing room.

The females were given the bed to crowd into while everyone else found a place on the creaky floor. It was not the worst arrangement in all honesty. Luffy sprawled in the bathtub snoring while Zoro pressed his back to a wall with his swords clutched to his chest as usual. Usopp tried curling up in a corner with his poncho bunched up under his head like a pillow. Chopper was curled up next to him. Sanji was laying at the foot of the bed flat on his back. It was not the discomfort or the single candle that kept him awake, but rather the knowledge that Aurilee was still awake.

She was sitting at the desk with her bag open. The single candle was barely enough light to guide her sketching, so she had to squint and lean forward a lot. By this point, if she went to bed now, she would only get about four hours of sleep. The determination to get this done would bite her in the butt soon, but she had a reason for it.

To legitimately match the Wendigo to Paititi, she decided to sketch out what the ultimate form looked like. She may have only seen it with her own eyes one time in her whole entire life, but so did Rip. Maybe if these natives saw what she was looking for, they could also give her an answer. Other than identifying him, she was unsure what other reason there may be for visiting the Lun'aecho. There had to be more to the story Rip was withholding. She would ask when the time was right.

The cook was tempted to get her to sleep for her sake. They had both stayed up all night twenty-four hours ago. The next time they would get to sleep was probably when dusk returned and it would be too dark for them to travel. He hated the idea of being able to prevent something but not taking initiative. Besides, she would be sleep deprived daily after giving birth. Why subject herself to even more than needed?

She straightened her back and exhaled softly enough not to disturb anyone. Both hands reached behind her to rub where it ached the most. Just a little bit more and she would finally lay down. She picked her pencil back up to continue for a few more minutes. The memories of her kidnapping were not fond ones, but they were guiding her hand.

Calisto jogged through the forest with Aurilee slumped over his shoulder. He had used his own belt to bound her wrists so he could get her to the ship easier. For a prepubescent girl, she was quite the fighter. He was ahead of the rest of the Bucktooth Pirate crew as they retreated from a battle with the natives of the little island. They failed to locate the One Piece, but they were about to acquire a powerful shapeshifter.

Little did he know that he was about to face the real shapeshifter that was feared. He skidded on his heels as something big and dark loomed in his path. The others stopped behind him to see a creature with dark fur. It was taller than a man, had a wolf's snout, long flowing hair, hands with paw pads and claws instead of fingernails, and hind legs rippling with bunched muscles. It cradled a white wolf with brown patches in its arms. An enraged scowl crossed its face and low growls rumbled from its throat.

Aurilee wriggled atop Calisto's shoulder. She caught a glimpse of what had caused the pirates to freeze in their tracks. She never saw her father's perfect form before, but he was still recognizable to her. "Papa!" she cried out. "Save me!"

The paper darkened with an image of Paititi and Skah's ultimate form standing menacingly in a forest. She could only imagine how scared interlopers were in his wake. One swipe from those paws could break bones. His jaws could peel away flesh and muscle effortlessly. And you could not run fast enough to escape. The entire island was his domain. The Bucktooth Pirates were the first to best him. Never again.

Aurilee yawned as she decided any finer details could be skipped. She carefully folded the paper and slid it in the pocket on the forefront of her overalls. Then, she blew out the candle to let the entire room go completely dark. The next challenge was quietly getting up from the chair and squeezing into the bed with Nami and Robin.

Although, when she thought about it, did she really have to force herself in? Sanji was behind her. She could just snuggle up with him if she wanted to. He would not mind one bit. Maybe it would make him happy.

She could feel her cheeks burn. No, she could not do that. He needed to sleep undisturbed. Plus, why would she sleep on the floor? She was not that desperate to be near him.

Nami instinctively rolled away once she felt the blankets move. This was one of the uncommon times when the entire crew could rest. She just prayed her nightmares would spare them all of being awakened too early. Once the light noises died down, Sanji closed his eyes. Despite there being no imminent danger, he still could not help but brood for his sweet, beautiful Aurilee.