.: This week's chapter is a little bit shorter, but the next is going to be a beast to write. I'll probably need a couple weeks or more to write it because it's the most important battle of this backstory, and again, I really suck at writing battle scenes. I'm probably going to have to combine elements of different ones from cinema (like Narnia, Lord of the Rings, etc.) along with Attack on Titan/Vinland Saga and my own original ideas to get the final product I want. I also have friends who are willing to help me navigate it when I feel stuck. Overall, I'm excited, but also aware that it'll take time for me to perfect it. And who am I kidding? It'll be split up into more than one chapter just because I have that habit. I'll see you-teia on the other side! :.

The Girl with A Half-Soul

Chapter 54:

The Wolf Woman: Reinforcements

Nobody had set foot on that island in months. Communications with the Marines stationed there went radio silent very mysteriously. A brief investigation revealed the worst possibility: Everything had been destroyed, burned to ashes. The few survivors found clung to life without resources to call their own. It was the minks' doing according to them. Marine headquarters found out about the betrayal and ordered ships to standby until further notice.

That was nearly six months ago. No update came, just supply drop-offs for the longest time. A new ship would anchor every week it seemed, but they would claim to have been sent with the same orders. Whatever the ones in charge were cooking up, it involved a lot of manpower. Losing mercenaries was like the final straw. The whole island was surrounded by ships. Nobody allowed in or out.

Part of standby was using spotlights to monitor the coast for any activity. The natives were still the main target, and they were a sneaky bunch. Since they stuck close to the center of the island, all nights such as this one had absolutely no activity to be reported. It was incredibly boring. The Marines conducting the night watch yawned. Some even defied orders and slept because what could they possibly miss while they did?

Well, one of the spotlight operators decided to shift his toward the waters. Between his ship and the one many yards away at the port side, the cloudy tide rolled rhythmically. Then he completely rotated to face away from the island. Aimless searching led him to spotting something out of the ordinary…A ship coming their way.

The Commander of the ship was down in his quarters when a knock came to his door. "Commander, we have an inbound unidentified infiltrator a mile out coming from the sea."

He immediately came up to the stern to see for himself. The spotlight had not moved, and the ship never changed course. A Marine with a transponder snail approached so he could attempt to make contact. But the incoming vessel did not share the same turquoise paint job that others Naval vessels did. There was no transponder snail to connect to for a call. He traded it for snail megaphone.

"Unidentified seacraft," his voice projected, "you are in restricted Marine territory. Proceed south out of the area."

Everyone on deck watched and waited for the ship to heed the warning and change course. Even the other Naval crews were curious as to what was going on. When nothing happened, they started to wonder if pirates were upon them. Regardless, their tactic was stupid. They were about to be surrounded by the Marines with no means of escape.

Other spotlights started to divert their attention away from the island to add pressure to their unwelcome guest. They ended up revealing more than one ship headed for them. Each spotlight seemed to shine on a different one. The first thing everyone thought was that it was a pirate fleet. Now it suddenly did not feel idiotic for them to approach if they had numbers to compete.

More Marines came to the decks with guns in hand. Others readied the cannons. The fleet was not slowing down, so they were ready to engage. Something was not right.

"Unidentified seacraft," the Commander repeated, "stand down now. Have your crew step out, or we will kill you."

Less than a minute later, movement was seen at the bow of the incoming ship. A large body waddled up. Before his webbed hand blocked the blinding light, a bill was clearly visible on his furry face. Suddenly, the Commander knew what was going on.

"It's Mink Tribe reinforcements!" he called out. "Fire on them now!"

The sounds of cannon fire shook the air. Quintus ducked for cover as the hull was blasted. But the attack was abruptly stopped when their ship tremored violently. Some lost their footing while others grabbed the railing for support. A huge furry hand rose from the waters, dropping buckets of water on them all in the process, and grabbed the side of the ship like it was a toy. After pulling up to get a head above the surface, they were greeted by the famous wolf mink Kiyaya. The way her pelt was soaked to the bone told them she had been completely submerged for an unknown amount of time. How could they have possibly missed her?!

She located the Commander judging from his coat and quickly grabbed him to toss him over her shoulder like trash. "Those are our friends, thank you-teia very much," she reprimanded. One of the cannon operators aimed straight for her face, but she flicked him away too easily. Next, her hand swiped the entire stern clear of Marines, knocking them all overboard.

The other ships involved were also bombarded. Electro zapped in and out of view as Vencent single-handedly took out Marines on one while Fish did the same on the other. An army of Lun'aecho warriors stormed the waters since they were cursed to walk its surface. They went straight for the incoming ships to help get the reinforcements to safety and address any that may have possibly been wounded.

Quintus stood back up when the cannons ceased, shocked to be met with the people they came to help. The spotlights made them all look like shadows running across jelly, but they were real. And how did he know they were friends? Well, the biggest indicator was them bellowing "GARCHUUU!" Their arrival had been long awaited, and they could not have been happier to have them here finally.

The duke belly laughed from how quickly things turned around. "Garchu!" he replied heartily.

The rest of the minks came out to see what was happening. The Lun'aecho tended to the forerunning ship since it was damaged and going to sink quickly. Minks were carried away to safety. Cherokee jumped aboard with them to get to Quintus. Rodencia had told her to look for the big platypus mink, but when she expressed doubt since she had no clue what a platypus was, she simply described him as a furry duck with a beaver tail. Seeing him in the flesh made the description extremely accurate.

"Garchu, Duke Quintus!" she greeted as if he was an old friend. "My name is Cherokee. I'm the leader of the Lun'aecho Tribe. Allow me to help you." The witchdoctor rounded her from nowhere and cast the same curse everyone else had onto him. He watched with intrigue as tangible words floated toward him and embedded into his fur until he was unable to see them. They touched his flesh, but he could not feel them.

"What a fascinating devil fruit power you-gara have," he complimented. "But what did you do?"

"Hop off and find out." She climbed onto the side of the ship and dropped back down to the water. Her feet hit the surface like it was marshy ground; it visibly reacted to her sudden weight by splashing and sending ripples in all directions, but she never broke through. He watched the others do the exact same and decided there was no point in doubting her. Despite being heavyset, the water accommodated his hydrophobic curse. Others stumbled from the shockwaves he sent out, but no harm was done. The whole ship was evacuated, and everyone ran back to the island.

Kiyaya shoved the Naval ships aside to make room. She saw Marines coming from both sides of the beach. Knowing she had to act fast, she turned toward the sea. "Hurry! The Marines are closing in!"

Before she even turned her attention back, bison galloped onto the beach to hold them off. Arrows were shot and electro zapped while cries of pain rang out. Rodencia motioned for the minks being dropped off to run after Lakota as he led the return charge to the mountains. The other ships would also be emptied once they close enough in. Kiyaya trudged through the shallows to speed up that process.

In the middle of Rodencia helping the minks as they hurried by, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Hey you-gara," a familiar voice said to her.

She flinched and made eye contact with a squirrel mink wearing the attire of a Musketeer. It was so unbelievable to come face-to-face with her spouse that she could barely gasp in surprise.

But Thalor did not care. He just pulled her into an embrace and squeezed her. All the months spent without her brought pain that was relieved from holding her.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Roderick happily acknowledged her from the sling on Thalor's back.

Rodencia choked up when her baby boy peered over his shoulder. She returned the embrace to hold them both since they were her whole world. It was hard to leave them. The last thing she expected was for them to be part of the reinforcements.

When the minks did not seem to stop running up the beach, she wondered if Quintus saying he would bring "all" of the reinforcements meant the entire dukedom. It seemed excessive, but the longer she witnessed it, the more she started to believe it. Males, females, and children were all in her sight. Even the elderly and disabled were here. Bigger bodied individuals kept a watchful eye over the smaller ones. Literally nobody was left behind. It amazed her to receive such support from a simple message.

The ships were finally emptied and abandoned. Kiyaya picked up the rear by kicking away the remaining Marines to allow the bison riders to get a head start. Then they were home free.

A disgruntled Commander pulled out his transponder snail when they disappeared into the night. He had to report to headquarters about the incident. The natives now had numbers under their belt again. That was a huge problem.

The Mink Tribe flooded the mountains when dawn arrived. It was a mixture of celebration, confusion, and figuring out how to spread out. There was way more than the Lun'aecho ever anticipated. Their preparations were futile. But the problem was a welcome one. Shelters could be built and more food could be distributed. Right now, reunions were underway, and Cherokee was collaborating with Quintus about what was next on the agenda. Just because the minks were in Lun'aecho territory did not mean the duke had less power over his people.

One of the reunions was the one Lakota had been a little bit nervous about. Kiyaya's parents were here. He was an orphan. He had no idea how to talk to parents, let alone the parents of his mink wife. Judging from the mixed family units around, he got the idea that minks did not have to be the same type to reproduce. He was curious what kind of minks her parents were. And he really hoped that she got her size from her mother because how could it be physically possible for it to be the other way around?

Weirdly enough, neither of those scenarios were the case. She held her parents in her hands and pressed them to her cheeks. Her mother was a wolf mink with a healthy coat of gray fur with some blonde mixed in. Her father was a polar bear mink with the same color of white fur that she inherited from him. Kiyaya was their only child, and they doted on her. They were proud when she was selected to be a mercenary, but after getting word of her selfless acts that set off a chain reaction, they were over the moon.

Now they were playing catchup. More than three-quarters of a year had passed since they last saw each other. Lakota waited patiently out of sight for Kiyaya to reveal the most recent event that had happened to her. He was sure they would be flabbergasted when she told them, but he worried if they would react badly to how he was a different race entirely. The moment he heard "I have something to tell you-teia," he felt his heart beat really fast. It was the point of no return.

"Tell us what?" her mother asked.

"I…kinda got married."

"…Really? To who?!"

"Here. You-teia can meet him." She moved both of them into one palm while reaching behind her back for Lakota. He put on a brave face once her fingers surrounded him and pulled him out into the open. To say they were all surprised was an understatement. Her parents expected to see a mink from the mercenary group, and he expected to see someone pretty big. "This is Lakota. Lakota, this is my dad Nanu and my mom Ravenna."

Lakota awkwardly waved as he felt put on the spot. "Garchu. To be honest, I was expecting one of you to make Kiyaya's size make sense. What happened?"

Ravenna chuckled with a hand covering her mouth. "She was normal sized when she was born up until she was about four years old. Then she hit a growth spurt and just didn't stop."

He looked up at Kiyaya. "You were normal sized? Aw. Cute little baby Kiyaya."

"Stop it," she insisted, embarrassed.

"How did this love story come to be?" Nanu questioned.

They both looked at each other, a little unsure how to word the beginning. It sounded bad no matter how they went about it, and Lakota did not want to make Kiyaya feel bad for what happened again. "W-Well we technically met in battle," he started.

"Yeah…" Kiyaya concurred. "And I hurt him pretty bad. But doing that was what basically convinced me that fighting against the Lun'aecho was wrong."

"And Kiyaya nursed me back to health. Now we're here and…married. B-But I wouldn't change the past at all. The circumstances are what brought us together."

"Aww," Ravenna said. "I like that. It's very sweet."

"We were always a little bit worried that our girl wouldn't find someone because of her size, but I'm glad that it doesn't bother you-gara," Nanu observed.

"Oh no," Lakota replied. "The bigger, the better!"

Kiyaya blushed heavily under her fur. "You-teia are embarrassing me."

"At least they know I'm being genuine."

"Yes. Garchu for loving our girl," Ravenna told him. "We don't care that you-teia are a lesser-mink. Just as long as she's happy."

"What's the plan for your future?" Nanu asked.

"I'm staying here with Lakota," Kiyaya answered.

"I see. Well, you-gara did always say Zou was too small. I suppose I'm not surprised by your choice."

"This island is huge!" Ravenna claimed. "I wasn't prepared for such a long walk here. You-teia will definitely have plenty of room to stretch your legs."

Seeing how accepting they were of things surprised Lakota greatly. There was not a single protest about how Kiyaya was going to live her life. Even with the knowledge that the end of the war meant they were not going to see her again, it did not sway their feelings.

Lakota's attention suddenly snapped away from the interaction. All three minks noticed it.

"What is it?" Kiyaya asked.

"Someone's coming," Lakota said, his Observation Haki sensing a new presence within its tremendous range. "Take me to Cherokee."

Without skipping a beat, Kiyaya stood up with her hands still occupied by people she loved and went searching for the Chieftain. She trained Lakota so much these last few months that she knew he was sensing something outside of the mountains entirely. The way he worded it as "someone" told her it was not an army of Marines headed their way. His skill of specificity with his range was impressive enough that she could trust his instincts.

Cherokee was with Quintus. When Kiyaya got to them, they got the idea that something was up. She simply lowered Lakota to his friend's level so he could tell her himself. "We have company," he told her, carefully slipping off Kiyaya's hand.

Cherokee placed his arm over her shoulders so she could help him stand. "Okay. Do you know how many?"

"Three. I don't think they're being followed."

She nodded and took him up the incline to see out into the prairie. Seeing him never take a step made Nanu and Ravenna realize he could not walk at all. "Kiyaya?" her mother said curiously.

"Yeah," she confirmed, downcast. "I kept Lakota alive, but I took away his mobility. I have to live with that for the rest of my life."

"M-Maybe the doctors can take a look at him. Don't lose hope just yet."

Now they better understood what he meant when he said he would not change the past. Lakota loved Kiyaya so much that he would gladly sacrifice the use of his legs again if it resulted in him getting to be with her. It was so unbearably sweet but sad.

Once Cherokee brought the two of them over the cusp, she found a spot that kept them hidden but gave them a good view of the area. The sun was casting huge shadows over the yellowing grass, but it was still light enough to make things out for the remainder of the day. They saw nothing out of the ordinary. "You're positive that we're getting visitors?" she reiterated, settling him on the ground.

"Yes," he confirmed. "Still three of them on horseback. Coming from that direction." He pointed where one of the rolling hills blocked a good chunk of the view for them.

"Okay. In that case, I'm going to keep you here for surveillance and give you a transpondance curse in case more come. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes." He offered an arm for the curse to be placed, and watched the letters tattoo his skin. She cursed herself to be connected to him. "Is it okay if Kiyaya is with me in case things turn bad?"

A pang of hurt rang out from her heart. The fact that Lakota acted as if she had no room to be hurt over his lack of communication did not sit right with her. Even after Kiyaya's vest was in plain sight, he never told her himself that he did not want to be with her. Instead, he let the symbolism speak for itself. Now she was supposed to continue being his friend like nothing happened and pretend to be fine with it all.

Regardless, Cherokee agreed with the request. She returned to the others and cursed Kiyaya to be small. Then she retrieved Rodencia to try masking just how many minks they were harboring. Quintus was given the same curse as Lakota so he could communicate with the rat mink. Then they ventured out together to find out what they were going to find.

Kiyaya was sitting next to Lakota with knees in her chest when he held his wrist up to his mouth. "They're rounding that hill now," he told Cherokee.

She looked at Rodencia and gave her single nod so she could prepare. Not even a minute later, they were met with three Marines trotting toward them. The one leading wore a fancy coat adored with medals. His red hair peeked from underneath a tricorn hat.

"Wow," Rodencia whispered. "They brought an Admiral to deal with us. I take that as a compliment."

Cherokee did not know what exactly an Admiral in the Navy was, but she assumed he was one of the strongest soldiers they had to offer. They kept back a little bit as they dismounted from the horses. The Admiral stood with his chest puffed out, looking down on the two women who was reportedly giving the Navy the most trouble. A stubborn Chieftain with a malevolent Paramecia Devil Fruit, and a defector possessing Conqueror's Haki.

"I hope those are the only reinforcements you have at your disposal," he told them while the other two other Marines stayed back. "That'll be the last time you undermine the Navy."

"Why are you here?" Cherokee interrogated, completely disregarding the threat.

"I came here to give you one last chance to surrender–"

"No."

"Not even going to let me finish the sentence, I see."

"We won't surrender. It's not up for debate."

He looked toward Rodencia. "And you're agreeing to this? Even when your kind is at stake?"

"Even if you-teia offered the slaves now, I don't believe you would hold up your end of the bargain," she stated. "So, yes, I stand with the Lun'aecho people."

Quintus remained silent with everyone else as he listened. He was quite impressed with Rodencia for her tact and resolve. She was the best choice for sending her to this place, and he never regretted the decision.

"Alright," the Admiral responded as if his hands were tied. "I just hope you both understand the devastation you're agreeing to. We will take this island."

The witchdoctor appeared, thumping the end of her staff against the ground once. "Then come take it," Cherokee dared him.

The Admiral saw the fire in her taupe eyes. Her face paint intensified the grimness of her stance. The majesticness of her feathery headdress was one he tried memorizing for future reference since the lines in the sand were drawn.

Rodencia barely emitted her Conqueror's Haki just so they knew she had to power to take them out now if she wanted to. The Admiral never reacted, but the two behind him started to visibly sweat and look frightened. The feeling of absolute dread seeped into their bones. They did not even know what it was they were overcome with or where it came from.

"Three nights from today," Rodencia advocated. "We will let the battle decide the fate of this island."

Although Cherokee did not know the significance of the timing, she did not oppose it. The Admiral clenched his fists. Up on the decline, Lakota held his breath. He waited for the Admiral to make a move. Luckily, he was disinterested. He and Kiyaya watched him back away and mount back on the horse to leave. Sighing with relief, he leaned against the wolf woman and updated Cherokee. "They're still alone. You're clear to come back."

Cherokee and Rodencia backed away, not turning their backs until they were gone. Kiyaya lifted Lakota to bring him back. Once everyone was regrouped, Cherokee finally asked the big question. "Why three nights from today?"

Quintus chuckled and patted Rodencia on the back. "Clever girl. It's the night of a full moon, isn't it?"

"That's right," she replied. "They don't know what that does to us. If they did, that Admiral would have never agreed to it."

Lakota leaned into Kiyaya's ear. "I didn't know the moon was important for your tribe, too."

She smiled and gently licked his cheek. "Just the full moon. It'll be our trump card in this final battle. You-teia see why."

His imagination went wild with what the possibilities could be. Her confidence was unmatched, making him content. Even with the final battle upon them, Lakota failed to feel terrified. It was not even because he would not be involved in the fighting, but because he knew on the other side of it was freedom.