.: Sorry for not posting last week. I was busy with friends and still had to work. Here is another chapter that includes an event inspired by something that happened in real life to some friends of mine. In the Bahamas, there is a little island that is a tourist attraction because of the wild pigs that inhabit it and can interact with people. I've been there myself during a vacation! I hope you enjoy and I'm thinking about using more of my personal experiences and stories as inspiration for One Piece content. :.

The Girl with A Half-Soul

Chapter 14:

Brave Warrior of The Island

It was not exactly a bad thing that they would be on this island until the log pose was ready. As long as it was not a year-long period like Little Garden, they could take the time to relax. There were plenty of rations on the Merry, and as long as there was wildlife to be caught, there was no chance of anyone going hungry for the duration. Something that would help, however, was finding a water source they could supply with, but the worst-case scenario would just be filtering water through the pumping system on the ship as normal.

To keep anyone from getting suspicious, the sails were tied up to hide their jolly roger. The Straw Hats would camp out on the beach tonight and perhaps go exploring in the jungle tomorrow. Usopp was bound to provide a roadmap for them while he was gone with Aurilee. The rest of them were not interested right now.

Nami slipped off her clothes and slathered on sunscreen to go snorkeling. Sanji happily helped with the hard-to-reach places before she set off with a mask and fins. Once she had departed, Sanji recruited the remainder of the crew to help him build a bonfire. Luffy and Chopper gathered big stones to make a circle in the sand. Zoro chopped down a tree, hauled it over, and then cut it into logs. A fire did not have to be lit yet, but they were ready. Sanji even put together a couple stations for him to prep their future lunch on.

"Now what?" Luffy questioned him.

Sanji wiped his hands with a rag, turning around to see the captain with Twitchy's leash in his hand. He looked ready to move onto something more fun. With nothing better to do, he was bound to run off into the jungle. Well, Sanji was ready to burst his bubble. "Now you can practice your apology to Aurilee for when she comes back from her hunt with Usopp."

"What?! I have nothing to be sorry for!" he protested.

"Yes you do. You antagonized her in front of the whole crew."

"I meant what I said," he grumbled with his lips pursed.

"Mehhhh!"

"Twitchy agrees with me, too!"

"I don't care what you or your pet thinks!" Sanji argued. "You still upset Aurilee, and she deserves an apology! I expect you to give her one when she gets back."

Zoro balanced the last log in the pit. He overheard the bickering but did not engage in it. Although he did not revel in the confrontation that happened during breakfast, he did think Luffy had to at least talk it out with Aurilee. But it was none of his business. Luffy was the captain, and it was his responsibility to make peace with Aurilee if he chose to. If he decided to just let her get over it herself, then so be it. But if it truly did bother her, he was bound to notice and take initiative to help her feel better – the right way. He wanted to be her friend, after all.

He pushed aside the leftovers of the palm tree he downed. Looking over at the thick wall of humid nature, he saw Chopper standing at the foot of it. Not only did he look so tiny compared to it all, but he appeared unmoving, too. Zoro wondered if Usopp and Aurilee were coming back. When he joined Chopper, however, there was a startled expression under his pink top hat. "What's wrong, Chopper?"

"I hear something," he replied, his blue nose trying to sniff what it was.

The swordsman listened carefully to see if it was a noise or a person, but all he heard was a grunting that was faint. That was when he realized Chopper was not hearing a strange noise; to him, he was hearing something speaking. The shrubs and leafy plants that littered the thin layer of soil began to swish one after the other. The grunting became a labored snorting. Zoro grabbed Chopper and got out of the way just in time for a big hairy hog to burst onto the scene.

The tree Aurilee selected to have wood foraged from had a particular sound when she knocked her knuckles against it. It was a healthy, strong wood with plenty of moisture traveling through its vascular system. All she could think about was her Papa's approval of the quality.

Usopp was patient as he followed her. Once her mind was made up, he climbed the particular tree and pulled out a handy knife from his boot to saw off some thin branches. Since they were pressed for time in hunting this evasive creature, he would make a temporary version of her new bow so they could resume their task at hand. Perhaps when the log pose was set, he could have a proper one carved out for the succeeding part of their journey on the Grand Line.

He dropped back down with more than a handful of sticks. Aurilee thought she would have to rely on her childhood memories to get a bow together, but Usopp took it upon himself to get it made. He used the knife to get the sticks to similar lengths, and then he used stretchy fibers from his own satchel to bound both ends and tie a string to connect them as well. It was very practical and durable. She doubted one she made could end up in any better condition.

In a matter of minutes, Usopp used leftovers to make arrows. Anything with stone or iron tips would have to be crafted later. He did his best to sharpen the wood to pointy tips. "How's that?" he questioned, offering his finished work to her.

She took his finished product and inspected it. The sticks creaked when she stretched the twine, but it would not crack from the pressure. The feeling of being surrounded by noises and nature while simultaneously holding the bow brought many emotions to her. The only thing left was getting back in the swing of things.

Taking a makeshift arrow that Usopp had carved, she pressed the blunt end to the twine and pulled it with two of her fingers. Just like when she was a child, her arms shook from the effort. She had a difficult time finding an aim, too; being pregnant not only altered her center of gravity, but her round belly got in the way of how her bow typically charged. When it came to her age, she was meant to be peaking both physically and mentally by now. But it had been so long since she last touched such a weapon that her skills had devalued to nothing. Her discouragement manifested itself by lowering the bow. She could not hunt down a hog on the loose. There was just no way.

"What's wrong?" Usopp questioned, noticing the lack of response from her.

Without looking at him, she said in a low voice: "I can't do it."

"Can't do it? You didn't even try to shoot!" he pointed out. Coming around to be in front of her, he saw despondency clouding the sparkle in her mismatched eyes. Just when it was about to make its first appearance, it was gone. Usopp knew he had to reverse it somehow. "Think about it like this. You probably haven't done something like this in ten years. Of course you're going to be rusty. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

She hesitated but knew Usopp was being truthful.

"Let's forget about the hog for a minute. Let's practice your aim first," he suggested. Finding a nearby tree with a thick trunk, he approached it and pulled out an egg from his satchel. When he smashed it, the slimy inside coated a distinct spot onto the rigid surface. "There. A target for you."

She raised an eyebrow at the sight of the yellow yolk crawling down the length. It was unconventional, but better than nothing, she supposed. When Usopp stepped back, she lifted the bow again. If she wanted to shoot without an issue, she had to adjust her stance to steer clear of her abdomen. Doing so made her realize that it was the correct stance to take anyway. She stretched the elastic as she gripped the center handle that kept all the sticks bound together. Her sight leveled with the arrow. On the other side, she could see the wet spot. When she released the tension, the arrow completely missed the tree and disappeared into the brush.

Usopp cringed by how far off the mark she was. He remembered being that bad when he first picked up a slingshot as a four-year-old. It took him many years to get as talented as he was now as a sniper. But he refused to let her get down in the dumps about it. "Hey, it's fine!" he reassured her. "While you work on that, I'll make you some proper arrows with heads and feathers. That could help it travel. How does that sound?"

"If you don't want me here, then just say so!" she frustratedly exclaimed.

The outburst was so sudden and unexpected. Usopp was doing everything he can to lift her spirits! Did he come across as just trying to be nice to pass the time? He did not think so. Maybe it was the hormones she was experiencing? "What do you mean? I want you here," he reasoned.

"You could catch the pig on your own perfectly fine," she grumbled.

"That's…debatable," he self-depreciated. "But even if I could, that doesn't mean I wanna do it alone. I was actually happy that you wanted to come. I don't care if you're worse than me at shooting."

Aurilee saw a fallen log a few feet away and took a seat on it. His explanation made no sense to her. "But…why?"

He sat on the ground in front of her. "Well, because you're my friend. Do I really need any other reason?"

The response sent a chill down her spine. She swore she heard something like that before. The exact moment was foggy, but she could recall the sound of the voice.

"I'll help her because she's my pup. That alone is enough," a sultry male voice spoke.

His pup. There was only one man in this world who used that term to describe his beloved daughter. His name was Paititi. The reason why she could remember something so casual yet heartfelt was because he said that only days after they had met each other. Finally having her father in her life had her eager to know him. He was actually quite different in his personality compared to her mother. She was far harder on her and pushed her to be successful on her own, whereas he was more affectionate and worriless about such trivial things. It caused the two to butt heads a little bit when it became them both raising her; however, there was always something that mended the fissures of their relationship within hours.

Not long after Aurilee and her mother began living in the refuge with Paititi and the wolves is when the exchange took place. They were outside next to the river. Tayen and Rikea were checking the nets for caught fish while Aurilee was trying to shoot arrows like she was now. But her target was never penetrated. Luna would sniff out the lost ones and bring them back to her.

"Mama, I need help," she finally admitted.

"You need to teach yourself. It's part of your survival out here on your own," Tayen replied, not pausing in her work. Rikea took a squirming fish in her mouth and nipped it a certain way to kill it without mauling its flesh.

Aurilee sighed. There was probably never a time when her mother actually taught her how to do something. The next arrow she shot only grazed her target.

That was when a dark-furred wolf emerged from the brush. He overheard them and decided to step in. The fur melted away and his form transformed into that of a human. Tossing the wolf headdress onto the ground allowed Skah to reappear as himself. His white fur burst into flames until his body manifested. Paititi stood tall with muscles rippling throughout his body. His brown hair fell to his shoulders, and his soft green eyes looked toward his girls with fondness. Having them with him was the life he always wanted to have.

"You said you need help?" he reiterated, approaching them both.

The feeling of his palm resting on top of her head brought a sense of security to her. "Yeah," she confirmed.

He rounded his fingers around her cranium and gave her a shake that made her giggle. "Then I'll help you."

Tayen put the dripping net down. "Paititi," she voiced, exasperated. "She needs to do it herself."

"And she can…After a little bit of instruction."

She stood up and pulled him aside so that Aurilee could be spared of the dispute, but she overheard everything. "She needs to teach herself how to do this. We won't be around forever," Tayen contested in a low voice.

He admired his wife's dedication to keeping their only child on her toes, but he had a better idea to be offered. "That's all the more reason to help Aurilee. It's our job as her parents."

"You're being too easy on her."

"I'll help her because she's my pup. That alone is enough." Instead of giving her a cold shoulder, Paititi caressed her face with both his hands. Her cheeks were warm, and her bone structures allowed for some roundness. This woman sacrificed a lot for their family. He loved her unconditionally. "You're a great mother. I couldn't have asked for a better one for my child. But let me handle this."

Tayen wanted to be mad that he was thwarting her parenting, but the way he was looking at her with his hypnotic green irises and feeling him touch her like this was sending butterflies to her stomach. They were apart for so long, yet the way he could charm her had never changed. No wonder Aurilee was born.

Upon releasing Tayen, Paititi returned to Aurilee and had her take a stance that would use all the right muscle groups and even ignite her core. She felt his hands adjust her. Then, he got her being precise with her line of sight. "Listen to your surroundings. What do you hear?" he asked.

Not letting her sight leave that of her target, she listened to the forest. It was anything but quiet. There were birds, frogs, and crickets chirping. Bugs were flying around and buzzing. The wind made the treetops wave around. The river was also trickling and rushing as stones dictated the direction of the cold fluid.

"Focus. It's just you and the forest. Breathe with it. Then, let go," Paititi instructed, pulling his hands away.

The quivering of her arms stopped even without his assistance. The forest was all there around her, but she kept her mind on the circular piece of wood. When her arrow flew, it followed exactly where she wanted it to go, and it struck the target.

"Uh, Aurilee?" Usopp said. Her face had gone blank, like she was no longer with him. He knew she was more than likely just dissociating again, but it still weirded him out to witness.

Realizing she had zoned out, she shook her head to clear it. "Sorry."

"You looked kind of serious there. You okay?"

She nodded. "I was just thinking about something."

"Like…?"

She looked down on the long-nosed sniper. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground without a care in the world. And just by the intrigue in his face, she could tell he was genuinely wanting to know where her mind wandered to.

"M-My Papa," she answered. "He taught me how to hunt."

"Really? What's he like? I know he's a shapeshifter but what else?"

The image in her head recurred to her. The way he emerged from the wilderness as if he belonged to it, and how he happily showed affection through physical touch and kind words. It saddened her to not have spent much time with him before she was taken away. "He's very spirited and patient, but he's also bold and not afraid to fight. I think he's the type of person who won't change his mind once it's set on something…"

That explains why he loved Mama so much even though she can be difficult, she thought.

"You did say he fought until the last second for you," Usopp bolstered. "Your old man sounds like a brave warrior to me!"

Aurilee noticed the elation in his face. "Really?"

"Yeah! He stays true to himself and his word. If he's the sole protector of your island, that means he's putting everything he's got into his battles, and he doesn't back down. That's something I wanna be someday."

She understood where his admiration came from now. There was something about Usopp that told her he dreamt big, but he had a lot of growing up to do and better decisions to make. But at the same time, she knew her Papa was once the same way. He was once an arrogant and provoking young man long before she was ever born. He became the complete opposite after becoming one with Skah. Something like that told Aurilee that Usopp's time would come eventually, too. They were similar in that regard.

Deciding to blow his mind even more, she put the bow down against the log she was sitting on. "That special ammunition you have. Do you have any that just make noise or catch things on fire?"

The proposition got Usopp curious. "My Flame Star catches things on fire. What could a noisy one do?"

"My Papa used to carve animal bones into arrowheads that could catch wind and make a whistling sound when they were shot. He said pirates would panic or get distracted when they heard it and it helped him take them out."

Hearing about it got Usopp beguiled. He was always inventing new things to help himself in combat. And Aurilee's dad using certain tactics to help himself was like a goldmine to him! The two of them bounced ideas off each other before setting off to continue what they started. Aurilee would recall Paititi's teachings in archery while Usopp built proper arrows for her. And he could have a little fun along the way.

It was quiet for not even two minutes. Then all Hell broke loose. The jungle opened up without warning to unleash its ugliest beasts. Zoro went tumbling away from the mayhem with Chopper in his arms. Luffy and Sanji were stopped from bickering when a big hairy animal with tusks and a sloping snout. Sanji looked around himself, seeing how he was standing in the middle of his little beach kitchen that was just finished, and knew he had to defend it. Luffy felt Twitchy tug on his leash as he tried to get away. Snatching him up, Luffy jumped out of the way.

But the hog that was leading four others caught a whiff of something that smelled good, so it kicked up sand to change direction in pursuit of the rubber man and his pet. Sanji had his legs ready for nothing when his domain was spared. Luffy rolled once, getting back on his feet, and realized he was being followed. "Ah!" he yelped, running away. "They're chasing me!"

Chopper wriggled from Zoro and transformed into a four-legged reindeer to catch up with them all. The hogs were grunting and snorting ferociously, talking about things on he could understand. Luffy held Twitchy tight, worried that letting him go would result in an unwanted mauling. "Go away! Twitchy isn't food!" Luffy annoyingly admonished them all.

"Mehhhh!"

Listening to the hogs obsess about the delicious food they were smelling had Chopper sniffing the air while he ran alongside them. The scent trail was indeed coming from Luffy, but not from the goat in his arms. It was originating from his waist below instead. And every time his kilt flapped with the wind blowing underneath it, the scent got stronger for a moment. "Luffy!" Chopper called out, increasing his speed to run next to him. "Do you have food in the kilt?!"

"I needed a snack after breakfast!" Luffy justified.

How did you even get it in there? Chopper wondered.

They all ran past Sanji, who overheard what was said. "You what? Dammit, Luffy, stay out of my fridge!"

"Luffy! You need to give up the food!" Chopper told him. "That's why they're chasing you!"

"But it's mine!"

"Just do it!"

"No!" Suddenly he skidded on his heels and lifted Twitchy high above his head. Turning around, he saw the hogs coming at him at full speed. Being a rubber man would not get him out of this unscathed. Those tusks were sharp and could slice open any kind of flesh. But Luffy was not afraid. He was just fed up. First they almost hurt Twitchy and now they wanted his well-deserved snack?! Not on his watch! He took a sturdy stance and pointed at the leader of the pack. "SIT DOWN!" he bellowed.

The leading hog, still using his nose to fuel its rage, saw how Luffy was no longer running away, and he was taller than it was. Hearing the yell sealed the deal for its instincts.

It slowed its pace, signaling the others to do the same, until it was slow enough to plop its big hairy butt onto the sand.

Zoro, Sanji, and Chopper all watched it happen with dumbfounded expressions. One second their captain is being chased by vicious swine, the next he was taming more pets. "What the heck just happened?" they all said at the same time.

"That's what I thought," Luffy commented smugly. "Sanji! Can you cook them up if we kill them?!"

"Uh…Yeah," the cook confirmed.

"Cool! Help me out, Zoro."

"Wait…Aren't these what Usopp and Aurilee were hunting down?" Zoro questioned, seeing the hogs start to disband to get a closer sniff of Luffy's kilt.

Hearing that had Sanji glance around worriedly. There was no sign of the two of them. He knew Usopp had no chance of protecting her. If the pigs were here, and they were not, that could only mean something bad happened. "I'm gonna kill him," he declared. Abandoning his setup, he passed Zoro as he sat in the sand. "Come on, Moss Head."

"Huh? Where are we going?"

"We gotta go find Usopp and Aurilee. They're probably hurt."

"What? But they haven't been gone for more than thirty minutes."

"So? You coming or not?"

The swordsman sighed. Luffy was treading into the shallows to escape the hogs while Chopper was still trying to convince him to give up the hidden food. But then Luffy got weak from the seawater and fell to his knees with his tongue lulling out of his mouth. Zoro would have gotten up to drag him back up the beach, but Nami surfaced from her snorkeling and tended to it herself. When he got up to follow Sanji, he called out to the navigator. "We'll be back soon, Nami."

"Where are you going?" she asked, holding Luffy under his armpits as she strained to get him into dry land. But Zoro did not wait for a response before disappearing. She groaned as she dropped Luffy, who immediately perked up the second he was out of the water.