It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another.

But above all, try something.

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

Minette was having the feast of her life, though she did feel bad. As she ate the fruit she couldn't help but think of if that man really deserved to be pinned to the wall. Her first initial fear of the blond man was that he had done something bad in her sleep; but she had no proof of this. The only thing she could find was a bittersweet attempt at healing her wounded feet. He had brought her back to reality from a seemingly unwakeable dream. He had fed her the most heavenly food she has ever tasted. He was kind enough to request only the oranges back and nothing else that she had taken.

Perhaps, Minette thought, I have made a mistake.

Yes, he may have bathed her, but should she really find that so odd? She was a stranger boarding his ship, covered in mud, leaves in her messy hair, and dried blood on her tattered clothes. No, he hadn't done anything wrong, he was just trying to help.

Feeling guilty, Minette stared down at the half eaten orange in her hands. She had eaten everything else but the oranges because of how hard it was to peel; but now, looking at it, she didn't want to eat any of them. The blond man only seemed to care about the oranges…

Stuffing the rest of the orange in her pocket with the other four she had taken, she made her way down the tall tree. She was careful not to drop any of the delicious fruits or misplace a foot on a branch and brushed herself off once her bare feet were back on solid ground. She was not far from the ship. When she ran with the food she was afraid of going too far and being found by something else, so passing a few trees, she was out of the dense forest and graced with the presence of the joyce ship.

As she walked forwards, she dared not step on anything that would make a sound in fear that the blond man's friends have returned and she kept that quiet pace as she boarded the ship, quickly walked across the deck - feeling extremely exposed from the lack of trees and hiding places - and slowly opened the door the blond man was kept in.

Peeking in, she saw the man was still stuck in the spot she last saw him. She watched for a moment as he tried reaching his right foot towards the dinning table, trying to knock over the now empty bow that once held the fruits Minette has selfishly taken. Why the blond man found salvation in the bow was beyond her, but she mustn't dwell on the thought any further. She needed to correct the wrong she has committed.

Quietly stepping in, the door made a silent click as it shut behind her, making the blond man's head snap up and his eyes seemed to widen upon looking at her apologetic, concerned, and sheepish face.

Minette's heart was beating wildly in her chest, threatening to jump out of her ribcage. She was so nervous. This was the first time since Shi died that she ever tempted to talk to another person. She was always afraid of being heard by something hunting her.

Her hair still tied in the two buns as her hands were fidgeting in the long sleeves of the grey hoodie in front of her chest, the blond man couldn't help but chuckle despite his situation. With the cigarette hanging from his mouth, he said, "What's a little mouse like you doing on a ship like this? I thought you'd be far away from these docs as possible."

Minette ignored his comparision of her to a mouse and couldn't help but think about how this place, this spot right here, was probably the safest place in the whole world. Why would she want to run away?

Hesitantly, she walked away from the door and stood before the stuck blond man. She looked down to her lumpy hoodie pocket and reached in to retrieve the four whole oranges and the half eaten one. She held them in her dainty hands and glanced up at the man. His face held confusion as he looked at the oranges then at the girl.

Stuttering she said, "S-Sorry." Quickly she glanced back down at the oranges before trying to find a place to put them. Without making a sound, she turned around and placed them on the dining table before walking out, across the deck and off the ship. She climbed the same tree she ate the fruit in, but higher until she could see the ship.

Yes, Minette thought, this was perhaps the safest place for me to be.

The chef, Sanji, was stunned. Not only was he pinned to a wall and stolen from in a matter of minutes, but the same little girl to do it had returned what he had asked for. His first assumption of the girl was fragile, easily breakable; but he was wrong. She had excellent marksmanship and a fighting style all of her own. Yes, she was frail, but she could defend herself. She may be a mouse but even the cutest of mice bite and scratch. And when he caught her stealing food from him, he thought nothing of it. She was probably hungry and scared; two variables he knew all too well of. But just as he thought she would never return, she came back, returned the oranges and apologized in the sweetest, most softest voice he has ever heard. For what exactly she was apologizing for was a question he had no answer to, but now, still stuck and alone with his racing thoughts, he couldn't help but want to see her again. To make sure that she was alright, eating well, and sleeping soundly in this supposedly deserted island.

The door to the kitchen brought his thoughts away from him as it opened. He was half expecting to see the girl but it was the women he desired the most. Nami came into the room, a worried look graced her face as she rushed her words, "Sanji, the little girl is missing-!" only to stop herself as she fully took in Sanji's vulnerable state. Instantly at a loss for words.

Sighing, Sanji hung his head and looked to the floor, "I know." He couldn't believe how unmasculine he was about to sound after confessing who had done this to him.

"W-What happened," Nami stammered, frozen in the doorway. "Where's the… Where did she go?"

Sanji could see the tears starting to weld in Nami's hazel eyes, could see the pain as Nami started to think the worst; that other pirates had found the ship, took the girl and in the fight to defend her, Sanji was knifed to the wall.

"Nami, before you jump to any assumptions, the girl woke up a few hours later while you were starting the chart on the island. I don't know how, but she was the one to put me here."

"What? H-How is that even possible?"

"I don't know."

"What-?... How-?... Did she steal anything?"

"The fruits that were on the table."

Glancing towards the table, Nami found everything gone except for the oranges. Pointing to the half eaten one, she said, "Why didn't she finish?"

"I don't know, but after a few minutes of being off of the ship and eating the fruit somewhere, she came back and returned the oranges, said sorry, then left again."

At a loss for words, everything was quiet. Both mulling over the situation and how to get the chef off of the wall without ripping his clothes when the kitchen door suddenly burst open with Luffy, Ussop, and Zoro marching in, only to stop upon seeing the situation before them.

The silence was deafening until Ussop suddenly pointed at the pair and started yelling, "You're going to ruin the food if you do that kind of thing in here!"

"WHAT?!" Sanji yelled back, "This isn't some type of sexual scenario!"

"Then, what is happening here?" Luffy asked, confusion written all over his face as Zoro examined the knives.

"Who ever threw them was strong. A little more than half of the blade is imbedded into the wall," Zoro stated before tugging at the knife handle and pulling it from the wall.

"There's someone that powerful on this island?!" Ussop screamed, hands on his head as he tried to keep it somewhat together.

"No," Nami sighed, "At least when we saw her she didn't look like she was."

"She?" Luffy questioned. The sound of the second knife being pulled from the wall by Zoro created a hollow dunk before Nami continued.

"A little girl too. Sanji found her by the trees, fed her, then brought her a board to disinfect some gashes on her feet. I was in the charting room when I found Sanji like this."

"We found nothing on our walk. Just a bit of village ruins, but no people. It's deserted," Zoro commented.

"But if the island is deserted," Ussop said, "then why is she still here? Was she left behind?"

"No," Luffy answered. "Something else is on this island that isn't just the little girl."

"How can you tell?" Nami asked.

"I don't know, but something about this island is off. A full village just doesn't disappear or sail away without a child. Something isn't right."

"Then what should we do?" Sanji asked.

"We can't do anything."

"What?!" The chef yelled. "We can't just leave her here either!"

"The cook's right. We can't leave knowing she's all by herself on this island," Zoro sighed. He couldn't argue with the chef on that.

"Then we'll stay until Nami's chart is finished. If we can't find her or she doesn't come out by then, then we have no other reason to stay if she doesn't want to be found."

As everyone grew quiet, Ussop left to work on his targeting, Zoro left to nap on the deck, and Nami went back to charting while Luffy gave Sanji company as he watched the chef cook.

"Hey, Sanji," Luffy said.

"Yeah?"

"How did she get two knifes if you were against that wall?" he asked, pointing to the wall to the right of the doorway. It was an odd angle to throw a knife but the girl did it.

"She got the first knife from the counter."

"And the second?"

"...I threw it at her and she caught it before throwing it back."

Luffy started at the two slits in the wall with amazement. The fact that the small girl was able to take down one of the crew's strongest fighters was something to get excited about. And he suddenly grew anxious to meet her and ask her to join them on their adventure to find the One Piece.