.: Sorry it's been like a whole month since I last posted a chapter. I attended a Con and then battled unmotivation; however, I was not just doing nothing during that time. There has been quite a bit of planning going on in the background. I think this arc will actually be longer than ten chapters, but for good reason. First, the Straw Hats have to follow a trail. And then they have to make a huge discovery. After that, Aurilee will have to find her inner strength by pushing herself to her absolute limit. I think it'll turn out great! But for now, I need to set up what jump-starts all of that. This chapter is meant to be more on the docile side, but I will have a little bit of drama next time. :.

The Girl with A Half-Soul

Chapter 22:

Welcome To the Neighborhood

Against the wind was the sound of a hammer pounding nails into wood. Usopp was the only person who worked on a project out of everyone. The majority of the lumber from the jungle island was used on Merry's repairs since she was damaged from the Alabasta excursions and the monsoon she endured alone. The leftovers were used for other things they needed or wanted. A cradle was tucked away somewhere until it was time to unveil it. Luffy requested a house be constructed for Twitchy. So far, the goat had been sleeping out in the open at night with a couple of tattered blankets to cushion him. He wanted his pet to also have a roof over his head like they all did in their quarters.

Like the good friend Usopp was, he obliged and mentally designed something small but practical. Twitchy would be able to use it as he grew bigger. Maybe if they took on a female goat, they could have an unlimited milk supply and breed them. Selling goats would go a long way if they did it properly. Luffy's bad investment could turn profitable someday.

But that kind of stuff was the last thing he was thinking about. Being out on the open water for multiple days was more boring than anything else. He lay on his back with his straw hat covering his face as he stayed perched up on Merry's head, listening to Usopp erect walls. Wherever this island was that the pose was directing them to, it needed to show up soon. It could be another great adventure. Why was he the only one who needed entertainment?

"Hey, Luffy," a cutesy voice said below him.

The captain lifted his hat and rolled over to look at Chopper.

"Can I check your back?"

"Sure." With that, he slid down to the deck and plopped down. Taking off his shirt revealed bandages that were hiding underneath. While the doctor unraveled them to see the condition of his wounds, Luffy watched Usopp work some more. There were planks of wood piling up behind him. The sizes were wrong, or he decided he did not need them after all. To Luffy, that meant he was probably messing up Twitchy's house.

Chopper was thrilled to see the condition of his captain's back. There was no sign of infection, and the streaked lacerations had healed over. Dead skin was just needing to slough off still, but other than that, he doubted any more medical attention was necessary. Scars would be the only reminder that an injury occurred. "Good news. No more bandages. And you can move around freely from now on."

"Really? Cool!" He slipped his shirt back on but neglected to button the front. When he stood up, he pressed his hands to the railing and looked down at Usopp to get a better look. A smile touched both his ears. "You wanna have some fun, Chopper?"

"Huh? What kind of fun?"

"The fun kind of fun." He offered a hand to the reindeer and pulled him onto his shoulder. When he went down and rummaged through Usopp's excess, he pulled out all kinds of planks and abandoned projects. But there was one that interested him the most. It was five planks nailed together into a square – plenty of room for him to sit.

Usopp paid no attention as the captain and doctor ran off. They climbed the stairs all the way to the top of the upper deck. Luffy's giggling alerted Sanji and Aurilee. They saw his back and Chopper's dangling legs, and just as quickly as they arrived, they disappeared. The giggling faded, mixing with the sound of wood repetitively bonking against the stairs as they sledded down to the bottom. Chopper screamed but started to laugh with Luffy as they hit the bottom deck and slid right past Usopp as he worked. He ended up hitting the hammer against his thumb because of it, causing it to grow red and swell instantly. "Watch it!" Usopp griped as he tried reining in his pain by suckling his thumb between his lips.

The cook helped Aurilee to her feet as she shifted her weight around. "What's that doofus doing now?" he asked himself. Amused by his demeanor, she took a peek down at the bottom to see Luffy and Chopper splayed on the deck in endless laughter. Their ride was only a few seconds long, but it was a blast! They gathered the makeshift sled again and ran up the stairs again for another round. "Hold on, Rubber Boy," Sanji gatekept him at the top of the stairs. "Let the lady pass before you go goofing off."

Luffy glowered. Like he was going to let Aurilee get hurt. "You want a turn, Sanji?" Chopper asked.

"No, thanks."

That was Aurilee's cue to get a move on. The chore she had been working on was now finished. That was enough to earn some down time. "Sorry," she said as she carefully stepped down past them all. Sanji disappeared into the kitchen while she stayed at the railing. And the pair immediately went sliding back down the stairs in a fit of laughter.

The amount of noise it made alerted Robin below deck. She came outside with a towel across her shoulders, having finished a shower. Finding out it was just Luffy did not really surprise her. Zoro kept his back to the event as he swung his giant barbell of weights over his head. As long as he did not bother the swordsman, he could care less what was going on out of sheer boredom. Robin gathered up Twitchy and sat in her chair with him in her lap. She was going to enjoy the show until something inevitably went wrong.

Nami joined Aurilee outside with a fresh glass of ginger ale. Her log pose indicated they were sailing in the right direction. "Hopefully it won't be too much longer," she said. "I'm tired of these rough currents."

Luffy sprinted back to the top and zoomed back down. A sudden rock earned him some air time. The ungraceful landing got him too close for Usopp's comfort. Aurilee giggled as the liar reprimanded the two without much luck. "I don't know. I think Luffy's found a way to make the best of it," she commented.

"I have a bad feeling about that," Nami shared.

"Why's that?"

She sighed. "Wait for it."

Curious, she kept an eye on Luffy as he continued for the next few minutes. Sure enough, the Merry lurched violently. Right when he touched the landing that separated the two sets of the stairs, he was thrown forcefully. There was a prolonged scream, a very loud crash, and a dust cloud. Aurilee gasped and covered her mouth in horror. The silhouette of Twitchy's house was gone. Usopp stood with his jaw dropped and his hammer paused in midair as the dust settled. Only Luffy's legs were visible under the wreckage.

Nami slapped her palm against her forehead. Zoro was alerted enough to stop and look at the aftermath. Robin suppressed a laugh. "That's quite unfortunate," she said under her breath. All that hard work Usopp put in…wasted. And he expressed that frustration rightfully so by throwing down his hammer and storming off.

When Sanji came out of the kitchen, he had his pink apron on and a rag wiping his hands clean. All he saw was Aurilee lowering herself to the ground and her shoulders trembling. Had that big crash upset her somehow?! Without thinking much, he immediately came to her side worriedly. But right when he arrived, her cackling ensued. An abrupt bellow deflated her lungs and made it hard for her to move her diaphragm. Robin and Zoro looked up at the three of them. What the heck kind of sound was that?

Luffy sat up from the debris and scratched his head. When he pulled up Chopper, he found him to be a little dazed from the impact. Their ears filled with the incessant laughter that was unrecognizable among the crew. Sanji's arm was pulled and all he saw was Aurilee struggling to inhale properly as a stream of tears flowed down her face. "Everything Usopp built, that fucker has destroyed!" she hollered.

Sanji did not even have to look for himself. He had never seen her like this before. And…it was hilarious! He started laughing at her laughing because of how contagious it was. For once, he was glad to see her crying, because they were tears of joy. And in the middle of her fit, she realized something and started hysterically laughing even harder and louder as she looked up at the cook. "What's so funny now?" he questioned out of confusion.

She inhaled as much breath she could muster. "I just never thought I'd be on my knees in front of a man again," she wheezed before her laughter took over once more.

Both Sanji and Nami cringed enough for potential words to be caught in their throats. Did she really just say that? And why? Whatever the reason, she thought it was comedy gold. She was stuck on her hands and knees, unable to find any sort of composure (not that she really wanted to at the moment.) The truth was she rarely ever laughed throughout her life. This was the hardest she had ever done it. Her body felt hot, causing her to sweat. Her diaphragm started to ache. It was painful, but she did not care. If this was what true merriment felt like, she never wanted it to end!

The best way to relieve tension was to separate himself from the situation. Usopp was really angry right now. He found himself below deck where the cannons were. Not much was down here, and they did not have much use for the cannons themselves. It was the perfect place to hide things. For him, he was hiding a cradle he crafted for the incoming triplets. Something about pulling it out and sitting in front of it calmed him.

The wood was sanded to a smooth texture. The sides were rounded with little rails making it easy to peer through. His favorite feature was the mechanism that made the cradle rock gently while the two stabilizing legs remained firmly planted against the floor. Those babies would not be disturbed while the Merry encountered rough waters like these. They would just peacefully sway in place. He was excited to show Aurilee the final product, but he decided to wait for now.

He stayed down there for like an hour. Just lying on the floor and thinking. The ship stopped rocking around so hard eventually. And then, he felt like it stopped completely. Many footsteps knocked around above along with muffled talking. They must have finally arrived at their true destination. He slid the cradle back against the wall and covered it up. By the time he came back outside, all the Straw Hats were gathered at the bow.

They were definitely on the right island. Merry was close to entering a brown, murky river. The sides were steep with exposed orangey soil and roots, but it flattened at the tops. Unkempt grass (that looked to be an odd shade of blue instead of green) mixed with patches of dirt. Some litter could be seen, but what truly indicated people lived here was the two-story log cabin that took cover among the deciduous trees. Next to it was a little fenced area that had crops growing inside, with a scarecrow perched in the center. If everyone stayed quiet, they could also hear the sounds of goats, pigs, and chickens somewhere unseen.

Sanji pulled on the collar of his shirt to let some air in. It was humid here. The sun was shining bright, but it must have rained here not too long ago. As he gazed around the scenery, he noticed another little house on the opposite side of the river. It was overrun by plants, so it was harder to notice. But the siding was a blue color, and the roof was made of stripped logs. Did they all stumble across the entrance to a town?

Down below, the murky water rippled as a person stood up right next to the Merry. His brownish black hair slicked against his cranium, almost shielding his eyes from sight. A blue tribal tattoo spanned down his right shoulder and arm. Merry surprised him. When he had dunked into the river, she was not there. "Whoaaaa," his twangy voice held out, alerting the crew above. "Check it out, Keith! A giant boat!"

Everyone leaned over the side to see who it was right when another head popped up. His hair was more of a dirty blonde that touched his shoulders down the back, but the sides were short to make it a mullet. "You say somethin'?" he asked with his missing teeth influencing his lisp along with his similar accent.

"I said look at this giant boat!"

They both glanced up to see all the faces staring down at them. "Well, lookie here," the first one continued. "We got ourselves some pirates!"

"Pirates? What're y'all doing on this side of the island?" Keith questioned as he brushed his hair backwards with his fingers.

Luffy giggled as he grabbed Merry's head and took his seat. These guys sounded funny with their relaxed pronunciation of stuff. "We just followed the log pose," he answered. "Where did we end up?"

"You done made it to Appalachia!" the guy with the mullet answered enthusiastically. "Where the mountains keep smokin' and moonshine keeps pourin'! My name's Keith. This my friend Ellis."

Robin looked up at the tall mountains that had some low-hanging mist hovering among the endless cover of forest. They were not steep or jagged, but rather had a hilly terrain as they spanned out of sight. It was a very pretty sight. She wondered if there was anything hiding that was worth exploring and uncovering.

"Uh…What are you guys doing down there?" Nami asked them. The color of the water grossed her out. She did not even want to think about any snakes hiding in there.

Ellis shielded his gaze against the sun as he made eye contact with the navigator. In that moment, he could feel Cupid himself piercing his heart with an arrow. "Oh my gosh, that's the purdiest girl I ever seen," he said aloud. That orange hair glistened so brightly in the sun, and her face was perfectly proportionate with taupe irises acting as the doorway to her soul.

Sanji immediately pulled Nami closer to him and glared at Ellis. "Back off."

"You back off," Nami protested with annoyance, pulling his arm away from her waist to free herself.

"Ellis? Are you talking to strangers again?" a female voice with the same twang called out.

Everyone looked to see that the front door to the log cabin had opened and a woman in her thirties was standing in the archway. Her blonde locks were gracefully luscious and long, but they were pinned up in an updo. Her blue and white dress was in a plaided pattern with an apron tied around her waist. Peeking around from behind her were four pairs of curious eyes – her kids.

"Belle!" Ellis called out to her. "It's a pirate ship!"

"I see the crossbones on their sail, Shug," she replied. Turning her attention to the visitors, she tried to be friendly but firm at the same time. "Don't bother pirating us. Nobody in this region has much jingle to go around. You might as well move on down the island for that kind of funny business."

"Pirating you?" Luffy said. "We don't want any money."

"Y-Yeah," Usopp chimed in. It was clear that this was a tight-knit community that lived on the natural resources provided to them. They already struggled to live comfortably. The idea of having that threatened did not sit well with them, which was a legitimate fear to have. "We'll leave as soon as our log pose resets."

"Why the rush?" Keith asked. "You can stay as long as you'd like! Not like we get many visitors in these parts."

Ellis gripped a sturdy root on the embankment to pull himself out of the water. He was wearing a pair of denim overalls with the straps tied around his waist. "Come noodlin', Beau!" he called for one of Belle's kids.

A boy looking preteen in age came sliding out from behind his mother and stripped off his button-up shirt while running to the river. He dove in headfirst.

"You, too!" Ellis insisted as he pointed at the Straw Hats.

"Huh?" Nami responded.

"You'll want dinner in a few hours. We got some delicious fish in the river. Keith and I can teach you."

"Uh, we already know how to fish," Sanji clarified. Besides, they already had a whole food supply he could use. They were in no need to catch their dinner.

"We don't use fishin' poles."

"A net?" Zoro questioned.

"Our hands!" Beau corrected.

"No way," Usopp voiced with doubt but also intrigue.

"Whiskerfish are bottom feeders," Ellis explained as he hopped back in the river. "They like to hide in holes, so we pull them out with our bare hands."

"Ooh! I wanna try!" Luffy proclaimed with excitement. Before anyone could stop him, he tossed his hat to Robin and dropped into the water.

"That moron!" Nami, Zoro, Usopp, and Sanji all collectively said. Their captain bellyflopped and submerged. Sure enough, air bubbles popped on the surface, and he did not return. The mouth of the river was brackish water, so although it was not purely saltwater, it still had salt laced in it.

"He's drownin', isn't he?" Ellis asked. There was not much anxiety in his tone or actions. He simply swam over to hook an arm underneath Luffy's chest and pull him up. "You got a devil in ya?"

Water fell out of Luffy's mouth as he nodded weakly. By his logic, he figured river water meant completely salt-free. He completely disregarded the fact that the entire Grand Line was a few feet away.

By now, Belle was approaching the embankment as she rubbed her hands in her apron. Her laced-up dress shoes peeked from beneath her skirt as she walked. "What d'ya say, Ellis? Get the neighborhood together for a fish fry?"

"Why not?" He lugged Luffy over to the edge and hauled him up to solid ground. Then he turned to the Straw Hats. "They don't seem like bad people."

"Yeah. I've met worse," Keith stated. Looking up, he offered a deal. "Tell ya hwat. Help us make dinner and we'll show y'all how us hillbillies throw a cookout."

They all looked at each other to see if there were any objections. But honestly, why pass up a free meal? And they might as well accept the hospitality instead of intruding rudely.

"We'd love to!" Chopper agreed, jumping up and standing on the rail.

"What is that guy, Mama?" Belle's youngest child, a little brunette with pigtails, questioned as she stayed pressed to her mother's back.

"Maggie, be polite," Belle reprimanded in a low tone. Although she had to admit, Chopper was probably the weirdest thing she had ever laid eyes on, too.

Zoro grabbed the plank and settled it between the Going Merry and the land. When they all crossed over, proper introductions were held. "My name's Belle. These are my little ones. Virginia–" She patted the shoulder of her ten-year-old daughter, who was wearing a dress similar to her mother with a ribbon of a matching color tying a section of her brown hair back "–and Owen–" She rested a hand on her eight-year-old son's head, who wore a long-sleeved green shirt underneath his overalls "–and Maggie." She tried coaxing the five-year-old with a face full of freckles in front of her, but she was too shy. "My oldest is Beau. He just jumped in the river."

"How can we get started?" Sanji asked. "I'm a cook. I'd love to help you in the kitchen."

"That's perfect," Belle replied with a smile. "You can help me get crops from the garden. Maybe a couple of you can help with the noodlin'. My husband Hank is somewhere in the wood chopping down trees. I'll have him get the bonfire together and one of you can help him with that. I'll send Virginia and Owen through the neighborhood to spread the word. If any of y'all wanna go with them, that'll work, too."

Usopp looked behind him to see Beau take something from Keith's hand and disappear underwater. How he could see anything was beyond him, but it still piqued his curiosity enough. "I'll noodle," he declared, taking off his bandana, goggles, and boots before climbing down.

Not interested in kitchen work or simply going on a walk, Zoro stripped his own shirt and boots off and dropped his swords on the ground. "Same," he said, following Usopp.

Twitchy started bucking his legs in Robin's arms, so she released him. "Say, do you think our little friend here could stay penned up somewhere?" she wondered.

"Of course! We got a whole herd of goats in the back," Belle said as she knelt to Maggie's level. "Can you take the nice lady?"

She nervously nodded before looking up at Robin. Since Robin was the tallest crewmate, she was a bit intimidating in the stature category. But she just smiled at Maggie and prompted Twitchy to walk toward the cabin.

"Care to join me in the kitchen?" Sanji asked Nami and Aurilee.

"Nah," Nami answered, helping Luffy to his feet. "Luffy and I can go with the kids."

"Aw. But I wanna do something fun!" Luffy protested. He watched as Usopp and Zoro got to swim away to find a good noodling spot up the river with the other three. It was not fair that he could not swim!

"You can later," Nami insisted as she pulled him by the elbow. "This is just as equally important. You wanna come, too, Chopper?"

"Sure!" He transformed into Walk Point to go with them, startling Virginia but impressing Owen. They started asking him all kinds of questions as they made their way up the dirt road that paralleled the river.

Being rejected made Sanji deflate, but then Aurilee answered him. "I will."

Immediately, he got all jelly-legged in his happiness. "Really?! You just made my whole day!"

"Goodness, you're about to pop, Shug," Belle commented. She noticed how short the front of Aurilee's dress was hiked up purely due to her pregnancy.

"Is it okay if I sit down when I get tired?" Aurilee asked.

"You don't even have to ask. Here. I'll make sure you get easier work." She took Aurilee's arm and led her to the cabin. She nervously looked back at Sanji, but he only had a calm expression. Whatever it was Belle was about to have them do, he would keep her company and help her with anything she needed.