Disclaimer-I own nothing here except for Reia.

---Chapter Three---

Reia heard them well before she saw them. They weren't like the normal pirates at all. They came into view and Luffy was laughing while pointing at a scowling Zoro.

"Hey, she could've pulled off your straw hat too, you know," he retorted. Luffy abruptly quieted and took up a more serious mood. They reentered the port and made their way to the docks.

Reia rose and dusted off her pale-green loose pants. Her hip-length, fine black hair whipped about. Wisps of it trailed behind her as she walked towards the party. She meant to see if Chopper was with them, but it was only Luffy, Zoro, and Nami. Suddenly she had walked in front of the party.

Before she knew it, her foot gave way and the ground grew closer at a remarkable speed. Her quick reflexes kicked in and she curled up in a ball. She rolled and stood up. Her hair swirled around her. Slowly brushing her pants off with her long slender fingers, she turned and looked at the pirates.

They all had different expressions on their faces. Luffy grinned, Nami smiled in relief, and Zoro had a quizzical expression on his face. She gazed into each of their eyes for a second. Then she gave a quick wink with a smile and walked back into the crowd. Her hair trailed in the air behind her. So, no Chopper. She could do that.

As she walked away, she noticed a light weight feeling on her chest. She grabbed at her neck. She gasped. Where were her panpipes?!

----------------------------------

Nami and Luffy climbed up the rope ladder. Zoro looked back and scanned the crowd. Who was that girl, anyways? He wondered. Her eyes seemed so…empty. They were blue, but blue as in cold ice. He shook his head.

Suddenly, he spotted something lying on the ground. It was a set of panpipes, small ones. He walked over to them and took them from the ground. He held them in his hand. They barely covered it up. He shrugged and with the pipes in his hand quickly climbed the ladder. Nami was busy with a map and Luffy went inside to get a drink.

Zoro walked over to Nami's side and held out the panpipes. She looked up and frowned.

"I found these. Do you know whose it is?" he asked. She slowly shook her head, and then suddenly started to nod.

"Yeah, yeah, it was that girl's, the one that almost fell," she said absently, going back to her map. Zoro nodded slowly, then walked away and sat on the deck, looking out at the cobble-stone port. He leaned on the mast and put his hands behind his head. He suddenly noticed Chopper's pink hat bobbing in the crowd. Then he came into view, along with Sanji and Usopp. Usopp was having difficulty carrying quite a few bags of warai. The fruit sparkled in the bright sunlight.

Chopper took some bags from Usopp and made it to the deck without difficulty. Sanji took the remaining bags and also climbed up. Usopp followed, saying loudly:

"Oh, I could've carried all that; you guys didn't have to do that." Zoro grinned, and Sanji brought all the fruit into the kitchen. Suddenly, a muffled bang was heard in there, and Luffy sprinted out holding a warai fruit above his head. Sanji followed quickly.

"Luffy! Give that back! I need every single one for the dessert I'm making!" Sanji yelled. Luffy screeched to a stop. He turned around.

"Dessert?" he asked. He opened his mouth and popped the fruit in. "This is dessert. What are you talking about?" Usopp held his hands in his head.

"Luffy, don't talk with your mouth full…" he moaned. Luffy looked at Usopp.

"Shorry," Luffy replied. Nami laughed. Zoro grinned.

------------------------------------

Reia dashed frantically around the port, looking for her pipes. How could she have lost them? She ran for about three minutes before she arrived at the spot of her "fall". She tried to look past the feet of the passing people, but could barely see anything. She shook her head in frustration and resumed running at full speed when she heard a shout behind her. Turning, she saw the funny Jolly Roger and raised an eyebrow. Then her gaze focused on Zoro.

He was waving to her. Something glinted in his hand. It was her pipes! She smiled and laughed with joy and ran up to the ship and looked up at Zoro.

"Zoro, can I have my pipes back please?" she shouted to him. He stopped waving and looked at her strangely.

"How do you know my name?" he asked suspiciously. Her eyes widened and she knew she had to think up of something quick…

"I heard someone call your name over there. You're pretty famous, you know," she told him. He looked satisfied with that. Suddenly, Luffy poked his head over the edge.

"Hey, it's the girl that almost fell!" he exclaimed. She started to blush.

"Can I have my pipes back, please?" she asked again. Luffy grinned.

"You can come up here if you like," he invited her.

"Sure," she replied, and started climbing up the ladder with agility gained after so many years of climbing trees. When she reached the top, she saw Zoro by the mast, Nami over her map, and Usopp by the bow. She didn't see Chopper though, so she was safe. He had a wide grin on. Luffy popped up into her face.

"Hi! What's your name? I'm Monkey D. Luffy," he introduced with his hand held out. Reia shook it tentatively. She started to say her name, but he continued.

"You might've seen my picture on the message board. This is my crew!" He spread a hand towards the rest of the people. Nami looked up and smiled. She walked over and held out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Nami. What's your name?" she asked kindly.

"My name's Reia," she told Nami. She looked at the crew. "What brings you here to Chinshima? We're not that important…" she murmured. Nami frowned darkly.

"Luffy, the captain, poisoned our water supply on accident. It was those warai fruits. It messed up his judgment," she explained. Suddenly Chopper came out from under the deck. He was in his smaller form, and spied Reia. He gasped, then ran to the mast behind Zoro and peeked out to look at her. Reia blinked.

"And that's Chopper," Nami continued. Reia looked back at Nami.

"But wasn't he a little taller?" Reia asked. She suddenly kicked herself in the head mentally for that blunder. But Nami didn't notice.

"Yes, he ate the fruit that makes him into a human state," she explained. Reia sat down at a nearby table as Nami began to tell her their story. This was getting very interesting. She put her chin in her hands, listening intently while Nami talked.

--------------------------------------

Chopper made sure that the girl was occupied before he inched out and sat next to Zoro. Zoro was watching the two women talk. He tilted his head in Reia's direction.

"That's the girl that almost fell," Zoro explained to Chopper. "She did an amazing roll before she hit the ground." Chopper nodded and watched in silence. Zoro took out her pipes and waved it so Chopper could see.

"These are hers. Do you think she can play well?" he asked Chopper. Chopper started to shake his head.

"I don't kn----!!" He stopped midway. His blue nose started to twitch, and he sniffed the pipes. Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked Chopper.

"That smell by the water merchant?" Chopper reminded Zoro. Zoro nodded. Chopper pointed to the girl.

"That's her."