.: Things are going to calm down for a few chapters now. I doubt it'll be boring, but I also think it's time to explore the leisure that the Straw Hats must experience off-screen. Plus, I kind of want to dive deeper into more relationship dynamics. We've done Aurilee and Chopper, Aurilee and Usopp, Aurilee and Sanji, Aurilee and Zoro, Aurilee and Luffy. Maybe it's time for Nami and Robin? :.

The Girl with A Half-Soul

Chapter 19:

Unfinished Business

The jungle sounded as if it was coming back to life. With the bad storm having passed over and the sky wanting to clear up, the animals and organisms inhabiting were back to calling out for mates. Birds were flying again, bugs were swarming, and the pitter-patter of droplets falling from soaked leaves filled their ears. Nami could tell that the day was going to be humid with a warm front coming from the south.

Sleep deprivation was seemingly nonexistent for the group. Nobody was grumpy or in a bad mood. They all just ate breakfast, packed up their camp, and set back out. Aurilee traded out her ride on Chopper's back for Luffy instead. He was still in a lot of pain. Seeing him lying on his stomach on the doctor's back with his limbs hanging limply made her feel bad for him. To be frank, she resonated with his struggles to move around. She was in the exact same boat after she was keelhauled. But Luffy was anything but upset. He was actually content with the arrangement. Straw hat resting on the side of his head, he watched as she walked next to them with Twitchy's leash in hand.

"You need a break yet, Aurilee?" he asked more than an hour into their trip. If she started expressing fatigue, he would more than happily switch out with her for a few minutes.

"Don't worry about me," she reassured him. "I think I can go most of the day with this kind of pace."

Luffy could not tell if she was showing him grace or being stubborn. She definitely was not being selfish. And…Aurilee had a different aura around her. The rubber man could not quite put his finger on it.

Little did he know that everyone else felt the same way. After the little showdown between her and Zoro, the girl with a half-soul came across as tranquil. Her body did not tremble involuntarily, she was not as jumpy, and she had this new sparkle in her mismatched eyes. What Zoro did was help her find closure, nothing more. Usopp kept catching glimpses of his bandaged face as they walked. Aurilee really did a number on him: punched him probably twelve times with all her strength, even managed to break his nose in the process. There were bruises under his eyes and his cheeks were swollen. He looked even meaner than usual as a result, but he never said anything about being in pain.

Luffy smiled. He was glad Aurilee was in better spirits than she had been before. Hopefully it was not just a phase. "If you say so," he accepted.

"What about you? You're still in pain, right?" she questioned.

"Oh yeah. It's gonna take me a while to get completely better," he admitted as he patted Chopper's ribcage. "But I got the best doctor around, so I don't care."

Hearing the compliment caught the reindeer's attention. Him? The best doctor? "Shut up, you jerk!" Chopper condemned with a light tone that betrayed his words.

Luffy laughed at the quirk of his doctor's personality. He could never take a compliment without getting all flustered.

Aurilee was amazed by his hardiness. If it were not for the bandages completely wrapping around his torso, she would have never guessed a jaguar had attacked him yesterday. "If you're in pain, then why are you so happy?" she innocently questioned.

Without missing a beat, Luffy had the perfect answer for her. "Well, being sad won't help me feel better faster." He gave her the biggest smile that showed all of his white teeth. "I think laughter is the best medicine."

Suddenly, Aurilee understood his logic. Luffy was coping with his injuries by staying positive and finding a reason to laugh. This whole time, he was trying to guide her in the same direction without giving her explicit answers. What drove Luffy to be so resilient? Did he have past transgressions committed against him, too?

"Mehhhh!" Twitchy vocalized as he lived up to his name by adding a spring to his step and darting in front of Aurilee.

"These vines are so weird," Usopp said as he grabbed one and pulled to feel how strong it was against resistance.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," Robin warned, passing him up.

"Huh?" He gave it a harder tug and watched the long plant give way and start falling to the ground. But it landed on his shoulder, and he realized what she meant when a forked tongue flapped right next to his face. His shrill scream hurt all of their ears, and he threw mud everywhere when he raced away from the green snake. Luffy laughed as himself, Chopper, and Aurilee passed it up next.

"Moron," Sanji muttered under his breath.

Then, everyone heard Usopp yelp up ahead of them. Nami watched his feet go over his head and him disappear out of sight. She called his name with worry and jogged to catch up to him. Everyone else followed suit. "Usopp!" Nami repeated as she stopped with the muddy ground starting to slope downward.

"I'm okay," he responded, sitting up down below and rubbing the back of his head where he hit. Looking around, he saw how tall the walls were around him. He was worried he had fallen into a sinkhole. The space was vast and contained no trees. But there was a mountain of rocks in the center, and all the vines gripping trees in the outskirts used it as a centerpiece. It was a pretty cool sight to behold.

Nami tried stepping carefully to at least peer over the edge, but her sandals had no grip. If she continued, she would slip and fall just like Usopp did. The sniper stood up and tried climbing back up, but it was too slippery for him as well. Whatever exposed roots or rocks he tried using as footholds and handlebars gave way under his weight. "A little help?"

"I'm trying," she communicated above him.

"Hold on, Nami," Sanji voiced. He grabbed a tree and offered a hand for her to use as a foundation. If he could just get her to the edge, she might be able to help Usopp up. But the feeling of her holding his hand got him too giddy to focus. Her grip on his was sturdy, and he could feel just how soft her skin was. A big pink heart popped into existence where his exposed eye once was. His knees grew wobbly with bliss and his little wail mirrored just that.

Instead of Nami getting steady, she felt herself slipping even worse. She looked up at the cook to see he was letting go of the tree. "What are you doing?!"

"Namiiiiii~!" he vocalized. All he wanted to do was hold her more. She was right in arm's length!

"Alright, you idiot." Zoro swooped in to stop the stupidity by grabbing the back of Sanji's shirt and yanking him back with Nami in tow. Both of them stumbled until the ground underneath them leveled. Sanji was fully prepared to catch her fall, but she punched him before he could lay a finger on her.

The swordsman noticed the area Usopp had fallen into and knew they had to think of something else to get him out. Either they pulled him up here or they found a different place in the perimeter to do it. "Hang tight, Usopp," Zoro told him.

"Wait," Aurilee spoke up. She had an idea. It may not work, but it was worth a shot. She reached for Zoro to get his assistance. Unsure what her motive was, he simply held her arm and watched her maneuver over the muddy slope carefully. "Usopp, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"Do you still have rope in your satchel?"

He opened it up to check. "Yeah. You need it?"

"If you could toss it up here, that'd be great."

Pulling it out and coiling it, he tried to at least throw it over the edge without it unwinding. Robin sprouted a row of hands to take it and pass it over to the girl with patchy skin. "I got it," she announced.

"Thank you," Aurilee replied. Taking the rope for herself, she stepped back so that Zoro did not have to hold her anymore. She chose a secure yet skinny tree that was rooted in the level ground to tie the rope around tightly. After testing it on herself, she gained a bit of confidence that Usopp could pull himself out.

"Nice thinking, Aurilee," Chopper complimented her. She must have grown to know his stash from spending time with him. And just because the ground was slippery did not mean everything was. But then his blue nose caught a whiff of something familiar.

Luffy felt him grow stiff underneath him. "What's wrong, Chopper?"

"It's here," he answered, swinging his head around to see where.

Luffy's eyes dilated. No, not like this. It was almost the exact same thing that happened to him. "Zoro!" he yelled suddenly. "Go down and help Usopp!"

Everyone looked at the captain. But Zoro immediately slid down and unsheathed his swords. Sure enough, the top of the rocky structure had something snoozing on it. White spotted fur shifted, and the surviving jaguar looked down to see intruders impeding in its territory. The same low growls and menacing scowl came to Zoro's senses. "Look who's back," he pointed out with a grin that made his cheeks ache from their soreness.

Usopp knew the rope was tossed back over for him to grab, but his attention was stuck on the predator. He watched it snarl at them and jump down a few times to descend its perch. His third encounter. The fear in him rose as he remembered how lucky he was the first time, and how badly Luffy was hurt the second time. But he still pulled out his slingshot while gulping. This time, he would fight back. No more cowering!

The jaguar reached the ground and started prowling toward Zoro and Usopp. Nami knew Zoro could handle it, but she still panicked. "Crap, not again," she cursed as she pulled out her Clima-Tact and shakily stepped forward to let herself slide down as well. Maybe if she electrocuted it or created thunderclouds, she could just scare it off and they could be done with it quickly.

Aurilee noticed, too. She pulled her bow free from her torso and tried to follow the navigator, but an arm stopped her. "You should stay here," Sanji told her.

Although she completely understood why he wanted her to stay back, she pushed through anyway. "I'll fight," she declared.

He watched her skillfully slide after Nami, who hopped down without a problem. Knowing she could not do the same, he hurried after her and caught her in an embrace so that the landing was soft. Then she pulled an arrow from her full quiver and aimed it straight for the big cat.

As Robin helped Luffy, Chopper, and Twitchy down with her extra hands, Zoro spoke up without breaking eye contact with their opponent. "Eight against one? Seems like overkill."

"I think it deserves it," Chopper bitterly stated.

This was not even the same jaguar that hurt their captain, but none of them cared. It was here, and it wanted to kill them. Standing next to Usopp with their long-range weapons loaded, Aurilee made a request. "Together?"

"On three," he answered, his lips curling upward.

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

Both an arrow and a Lead Star shot at the jaguar. But it evaded the attack, its anger increasing as it tried charging straight for them. "Split up!" Sanji called out, gathering Aurilee again to move her.

They all dodged the incoming swing of claws. Chopper transformed into Heavy Point to hold Luffy and Twitchy in his arms. The captain knew his crew was acting to get revenge for him, so he refrained from joining in the fight. He did not doubt them even a little bit.

Seeing how they all went in different directions, the jaguar's ears pressed back into its skull and snarled at them. It realized it was grossly outnumbered. Aurilee's next arrow buried deep into its shoulder, making it yelp. Then Usopp shot a Ketchup Star to splatter against its eyes and blind it for a moment.

Nami pulled out her rod to have bubbles of cold air and hot air seep out. The jungle's humidity helped form low-hanging clouds, and then the bubble of electricity caused a little storm to brew. The big cat yowled as a bolt of lightning struck it and caused its muscles to lock up. Then Robin made four arms sprout from its torso and restrained its legs until it toppled over. Not even thirty seconds was needed to take it down.

The Straw Hats all gathered around it as it tried biting at Robin's arms, but she sprouted another one to grab it by its scruff and pull it back. Zoro gave it a quick death like the other one had; he stabbed the end of his blade through its ear canal until its eyes rolled back and it went limp. "Nice work, everyone," Luffy praised as Chopper settled him on his feet. "Now we got some meat for lunch!"

Sanji scratched his chin, wondering if it was possible to filet the cat into patties and grill it.

"I want the pelt," Aurilee claimed as she rubbed her palms together.

"I want the organs!" Chopper declared. "For medicine, of course."

"Give me the teeth and claws," Usopp chimed in.

"I guess I'll keep the skull," Robin decided, letting her hands dissipate with flower petals flowing out of sight.

"I'm fine with nothing," Nami settled, stepping away with disinterest in a corpse. "We just need to find that treasure!"

The group of eight stood underneath a massive shadow. The remnants of the jaguar hung from their bodies. Aurilee wore the pelt over her shoulders like a cloak. Chopper had a heavier backpack after he quickly stored the organs after grinding them up and sticking them in empty bottles. Usopp's satchel jangled with teeth, bones, and claws. Robin's backpack had the big skull misshaping it from the inside. With the main threat gone now, they were able to have steps retraced and end up at the tomb. Aurilee felt like she was in a familiar area finally and led them to where she wandered away from previously.

"We made it," Sanji said, looking up at the enormous structure as his cigarette smoke wafted up above his head. "Right?"

"Oh yeah," Aurilee confirmed, finding the torch she used still laying on the ground. But it was too damp from the rainfall to be used again. "This is definitely it."

"It's amazing that this is the only building left standing on this island," Robin observed. Everything else was taken apart and eroded away by nature, but this one seemed impenetrable despite the obvious age. It was like the dead's final resting place was respected and left alone for the most part.

"Let's go inside!" Nami energetically urged.

"Hold on," Usopp said, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her from entering. "There might be boobytraps."

"There's no boobytraps," Aurilee confirmed, picking up the charred wood. "But it is dark in there. Anyone got something they wanna burn?"

They all started digging in their pockets to find something useless. Zoro pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to her. After tying it in place, she helped herself to Sanji's pocket – much to his delight – to pull out his lighter. It was much easier and faster to get a flame spreading than doing what she did yesterday. "We don't have much time," she warned them, leading them inside.

Nami gripped her empty sack tighter. "Don't worry. I'll be quick," she assured her, her eyes showing how eager she was with berry signs.

Luffy sat up on Chopper's back, gathering Twitchy in his arms. "Mehh!" the goat protested. Securing his straw hat, he watched as darkness enshrouded them all. The floor of the corridor was still very damp. They had to be careful in case animals or insects were hiding still due to the storm. But as Aurilee checked the area by moving the torch lower, there was no sign of snakes or anything else. The only thing that ended up appearing was the staircase, which she descended with caution. Falling would be bad, both for her and the others. Once they reached the bottom, they all stepped into a reservoir that had yet to be drained. It reached their ankles, and it was very possible for things to be swimming in it.

Nami was not interested in finding out. She grabbed Zoro's shoulders and jumped on his back for a ride. He complained at first but hooked her knees to hold her in place and carry her. Seeing how that stupid Moss Head was able to get Nami's attention, Sanji quickly turned to Robin. "Do you need a lift, Robin Dear?"

She nonchalantly stepped into the water and passed him. "No, thanks."

Aurilee shuffled to the doorway that lay beyond the three turns, shining the torch against the depictions of jaguars. "Alright. This is it," she indicated. She wriggled her way through, hearing the others follow behind her. Nami was forced to be in the water because of the tight squeeze, and Luffy hopped down with a splash so Chopper could return to his true form. To Aurilee's relief, the treasure was still there. It was partially submerged in dirty water, but otherwise still untouched.

Nami happily squealed as the different colors reflected off the light source. She immediately opened the sack and started taking everything in sight. Underneath the pieces of gold and silver were bigger ingots. Robin approached the stone coffin in the center of the raised platform. With Zoro's help, the lid was slid off to reveal the mummified body laying on even more treasure. She took the torch from Aurilee to get a better investigation. "Very interesting," she said to herself.

"Of course dead bodies fascinate you," Usopp muttered under his breath.

Chopper climbed up onto the moved lid to peer down with the archaeologist. The stench overwhelmed his olfactory senses, but he blinked away the resulting tears in spite. "Was he a leader?" he asked.

"More than likely." The bone structure of the skeleton confirmed that it was male. There was some jewelry adorning the neck, head, and fingers, but not much else. The treasure underneath consisted mostly of gold nuggets and gemstones of all colors. They could only hope it was deep instead of a thin layer.

Luffy came up to her side. Seeing all the treasure, he knew they would have to take it, too. "Need that dead guy moved?"

"I can do it," she insisted. Many pairs of hands sprouted and worked together to carefully lift and carry the corpse out. The lack of ligaments and viable tissue made it fragile. Once she settled it on the ground, it made sounds that indicated some of the joints had dislocated and come out of their sockets.

Aurilee plugged her nose to keep from smelling the familiar scent of death. She offered the torch to Robin before stepping away. Nami strained with her heavy load as she moved to the platform. Eagerly peering inside quickly had her shielding her nose as well. The decomposition that did happen over the years stained the treasure and left some of it nasty. She held her loot out to Zoro. "You get it," she told him.

"You get it," he deflected, pushing her hand away.

"It's gross!"

"You wanted the treasure! You do the work to retrieve it!"

"I'll get your treasure, Nami Swan!" Sanji fluttered as he grabbed the bag from her grasp. Upon peeking into the coffin, he suddenly realized why she refused to do it herself. Trying not to gag, he blindly reached in and scooped out the items. Maybe she would reward him for doing this!

While they were busy doing that, Robin stepped back to investigate the workmanship of the room. The walls were stone (damp from a coolness and moisture seeping through from the ground) but they still had drawings on them along with intricate carvings. It greatly resembled that of the wall they found when Luffy was attacked, proving to her that the same civilization or group of people made this. But many of her questions were still left unanswered. Although the severe lack of evidence prevented her from finding much explanation for any of this anyway.

Usopp noticed Aurilee stepping out. It would make sense that she needed fresher air; the revolting stench was really filling up the vicinity. He followed her and poked his head out of the doorway. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she exhaled. "Just smells way worse than how I remembered it." She pressed her hand to the wall to lean on it.

He watched her body language with the tiny bit of light they had down there. Her stamina had done well today. There was no need to push herself any further. "Maybe you should sit down."

Her brows furrowed at the sensation of pressure against her pelvis and ribs. It was uncomfortable, but sitting down might not help it. She started focusing on her breathing until it passed.

Getting a little nervous, he disappeared back inside and pulled Chopper off the coffin. He heard Usopp whisper in his ear so that the others were not alerted, and he put him down in front of the exit. Aurilee heard the water sloshing from Chopper moving and transforming into Heavy Point. The night vision of his animal eyes found her easily. "Aurilee?"

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Just…pregnant, I guess."

"Is it a sharp pain?"

"No." She reached over to him to push her fingertips against his ribcage. "Kind of like that."

His worry became a little bit excitable. "In that case, it's probably just one of the babies."

She took another deep breath with a hand stroking over the fabric of her shirt. There were dull pains like this before, but this one hurt more and last longer.

Nami backed out of the room with her very heavy sack of treasure dragging the ground. It was so big that it would not fit through the opening. "Make sure every last berry isn't getting left behind!" she demanded.

"No problem, Nami, my love!" Sanji happily assured her.

She continued pulling while Usopp pushed from the other side. But it truly was going nowhere. Zoro had to lift it to try changing the shape. Then Luffy joined in the pushing. When it finally popped through, Nami fell on her butt. "EWW!" she screamed, immediately getting up and frantically wiping the dirty water off.

The little fiasco had Aurilee holding back a laugh and forgetting about her pain. She really hoped it was not a visual of how the birth of her triplets would go.

"You got your treasure. Let's get out of here," Zoro said with an unimpressed tone as he passed them all up.

Robin carefully put the body back inside and got Sanji's help in closing the lid back. The grave was officially robbed, but that did not mean they had to desecrate the dead.

They all left the crypt with contentment. They were broke for so long. It felt so good to be swimming in money for once. Nami opened the sack to see just how much they acquired from the excursion. The scent of death lingered, but the sunlight made it all shimmer. Everyone looked inside and thought about the things they could buy. Their eyes sparkled with awe. This was what being a pirate was all about!

Nami hooked an arm around Aurilee's neck. "You're the best, Aurilee!" she happily told her. They would not be a little rich if it were not for her.

The affection from the navigator surprised her at first, but she accepted it. This was what having friends felt like? It made her feel warm inside. She just wished she could go back to that little girl who grew up with just her mother and tell her about the people she would meet in the future. Paititi, Millie, Gerald…Nami, Robin, Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, Usopp, Zoro…They were great people. Every single one of them.

Suddenly, Aurilee gasped.

All eyes instantly shot to her. The hearty mood curbed from the sight of her troubled expression. The sack of treasure was dropped.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you okay?"

"Oh god. Please tell me that the babies are not coming."

The initial shock settled in for her, and tears welled up in her eyes. Aurilee took Nami's other hand and pressed it to her belly. "You feel that, too, right?"

Underneath her palm was a nudge. And another. And another. Nami gasped in reaction, too. "Aw! It's kicking!"

"Really?!" Luffy exclaimed. "I wanna feel!" He hopped over and copied what Nami was doing while still juggling Twitchy. Sure enough, he felt a similar nudge that was able to shift the surface. "Whoaaaa. That's so weird."

Soon everyone had a hand on her stomach. The reactions were various, but fascination was shared. Zoro was the only one who did not participate. He had never seen her smile before until now. Even with the waterworks, he could tell this was something she would never forget. Her unborn children were introducing themselves to the whole crew. A moment like this was more valuable than any amount of gold.