.: I hope at least some of the readers for this story have picked up on my funny little references for this segment of the story. And I'll just say Left 4 Dead 2 was a big part of my childhood, so I just had to include my favorite character from the game and bring his friend to life. What can I say? I'm a southern girl by heart. Although my upbringing is not explicitly this type, I still resonate with it. Keep an eye out for more fun references about southern life in the United States haha :.

The Girl with A Half-Soul

Chapter 23:

Don't Take Her Man

Far up the river, Ellis and Keith brought the two pirates and their young protégé to a spot they had not visited in a couple weeks. The water was a comfortable temperature, but the visibility was nonexistent. As the bottoms of their feet touched the slimy riverbed, they noticed how it was full of dips. Ellis said that whiskerfish could be found in holes, so that made Usopp wonder if that was what they were feeling.

To be honest, though…Usopp had no clue how to read these hillbillies yet. To say they were quite strange was an understatement. It was not until they got close to Keith that they realized he was actually covered in scars. The guy's skin looked like it had melted and was allowed to cool back down while offset. Clearly, he had been burned and miraculously survived. But there were also slash marks all over his body, and he was missing fingers on his left hand. To top it all off, there was a tattoo on his forehead that said "I'm a moron" in thin-lined ink. There were so many questions Usopp wanted to ask just for Keith alone. He made Ellis look normal in comparison.

But one of Ellis's quirks was almost just as obvious. He was a chatterbox. Somehow, Zoro tuned him out the whole time. And soon Usopp had no more questions to ask about Keith.

"I ever tell y'all about the time Keith and I made fireworks? Now, I didn't know shit about chemistry, but Keith figured 'Gasoline burns, doesn't it?' Heh, third-degree burns on ninety-five percent of his body. Man, people in the next neighborhood over were calling to complain about the smell of burning skin."

"I ever tell y'all about the time me and Keith made a homemade bumper car ride with ridin' mowers in his backyard? Mower blade wounds over ninety percent of his body. I didn't run him over, either; he somehow managed to fall under his own."

"I ever tell y'all about the time Keith tried to deep-fry a turkey? Third-degree burns over ninety percent of his body. His doctor called up, like, other doctors to look at him cause they'd never seen burns on top of existing burns before."

"I ever tell y'all about the time my buddy Keith drove his car off a cliff, broke both his legs? It's not a funny 'ha-ha' story so much as it's a make-you-think story. For instance, windshields look pretty durable, right? Not the case, according to Keith. Son of a bitch flew right through that sucker."

"This one time, my buddy Keith, on a dare, got a tattoo: 'I'm a moron' right across his forehead, man. 'Course, he made two hundred berries off that, so...you ask yourself: Who's the real moron?"

The whole time, Keith and Beau were giggling and not denying any of it. Even though they had only met a few minutes ago, Ellis was acting as if they had all been friends for a while. Zoro may have been quiet, but he could not help but think that these people were the perfect friends for Usopp to have. He knew very well what it was like to listen to outlandish stories. The only difference was that Keith was right there as living proof that he was the luckiest unlucky person in the world. Usopp was just a big fat liar.

He looked over his shoulder as they swam to see if the sniper was going to join in on the storytelling time. Maybe he was cooking something up that could play along with the theme of knowing a certain idiot. The facial expression just seemed a little lost in trying to come up with something. "Come on, Usopp–" Zoro began.

"Ooh! This is it!" Ellis announced as he rounded a little corner that came to a pocket.

Beau kept his distance when he realized what spot Ellis picked out. "But…the beaver…"

Keith laughed. He had actually forgotten all about that. After seeing Usopp grow a questionable expression, he took it upon himself to explain. "I stuck my arm in one the holes here and a freakin' beaver shot out of it. Took a chunk out my arm, and we ain't seen it since." He held up his right arm to show a still-healing divot in the center between his wrist and elbow.

The story made Usopp expel a sound that audibilized his apprehension. Suddenly, sticking his hand blindly in a hole did not seem like the brightest idea.

"Alright," Ellis said with just his neck above the water. "It's been a couple weeks since we noodled in this spot, but the whiskerfish shoulda migrated back by now. We're gonna find y'all a hole, give y'all bait, and let y'all have at it. The goal is to get a whiskerfish to take a nibble of the bait. Then, you grab their jaw and pull them suckers up!"

Keith passed Beau more bait and allowed him to have the first catch. He disappeared under for a few seconds as he stayed close to the bottom. After trying two holes that turned out to be empty, he got a bite and he latched on tight. Everyone shielded their faces as the flopping fish came splashing to the surface. Four of his fingers were stuffed in its mouth while his thumb clamped around its chin. "Thatta boy, Beau!" Ellis praised.

After the fish was swiftly killed thanks to a little knife slicing through its gullet, Ellis checked the embankment for an occupied hole that would allow him to guide the newbies through the process. "Zoro," he said, motioning him over.

When he came close, Ellis passed him bait and pushed his hand into the hole. At first, he did not feel anything in the hole, but he kept his hand open and waited.

"Go deeper if you need to," Ellis advised.

He pushed in more, his face getting close to the water. It would be stupid if he was noodling in an empty hole. Nobody said anything or moved. After a few seconds, Zoro felt something graze his fingertips. Then he felt the bait get sucked right out of his grasp. No latching occurred. Confused, he pulled his hand out with nothing to show for his first attempt.

"Uh oh," Keith voiced. "We got ourselves a sneaky lil one."

"Don't worry. Hold it between your fingers this time," Ellis told him with a demonstration.

Zoro copied the technique by squishing the bait between his middle and index finger. When he returned his hand into the hole, he waited for the fish to try sucking it away again. But because the bait was fastened, it was unsuccessful in stealing it. It was forced to suckle on Zoro's fingers. Although it felt very weird, he stayed still as he waited to get a good grip. Once he could clamp down his thumb, it violently squirmed and tried to dislodge itself. That was the cue he needed to pull it to the surface.

Everyone cheered as he stood up straight and tried to stabilize the catch as it splashed like crazy. "You're a natural!" Beau said as Ellis sliced the gullet to kill it.

"Kind of hurts," Zoro admitted as he pulled out his hand from its mouth to see his skin was slightly scraped.

"Oh yeah, you'll get a little beat up," Ellis corroborated. "If we gotta feed the whole neighborhood, we'll be bleeding by the time we finish."

"Usopp's turn!" Keith prompted as he pushed the sniper toward the same hole.

"Hold on. Lemme find one for him," Ellis communicated, passing Zoro his catch that was now strung securely for travel. He disappeared under the water to investigate holes embedded in the riverbed. When he came back up, he got Usopp to come over. "You okay going under the water for this one?"

He knew he would not drown if he did, but not being able to see bugged him a little bit. "Y-Yeah."

"Alright." He passed Usopp the bait and reminded him of what to feel for. If he could not hold his breath, he did not have to force himself to stay under.

Zoro smirked mischievously as he noticed Usopp was questioning whether he actually wanted to do it or not. It truly was not that bad. But he decided to have a little fun. "Stick your hand in the crack, and you won't get it back," he rhymed.

"Shut up, Zoro!" Usopp retorted with annoyance. He knew he was just trying to freak him out more because it was funny. Keith and Beau sure did think it was. But if Ellis found a suitable hole, that meant nothing other than a whiskerfish lived in it. So, he dove down with Ellis to get to the destination. Ellis returned to the surface alone and waited with the rest of them.

Keeping his eyes closed, Usopp stayed wrist deep as he waited. He expected the whiskerfish to suspiciously investigate the bait like a normal fish did with bait dangling from a hook. Instead, the stupid fish attacked the bait angrily and practically swallowed his fingers in the process. A lot of air bubbles came up to the surface purely from Usopp's frightened reaction. He grabbed the fish tightly and pulled it up without much thought behind it. His scream rang out as it flopped mercilessly.

Several yards away, the three pirates walking a dirt road stopped as they recognized Usopp being the one behind the scream. Virginia and Owen paused as well. "What's wrong?" the oldest daughter asked.

"I can't tell if that's Usopp screaming for help or just screaming because he can," Nami commented without much worry backing it up.

"Guess we'll find out later," Chopper added as he continued walking on all fours.

Luffy, with his hands on the back of his head, frowned as he followed the rest. His friends were out having fun, yet he was here going on a boring old walk. They followed the kids past some rinky dink houses that looked abandoned and overgrown. Chickens frequented the path as they freely roamed. It was also common to see a donkey or dog tied to a lone post. The community was seemingly quiet. Every once in a while, they would find someone on their porch or in their front yard and share the invite to the fish fry. Other times, they knocked on doors.

Virginia and Owen were well known by the neighborhood. Their unannounced presence was welcomed with pleased smiles. The fact that they were so nonchalant about the Straw Hats only boosted the desire for others to come. So what if it was short notice? It was not like there was anything else important going on! Extra food was promised to be brought. And apparently, some were out hunting, and others had taken the train around the mountains to visit town. Once they got back, they could join in on the fun, too.

"Sounds like there'll be a lot of people coming," Nami guessed as the pair returned to their group after knocking on a door.

"We don't get strangers that come around often," Virginia explained. "People get curious."

"Will there be enough food?" Chopper asked. Usopp and Zoro could be noodling all day and still might not be able to feed the whole neighborhood. Something told him they had not even visited a quarter of it so far.

"Yeah. Mama won't be the only one cookin'. When we get together, there's an overabundance of food to go around."

"Sweet!" Luffy cheered. "There's never such a thing as too much food!"

Owen was awed by his positivity. That was one thing he did not see much of from his father and older brother. "You like leftovers, too?" he questioned.

"Leftovers? There's no such thing as leftovers when I'm around." He proved his point by interlocking his fingers together and then pulling his hands apart so his stretching abilities could be demonstrated.

While Owen watched with shock, Nami clarified the phenomenon for him. "Luffy ate the Gum Gum Fruit. Just like how his fingers can stretch, so can his stomach."

"So…You're a bottomless pit?!" Owen exclaimed.

Luffy laughed as he let go of his fingers to let them snap back into place. "Pretty much."

Nami looked down at Virginia. "Here's a word of advice: Don't let Luffy be the first in line when it's time to eat."

Nervously, she nodded. Having to explain that to her mother would be interesting to say the least.

In a yard a few feet away, a little temporary pond had accumulated from the earlier rainfall. It would dry up eventually, but while it was still around, someone was taking advantage of the opportunity. A young woman just a year younger than Nami was lounging in a pink float with sunglasses over her closed eyes and her head tipped back all the way. There was sunscreen on her pale skin as she attempted to darken the pigment with the hot rays.

When the group passed by, Virginia was the one to speak up. "Hey. We're having a fish fry tonight. Mama could use your help."

The woman recognized the voice and lifted her sunglasses. "Oh, hey, Virginia." She looked at Luffy, Nami, and Chopper. "Whatcha got there?"

"Believe it or not, they're pirates," Owen answered. "But they're nice."

Virginia stepped closer to Nami as she explained something. "This is Jolene. She's Mama's cousin."

One thing Nami noticed about Jolene was how sophisticated she appeared in comparison to most of the hillbillies they had come across so far. Her waistline was very slim, and her reddish hair was well groomed with combed locks. She still shared the twangy accent like everyone else, but her version was fonder and more tender.

"So, pirates are visiting, and we're throwing them a fish fry?" Jolene inquired suspiciously.

"Yep," Owen answered simply.

"I won't say no to free food!" Luffy gleefully broadcasted. "Bring on the meat!"

He made Jolene chuckle. Ah, men. Most of them were so easy to please. And just like the saying, the best way to a man's heart was through his stomach. She planted her feet into the ground and stood up, grabbing her ring-like float along the way. "Neither will I," she agreed. "I'll head over right after I change clothes."

"Okay. See you there!" Virginia bid farewell as she kept leading the group farther.

Chopper was the last one to move on from that encounter. He watched Jolene disappear inside her house. If she was heading straight to Belle's cabin, that meant Sanji would have a really pretty girl to swoon over.

Having been in Aurilee's position a total of four times, Belle knew some tricks to help with her aches and pains. She had the expectant mother up in her bedroom, helping her change into something more practical. The dress she had been wearing was folded on the bed, and Belle was helping make some adjustments to the new getup to accommodate her size. It was a pair of denim overalls. Underneath was a floral blouse that was purposely oversized, but on her body, it appeared normal. Once the shoulder straps were loosened and tightened to her liking, Belle found a compression band that she found to be a great help in the past. Aurilee had to get it around her legs, and then it was pulled up around her waist/tailbone and underneath her belly. When released, she could feel the article slightly giving her a lift that relieved the pressure in her back. Belle could hear her sigh of relief. "Good stuff, ain't it?" she asked.

It was basically what Sanji did in the jungle for her. Since her belly was pulling down on her, the logical thing to do was raise it. She felt like she could be light on her feet again, and all it took was wearing an oversized rubber band. "Definitely. I don't think I need to sit down as often now."

"Still take it easy but take advantage of the relief." She grabbed a big, combed clip and quickly swirled her hair before latching it all in place on the back of her head. Now she could stay cool easier with her neck not insulated anymore. "Ready to get back to work?"

She nodded and followed her out. They went back down the stairs to rejoin Sanji as he cleaned and prepped some fresh vegetables. When he heard their footsteps, he could not help but glance over his shoulder. Belle let go of her skirt as she reached the bottom and moved on. Then, Aurilee appeared. The sight of her all bundled up in overalls that held her belly so cutely was too much for him to bear. His heart burst forth from his chest. Almost as if he teleported, he was suddenly in front of her and eager to look at her from all angles. The outfit, the hair, and everything else he could not quite put his finger on just screamed at him. "Aw! You look so adorable!" he cajoled sincerely.

Watching him circle her longingly got her all embarrassed. To be frank, she was more concerned about being comfortable than looking remotely attractive with the change in clothes. Yet here was the love cook acting as if he just struck gold when it came to his obsession with females.

What she did not know, however, was that he was not lusting for her. He really did think she looked cute! The precious cargo was fastened in. The hair was out of the face. She was about to start cooking. "You are everything that a mom should be," he verbalized as he stood on his tiptoes and let his legs sway around like a couple of noodles.

The light blush on his cheekbones, curvy grin, and the added curl to his eyelashes all illustrated his feelings toward her appearance. It made her feel involuntarily warm in her core. Until now, she could not accept his compliments because she herself did not agree with his sentiments. But…yeah, she did feel motherly. Despite not being able to snuggle her triplets yet, she still carried them. That was enough for the time being. Sanji was not as shallow in his affection as he sometimes came across as. His love for women was deeper than the superficial aspects – surprisingly. Aurilee was experiencing that different kind of admiration.

Bashful, she smiled back with her own blush and broke eye contact with him. If he did that kind of dalliance more often, he would get somewhere. It was working on her, after all. The married woman in the room could clearly see that.

To interrupt, she pushed an empty crate into Sanji's hands. "Would you mind grabbin' some corn, carrots, and squash from the garden, Shug?"

"Why, of course not," he replied, accepting the crate. He did not hesitate to approach the door to exit, but he kept trying to look over his shoulder at Aurilee. "I'll be back in a few minutes, my sweet Aurilee!"

"Okay," she acknowledged calmly.

Belle waited for the cook to be out of earshot before she spoke again. "Listen, I know bein' in love has its perks and it feels nice, but we got work to do."

Her remark sent a hot flash through her body. "I-I-I'm not in love!" she stammered in a panic.

"You sure 'bout that? 'Cause I look at my Hank the same way."

"I swear! Sanji and I are just friends."

"Just friends? Ain't he…" She let her gaze be drawn to the big protrusion in her overalls. Not only had Sanji been keeping close to Aurilee the entire time they were in her house, but he also flirted with her openly. Anyone could have mistaken their relationship dynamics. After all, it took two to tango.

Belle did not have to finish her sentence. She already knew what she was going to say. Feeling a little defeated, Aurilee shook her head and passed her up to continue where she left off in the food prep. This was the raw spot of her situation that she did not want to acknowledge. She had spent the majority of her early childhood without her birth father, and she hated it, and she resented her mother because of it. Now her children were destined for the same fate. Although Paititi and Tayen's situation was far different and was later resolved, Aurilee's situation was permanent. There would never be a father figure for her children. No amount of love she could give them would fill that void.

"I was wonderin' how a pretty girl like you ended up with a bunch of pirates," Belle stated. She came up next to her to help. More vegetables were cut up and then brushed off into a bowl. "Life hasn't been no crystal stair for you, has it?"

For the past few years, no. But things were different now. "It's gotten better."

She smiled. Considering Aurilee did not ever look frightened or relieved to be separated from the crew, she found comfort in knowing they were her friends. "I can tell. Sorry for assumin' thangs. But for what it's worth, it's okay to fall in love. I can tell Sanji really likes you."

Aurilee slightly whined. "He's like that with all the girls."

Belle chuckled. "Maybe he is, but it takes a special kind of man to like a lady who's having a baby. If that won't stop him, I doubt much else will."

Well, one of Sanji's best traits was his persistence. There was always the hope in him that one of these days, Nami or Robin would come around. But getting the same dismissal over and over again was a cry of insanity. How did he never get tired of it? Even she dismissed his advances most of the time, but she thanked him for kind gestures when it counted. She was no better than Nami and Robin.

Aurilee did not know this about the cook, but he loved women so much that simply being in one's presence was a blessing by itself. He did not care if they took advantage of his kindness. Seeing their smiles and knowing their needs or wants were met was all he desired. If one of them asked for a dessert, he would provide it. If Nami wanted him to carry her shopping bags, he would not hesitate to oblige. Robin was not very keen on needing his assistance, but he would be there in a heartbeat if she spoke it. When Aurilee struggled to get to her feet, he was the first one there to stabilize her. There was never a complaint (although he did tend to yearn rewards for his good deeds.) That was what made him such a caring and compassionate person. It would take way more than ignoring him to offend him.

"Sanji is…nurturing," Aurilee described as she thought. "He makes me feel safe and cared for, no matter what it is. He always listens and lends a hand. Whenever I needed rescue, it was him who came. I feel so looked after because of him." A weird sensation came to her olfactory senses, like she was getting emotional. "He makes me feel like I'm important."

Belle could hear it in her voice. When she turned her head, she noticed the tears wanting to form. There was so much pain being suppressed, but a single person was relieving it. Despite not saying it out loud, she knew she was grateful. "Oh, none of that," Belle said as she pulled up the bottom of her apron and dabbed her eyelids for her. "I know hormones can be overwhelmin'."

Aurilee smiled in embarrassment but let her finish.

She placed her hands on her hips. "I just met the guy, so I don't know him as well as you do. But if he's everything that you just said he is, then I say go for it."

Go for it?

She touched her belly. "And don't even worry 'bout this. A real man woulda told ya what he want in a woman from the start. I think this is a big reason why he likes you so much. You said yourself he's nurturin'. Luckily, that's the best quality for a daddy to have."

Aurilee almost choked on her own spit. That was asking for too much. Staying with the Straw Hats was not a permanent arrangement. There was no point in pursuing a hopeless dream driven by feelings.

…But the thought still intensified her feelings. If her triplets were born while she was still the Straw Hats' guest, she had no doubt Sanji would probably be her biggest help. As long as she was in need, he would be close by. If that were to happen, attachment was bound to occur. It was going to be so hard to overcome that when they parted ways, but it would be even harder to prevent that from happening at all. Logic advised staying away from the scenario, but her human nature said to embrace it and let things take their course.

After being dormant for a few hours, her children began to squirm around inside her. They needed all the love they could get. Luffy would be so happy when they were born. He would try to play and have one-sided conversations with them until they started crying from hunger or had a dirty diaper. Nami would enjoy holding them and gushing about how cute they were. Robin's devil fruit would come in "handy" with juggling all three of them. Usopp would probably take up babysitting duties and try to learn how to take care of them. Zoro…Well, he slept as much as a baby, so maybe he would be their nap buddy. But Sanji had the potential to be just as involved as Aurilee would be. She could see him taking over parent duty so she could catch up on sleep. Her smile returned as she thought about her support system.

"See? You know what I'm talkin' 'bout," Belle concluded as she placed lettuce on the cutting board and started slicing it with a big knife. "It also helps that he's kinda cute. Better enjoy that baby soft skin of his before that smoking habit ruins him."

Aurilee blushed but did not respond. So she was not the only one who thought his skin looked soft. Too bad she could not verify it…yet.

On the dirt road, someone was approaching the cabin. A wide-brimmed straw hat that was a blue color rested on top of freshly brushed reddish hair. A pink sun dress with a lot of white, orange, and green patterned throughout waved in the breeze. There were bags hanging from both shoulders; one had various produce freshly picked, along with some eggs and milk, while the other had a musical instrument inside. There was going to be a fish fry, and most, if not all, of the neighborhood would be coming. They were going to need all they could get to feed so many people and keep them all entertained.

As the woman got closer, her heeled sandals kicked up some dust. Beau and Maggie were not seen playing outside. No other pirates were in sight either. If that was the case, she planned on knocking on the door and hoping Belle would greet her. But she still had some suspicions. Pirates had a bad rap. It would make a lot of sense for some to pretend they were friendly just to turn around and stab everyone in the back.

But she got close to the little garden that was touching the side of the cabin, and she noticed somebody was sitting on his knees in the middle of it. The way he was uprooting harvestable vegetables and placing them in a crate had her wonder if he was a professional farmer. He carefully checked before committing to pulling one, and he was so invested that he did not notice she was there.

One thing she found amusing was that he wore a nice black suit. Something that nice could not be afforded by anyone on this island for miles. Yet here he was getting a little dirty and not caring much about it. She stopped and propped her elbow on the fence. This must have been one of the pirates. After all, everyone in the neighborhood knew each other, and she did not recognize him. Nobody she knew had striking blonde hair like that. "You're not from around here," she commented to start a conversation.

It startled him, but when he looked up, all he saw was a beautiful triangular face with a pair of emeralds gazing at him. There were flaming locks of auburn hair flowing down past her shoulders. Her ivory skin had been kissed by the sun. The smile she gave him was like a breath of spring, and her voice was as soft as summer rain. The subtle fright immediately traded places for captivation. This beauty was beyond compare to anything he had ever seen before.

As he sat in silence, she made her own observation of his looks. Half of his face hidden by his hair, with a curly eyebrow in sight that she would never forget. The blue in his irises was so cunning and illusive that she wondered if she was actually seeing it. There was a cigarette about to fall out of his mouth. Although he appeared to be more on the average-looking side, she still thought he was charming to the eye. "Pirate?" she questioned.

His eye exploded with a big red heart as he briskly nodded.

"Then I guess I met some of your friends already. Girl with orange hair, kid with a straw hat, and big deer-looking thang?"

He nodded again and decided to stand up without brushing the dirt off his knees. "M-My name's Sanji."

That visible heart of his was throbbing so intensely. It turns out getting a reaction like that was a normal occurrence for the woman. She did not let it bother her. Instead, she closed her eyes and tilted her head. "It's nice to meet you, Sanji. My name's Jolene."

He tiptoed around the plants to join her at the fence. If Jolene was willing to talk, he was happy to go along. What he did not know, though, was that someone was eavesdropping. She stood around the corner, having come outside to collect his garden pickings, and then go with him to the chicken coup. Now she remained on standby as he made a new lady friend who showed a bit of interest in him.

It hurt her. Before he knew anything deep or meaningful about this Jolene, he was already gripped with adoration. And the worst part? Jolene was not dismissing him or ignoring him. Because of that, he was all in. She was beautiful enough to have any man she wanted, but it looked like she wanted Sanji. Aurilee could not stop her tears this time. She could not compete with beauty like that. She did not have a chance to express her feelings yet. She was already losing him.

No, don't take him. You don't know what he means to me, Jolene… she internally begged.