As he started walking into town  after having a nice interesting walk through the desert. He felt like a dehydrated husk he noticed a welcome sign saying the name of the main city of the island. he had made it back after all but his skin felt so rough adn dry "Hmm alabasta how I missed thee." He lugged his bag over his shoulder and walked slowly into town. He could hear festivities going on and with festivities there were lots and lots of people. Perhaps he could get some berri for some food after all as he felt inside his empty pockets.  His stomach growled loudly and he patted it with his right hand  after setting the violin case down. He chuckled and spoke softly to himself. "Patience my friend patience we will eat soon got to get some money first." His stomach gurgled in annoyance and returned to being silent. Zanji grabbed his case and strolled through the town peeking through various music shops windows at all the beautiful instruments. Oh this was a musician's paradise he almost never wanted to leave.

He soon found himself in a more quiet part of town and sat down by a fountain  and happily ran towards it and firmly proceeded to dunk the top half of his body. He drunk deeply from the clear pool of fountain water greedily stating his thirst and began to set up his violin. He sighed as he sat and posed and placed his bows on the strings and began to contemplate. he thought to himself 'hmm I wonder what I should play.  He smirked as a idea came instantly to his mind he muttered as he stood himself up placing his bags by his feet "yeah this seems fitting after all." He chuckled happily and slowly began to play a ballad version of a very old song that pirates sang about in the golden days it was bink's sake. he was in such a cheerful mood that he even sang along with it his voice being a gentle one sounded almost like young mans as it filled the square with his song.

"Yohohoho Yohoho~(x4) Yohohoho Yohoho~(x4)

Gather up all of crew, It's time to ship out Bink's Brew

Sea wind blows, to where who knows, the waves will be our guide

All across the oceans tide, rays of sunshine far and wide

Birds they sing, of cheerful things, and circles passing by

Bid farewell to wavers town, say so long to port renowned,

Sing a song, it won't be long, before we're casting off

Cross the golden circle seas, the salty spray puts us at ease

Day and night, to our delight, the voyage never ends



Gather up all of the crew, It's time to ship out Bink's Brew

Pirates we, eternally, are challenging the sea

With the waves to rest to our heads, ship beneath us as our beds

Hoisting high, up on the mast, our jolly roger flies

Somewhere in endless sky, stormy winds are blowing by

Waves are dancing, evening comes, It's time to sound the drums

But setting in and never fear, tomorrow's skies are always clear

So pound your feat and clap your hands, 'till sunny days return



Yohohoho Yohoho~(x4)



Gather up all of the crew, It's time to ship out Bink's brew

Wave goodbye, but don't you cry, our memories remain

Our days are but a passing dream, everlasting though they seem

Beneath the moon, we'll meet again, the wind's a lullaby



Gather up all the crew, It's time to ship out Bink's Brew

Sing a song, and play along, for all the oceans by

After all is said and done, we'll end up as skeletons

So spread your tale, from dawn 'till dusk, upon these stormy seas

Yohohoho Yohoho~(x7)"

music itself:

Today just wasn't Reina's day. Her morning was full of target practice and proper usage of the flintlock rifles marines were famous for using. She was rather furious at the random check on her. In the blues they simply let her slide since she was so fast and strong for her rank,but here in Alabasta they expected her to be Well rounded, she said outloud with air quotes accompanying her mockingly impression of the Lieutenant. She plowed through the crowds of the inner city, taking note of its fancy shops and lively atmosphere. Most of which actually got on her nerves sometimes because this was the part of town where she hardly ever really tread. Her days ever since she arrived in Alabasta were filled with rigorous marches, being yelled at and chasing two bit thieves.

While she normally would walk off the side minding the citizens as they walked along side her, today was the exception. For the past hour she was getting into various scuffles with uptight marine cadets and angry businessmen. Yes since this was the richer side of town, it also had the worst kind of people populating it. The businessman, too afraid to get their hands dirty but they would screw anyone over indirectly, destroying eachother's empires and shitting on the little guys. Reina usually tried to avoid the women and children,but these bastards? She had a special place of contempt for them in her heart and she showed it by shoving them out of the way every chance she got. Sometimes she'd pretend to trip, other times she would take advantage of the crowds and not so subtly shove several of them at once and scattered them like billiard balls.

But today, not even playing pool with retarded business men could soothe her furious heart. At first chance she got, she left the crowded music district and took a stroll through an older park within the inner city. It wasn't as artistic as some of the more popular tourist spots,but it had a quaint setting with nice patches of grass and a beautiful fountain with cleaner water than the world government's best issued bottles. Some said it was cursed,but reina didn't give much attention to such rumors. She situated herself at the fountain with slumped shoulders and an exhuasted expression.

She unstrapped her rifle and held it with both hands, starring at it for a moment, taking its features in before she began bending it. Gritting her teeth she almost started to make it splinter when the sound of a violin caught her attention. She turned about face to see a man with a violin, playing a rather soft and calming tone to it. The rhythm reminded her of the ocean when it was gentle, each stroke of the cords calmed the tempest in her mind. The man who was playing the instrument started slow,but picked the pace up and brought the song to a more cheerful tone. His high spirits were infectious, so much so that she forgot about the stupid rifle for a moment. Softly she hummed the tune as she became acclimated to it as she swayed to and fro, matching the beat of musician.

When he finished she clapped for him with a joyous smile, " That was lovely mister"!

As he played the last few chords of his violin he caught a rather unusual sight form the corner if his eye. He wsaw a women with a large rifle swaying happily to his music in synchronization.  he smiled politely and a little mischievous as he watched the marine women move with his beat. It seemed he had her under his musical spell.  after the few final notes he took a few polite bows and watched as a few passerby's threw some coins into his violin case. He graciously gave each and everyone a polite bow. "Thank you thank you all for the lovely tips, Now this next song goes out to the boys in boy that protect our seas you know them, you love them the marines!."

He cracked his neck to the sides loudly. He cleared his throat and looked over at the crowd and brought his hands behind his back.He gave ete women a polite bow of gratitude at her compliment. "There is no higher currency than receiving a compliment from a person in my profession young miss i thank you from the bottom of my heart."  He then changed his tone of voice to a somewhat mournful yet beautiful tone and began to sing. The sea watches us quietly, guiding us through our death and our birth.

From humble hometown waters, to the waves at the end of the earth.

The sea carries us carefully, through the dark of night and light of day, to the world that's just and peaceful, so that we never lose our way.

All our pain and suffering, it swallows up in its warm embrace, so knowingly and gently, washes them all away.

The sea watches us quietly, guiding us through our death and our birth.

From humble hometown waters, to the waves at the end of the earth.

All our pain and suffering, it swallows up in its warm embrace, so knowingly and gently, washes them all away.

There will come a day, I'm sure, when I must heed its solemn call, and walk side by side with my old friends,
resting in its foamy waters."

Zanjis current singing tone :

Reina looked at the rifle lying in her lap as he took a few bows, frowned at it and tossed it over her shoulder without much regard for anything. She nodded her head when he gave thanks and took out a few beli, toss it into his instrument's case and taking a seat with a few others in the park. She was one who wasn't never too fond of tables,seats and chairs of all sorts and so she naturally opts to sit on the ground. She lied her blade on the ground so it wouldn't get in the way and sat with her legs crossed(criss cross applesauce) in anticipation for his next song.

This time he sang a more melancholy tone, one which was rather familiar during her days as a girl in the north blue. Her master would always prepare tea and toast while singing this slow song. She didn't realize what the song meant at the time and in many ways had become rather numb to its tone. The words were so familiar she didn't even need to listen to a few words before realizing what song it was. Yet because she never bothered to sing it, she could only really recognize it when sung. It was an older song she was told, one which the previous generation sang a lot.

Her eyes closed and head swaying at each new verse, reflecting on each verse. " The sea huh...guiding us from our birth to our end.." she whispered to herself. " pain and sufferings...hum'bil home--ho--home town waters", a tear welling up in her eye and cascading down her cheek. She looked to the hot summer sky, both a deep blue and perpetually warm. The song reminded her of how much she missed home, the cloudy overcast and frigid cold. She sniffled as he finished his verse and tossed a few more coins in his suit case as he finished his second song.

Although she was no longer angry, she was niether happy either. Her shoulders felt heavy and mind felt hazy. For the sake of her position she did her best to conform to the standards of the grand line marines, but it just wasn't working sometimes. The song reminded her of how bittersweet being a marine was, both the opportunity and longing she had for home. She looked up at the musician once more and softly clapped for him. Her stomach in a knot, so she couldn't ask for an encore as she sniffled. " stupid marines, they don't deserve such a song".

As zanji continued singing he saw that the marine officer was once again entranced by the power of his music. She really seemed to have a good ear for music. It was such a shame that she was a marine he would of asked her to join his crew. He then saw a tear welling up inside her eye. He had felt bad it seemed he had made the women remember something sad. As he ended his song he gave a polite bow to the audience as he heard some applause and reached into his front coat pocket with his right hand.

He pulled out a handkerchief that was wrapped around his most precious treasure. A large white circular patterned dial. He was very careful not to push the button and activate it oh not yet. that would be for his final performance for the afternoon. He then began to walk towards the marine slowly a gentle smile upon his face. He smirked as he had heard her earlier comment about the marines not deserving such a song as good as that. He outstretched his hand at the women offering out his handkerchief. "Here miss please dry your eyes, it seemed I may of hit a emotional spot with you with my song I do apologize." He turned his head slightly to the side to keep a eye on his violin case. The city may be nice however there were still thieves about who would love to steal from his case. Oh but they wouldn't get very far. His left eye watched the female marine closely "if you don't mind my opinion I agree with what you said earlier about the song."

As Reina was wiping her tears with her sleeves, alternating between arms. She noticed the man walking to her in between wipes,but she couldn't stop the embarrassing tears from welling up after the song. She sniffled a few times and returned an unsteady,but gentle smile he had as he held a handkerchief out to her. One which she nodded and did not think twice about accepting it.

She sat there for a moment and wiped her eyes. She then blew her nose in it without realizing that it was his handkerchief and not hers. Embarrassed yet again, she began to backpedal a little and shoved the dirtied chief in her pocket. She took a moment to gather her composure, coughing into her hand as she routinely did in order to greet him formerly. " My name's Reina and tis okay, You don't hav'ta worry about your money. I'll stop whoever has the gaul to steel in front of meh",she said with great pride and gesturing to herself with an erect thumb.

She stared at him with a momentary look of contempt as she used her right hand to measure the distance between her head and his shoulder. Now that she got a closer look at him, she noticed he was actually super freaking tall. With the realization that he was that much taller than her, she tried to stand on her tippy toes to reduce the distance between them. Even then she could barely reach half way up his neck and not even to his chin. " Yer so freaking tall. I'm jealous hehe. Oh and I don mind none too much. Marines are retards who sometimes do things that are just as bad as the pirates they claim to be protecting people against. But at least as a pirate you can kick someone's ass when they're out of line", she trailed off and back down from her tippy toes. She scratched her chin and pensively pondered for a moment, " So where did you learn those cool songs mister"? She held her hands out and started to make them go all over the place as she spoke, " I mean it's like the marine song be very very old fashioned and folk nowadays be none too keen when it comes to older songs of that nature. N the first one really caught my attention. It sounds familiar but I can't quite figure out why it is so".

He smiled happily as the young women took the handkerchief. The white rag had his initials spelled upon it. He however was somewhat displeased as she proceeded to blow her snot filled nose onto it. However he kept his face remaining calm and gentle never ceasing it for a instant. It seemed she picked up on his concern for his violin case and spoke saying she would would stop who ever would try to steal it. He chuckled happily and placed his right hand on his stomach and gave her a gentlemanly bow after taking a step back. After all he did not wish to hit her with his tall body. " Its a pleasure to meat you Reina my name is Zenzaburou its a pleasure to meet you."

He slowly rose up from his bow and gave a genuine smile. His voice was calm and gentle as he spoke " well then i thank you for your protection of my earnings reina, I am sure the vagabonds around the area will think twice before trying to steal this mans earnings." he looked at her quizzically as she attempted to bridge the gap between his height and hers. A most unusual marine she almost reminded him of a child he once knew back home in the east blue. "haha don't be jealous reina height is a blessing and a curse if i had a berri for every time i hit my head on a low hanging banister and support bean, i would be a very rich man."

once again he laughed at her as she asked him where he had heard those songs. " Oh those songs are old classics i have heard the marines from my old town sing that old marine song hundreds of times." He paused as he caught his breath and looked at her straight in the eye "As for the very first song however that one my father would sing to meas a youth, that song can be sung in both good times and bad so it can be used for a variety of things."

Reina scratched her chin with a fire in her eyes, her focus now grabbed at his answer concerning the song. She paced a few steps forward, then a few steps back in a rhythmic fashion. " Bink's brew....hmm yo hoe--er ho ho oh"? She said, looking back at him with a curious expression. She noticed him pause and even grabbed her own gaze when the first song was mentioned. She walked to him, her held tilted as she scratched her chin, looking at his expression with the utmost curiosity. She nodded her head and continued to pace after taking a few steps back. " Yes yes nothing none too odd about that. maybe his father be a traveler or something. Perhaps a marine"?

She sharply turned her head and looked to him, her gaze now affixed on him. " Your song mentions a jolly roger. tis a metaphor or some sort of euphemism I'm not too keenly aware of"? She didn't approach him with any sort of conviction or energy. However the mere mention of jolly roger peaked her interest above all else. Most of his song was rather innocuous, perhaps even relatable. she remembered the verse concerning the crew leaving behind their loved ones and hometown. Something any sailor would be able to relate to. The mention of the sea and its salty air jived well with her. " Hmm, most of that song really resonated with me Ze-z--zzzzenzab-ar-oo? Sir, most of it was much relatable". She paced back and forth once more, this time with a rather quickened pace. Her hands spinning and flailing about as she pondered over the meaning of his first song's words. " There's something I gotta be missing. Something important, lost in translation perhaps"?

Then without much warning or indication she sat on a nearby bench and exhaled deeply. She began to practice the breathing exercises her captain had her practice every day. One where he'd smack her upside the head if she even uttered a word during meditation time. She clasped her palmed together, forming a bridge and continued to breath in and out a few more times. The tension in her fell,her arms slacked a bit but her focus on him did not falter. " Sir, a musician of your caliber wouldn't decieve me now, would you? A man of your caliber, with a voice as soothing as yours wouldn't be capable of lying, right"? She asked, her hands resting in her palms in a somewhat defeated fashion.

Zanji remained in a aloof type of body posture. The girl didn't seem all to bright yet then again she seemed to understand the meaning of the song somewhat. A women after his own heart such a shame she was a marine. Alas all the good people it seemed he had been awaited with were either marines or not interested in joining his crew. He had been having a rather large amount of rotten luck when it came to recruiting. Perhaps if he got the chance to prove himself more capable leader people would come to him. He shook his head at her question about the jolly rodger.

His smile returning to his face "Oh the jolly rodger really is quite simple it after all the song is a very old pirate song." He slowly returned to sitting back down at the fountain next to the young marine women. His tone somewhat whimsical as he spoke " well i believe that part of the song well at least to me means the pirates have great pride in there crew and the mark of the crew." He spoke honestly and truthfully after all he felt the same way about his own jolly rodger and crew.

He chuckled as she struggled to pronounce his name he raised hsi hand up and spoke . "i know my names hard to pronounce for most people so just call men zen for short its what most people do." He chuckled and watched her body language as her arms were frantically moving about. a most unusual way of speaking but then again who was he to judge. He quirked a eyebrow at the young marine as she asked him in a respectful tone if he would lie to her. "While i appreciate the compliment about my soothing voice, I am only human so i am capable of lying but i have yet to lie to you so far reina."

Reina looked toward the musician seated at the fountain with a curious expression. She did not answer right away as she now had suspicions about the man. Instead she simply examined him for any sort of tell, maybe a twitch or an abrupt change in pace as he did earlier. The bit about his father sort of peaked her interest. Although families tended to diverge from eachother's paths, fathers as marines and boys as pirates and vice versa. She was pondering these things as she eyed him closely and her expression showed this.

Yet here he was, calm as the fountain's water, constant and unchanging. " say mister zen, you say it's a symbol of pride huh? This jolly rodger...", she said with a pensive expression. " We marines have little say in what symbol we raise, as it's something decided from the moment we join the organization. United in both name and symbol, we're forced to adopt their ways and act as they deem fit for their men at the time". She sighed once more, kind of annoyed when she began to think about it.

" If I had the chance to have my own symbol, it'd probably be a giant skull with all my crew's favorite weapons inside its mouth. How cool would that be? You could only join if you loved dem weapons and shit". By this time her eyes widened a bit, realizing she began to trail off on her own one track mind and didn't wait for an answer. Her gaze averted to the ground, face slightly flushed at the realization of her own nonsensical rambling.

She turned back to the man who had indeed been truthful for the most part. There were probably omissions she thought to herself, nodding her head with her eyes closed. She reached into her pocked once more, pulling out a coin of the lowest denomination and flipped it into his case. " Tis a penny for your thoughts mister zen. I'd like to know more about your aspirations. Surely a man like you isn't simply traveling these waters just ta sing, afterall the blues are more hospitable to such pursuits". Once again pulling her legs back up into a criss crossed manner, holding them in place by grasping her boots. " If'n you don't mind spilling the beans about something like that, how about just anything. Like your dream for instance"?

Zanji cleared his throat for a moment and let out a sigh and snapped his fingers. " You know there is another meaning behind the jolly rodger, All those that sail under a jolly roger are supposed to show respect for their chosen flag and honor it always as it represents the crew itself. Once the flag is gone, the crew can no longer sail under it and therefore everything linked with the flag is gone so there fore everything the crew did with that flag will have been erased to them at least in there own opinion." he smirked at the women a little bit at her saying the marines had. " A most interesting and yet somewhat morbid saying, it makes you all sound like you become mindless automatons."

He held up his hand apologetically and bowed his head apologetically towards the young marine. "I apologize if what I just said offended you,but I was just speaking my own perspective of the truth." He gently turned over his hand revealing the snow white tone dial and opened his hand. He laughed heartily as she described her own flag and gently set the dial beside him on the fountain. "That would sound like a most terrifying jolly Rodger that is most creative of you reina, you'd probably make for a excellent pirate if you put your mind to it."

He smiled brightly his white teeth shining in the hot desert sun. He reached down and cupped his hands into the water and drank from the fountain and smacked his lips. He was relatively dry now thanks to the hot desert sun which had dried his hair and clothes in practically no time at all. "While i do appreciate the offer to join you i will have to decline I have my own symbol i wish to create and my own dreams to fulfill." He laughed as he looked at the penny and walked over to his case and picked it up along with the case and shut ti tight. " a penny for my thoughts well since you paid guess ill have to talk." He chuckled and sat back down on teh fountains edge "My Dream yes i have a drem well dreams the one I will share with you however is a simple one to be the king of the pirates. Yes i know but i am going to be the king of them because in my own opinion being the king of the pirates means having the most freedom."

Reina sat there stunned for a second,her eyes blinking rather quickly for a few seconds. She stood up and began looking to and fro to see who else was around. No one to her left, and no one to her right. Nothing flying above head and no one creeping up behind her, nor charging her from the front. She placed her hand above her eyes and looked to into the crowd, searching for anything fast approaching them. Nothing, there was nothing wrong with the immediate vicinity. No pissed off marines or creepy pirates trying to sneak up on her.

Without much regard for anything else, she started laughing. She lost her balance and fell to the hard ground, rolling back and forth two or three paces. As her laughter died, she held her stomach and looked up at the sky with a big smile on her face. " I'm terribly sorry zen but that was kinduh funny. if'n it weren't id be piss'd as hell fer yer lack of regard for my position". She sat back up and resume sitting criss crossed as she wiped the dust from her uniform. She breathed heaviliy, inflating her stomach before exhaling deeply, bending forward to push all the air out of her stomach. " I suppose we have a common purpose zen. For I in many ways aim to make this a world where all people can be free. Where we'all can free no matter what affiliation we may have"! She felt a surge of excitement thinking about what he said, throwing herself back to standing position.

She grabbed the bench by the metal foundation and began ripping it from the ground as she grimaced. " I will make sure these stupid gutless marines learn how to use their heads. So tired of watching these guys use rank to make other people's lives miserable. So tired of this fucking moral high ground they take"! Her teeth gritted, she pulled the bench even more. The metal beams began to make funny noises and the wood began to splinter. As the cement started to give away and the bolts holding down the other side of the bench were unearthed; she gave it one hard tugg to rip it off completely.

With one arm she lifted the bench above her head, with bits of cement falling onto her. " I'm going to smash the fucking marines into dust and remake them. I'm going to bring these stupid ass yonko to their knees and remake this world"! With out a second thought she swung the bench into the ground, causing and rubble to be strewn about.

"oops".

If it were not for his self restraint right now. he would of gladly pulled out his pistol and shot her dead for laughing at his dream Oh yes people always laughed at him and his dream of being the pirate king. Especially since he was a child all the other children laughed at him. This was way before he however gained a sense of self control. He would easily and non regretfully beat up on the person or persons who laughed at his dream. Now however he was much more composed he simply held onto the stone fro the fountain and counted down from ten inside his head.

He felt himself calm and opened his eyes as he saw the marine girl pulling herself up from the ground. His eyes narrowed very interested. She had brute strength that much he could tell. She would make a formidable foe should she learn the truth about his real identity. But then again she would make for a grand ally he would need to play this delicately and carefully. It also appeared that this women had a bit of a anger issue. he watched as she broke up the bench lifting it from the confines of the cement. he quickly grabbed his tone tail and covered it to his chest protectively.

This was his number one treasure in the world he did not care if he was hurt so long as the dial was intact. He looked over a t her as the ground shook from the impact. "oops you say oops, destruction of city property, not to mention the noise complaint tsk tsk you will be in trouble." he chuckled and slowly got up and held out his hand with the dial and pressed his thumb on it. the sound of a piano began to play from it along with a few other instruments. He closed his left eye and looked down at the dial and swayed slightl.y. This song was very precious to him a momentum from his mother. Then suddenly the sound of a women singing filled the air and a peaceful serene feeling filled him up inside. The song to him represented a mothers love for her child.

song from the dial

Reina slapped her own face in embarrassment, chuckling under her breath rather softly as he did as well. Although hers was laden with a nervousness and a little regret. All sorts of annoying thoughts started to stream into her head at that moment. Scratching her head she imagined what her lieutenant would say, probably something along the lines of her needing to act more lady like. He'd laugh it off and perhaps have her work with the city to pay for the repairs and have the crater filled and a new bench to be crafted with her own hands. After all Roger's motto was usually don't break things you don't intend to fix, both figuratively and literally.

The people in the crowd shy'd away from the scene, mothers,fathers and all manners of people shook their heads at the spectacle. But the only thing worse than her direct commanding officer or their scorn was, is her captain's. " capt is gonna kill me probably. I'll be running for days with no water or food",she said with a rather melancholy tone. That is, until she heard a song coming from a man's direction. One which he did not sing, nor was it an instrument she immediately recognized. It's rhythm was alien as it emanated from a small shell and a language she didn't recognize.

She stood there with a rather perplexed expression, one which fought with her and eventually turned to a calm and serene one. She fought to keep her focus on what she had done,but it all seemed to melt away, something which showed in her expression which allowed all its tension. Her forehead no longer wrinkled and body no longer trembling as its rhythm swept her up into a serene state of mind.

She turned back to him with a slightly regretful expression, leaning against the metal fram of the bench which was still in large part intact. As the song began to wind down, the wind seemed to mournfully blow and sweep up the leaves in the wind. " Well now mister zen...tis a pretty song, very soothing. Although it felt a little more regretful than the others, a bit more personal." She paused, took a deep breath to carefully consider what she was going to say, "Was she someone you knew?",she asked with a bit of hesitation. Trying to not have a repeat of blood thirst felt not more than a moment ago.