It was pretty much what I expected, but sure enough, falling asleep pulled me into the Uta World.
Doesn't matter if it's nighttime or a nap. I got a little drowsy after lunch, borrowed a sofa to lie down on, and this is what happened.
The same isolated island as yesterday... most likely, this island is Elegia. Dragged here again, chased by that Monster once more: the Demon King Totto Musica.
Same as yesterday, carrying Uta-chan while watching out for incoming attacks and debris from the Shockwaves.
On top of that, the thing's face seemed... the grin seemed deeper than yesterday.
Was it just my imagination, or was it actually finding joy in chasing us around and frightening us?
'The latter being a real possibility makes it all the worse... And maybe it's just me, but the attacks feel less intense than yesterday. Is it deliberately holding back, not really attacking, letting us run on purpose?'
I mean, that does help, technically. Fighting is tough while carrying Uta-chan.
Luckily, I remembered where I'd found that Sheet Music-patterned Anywhere Door yesterday, so I headed there by the shortest route, but...
"Ngh... I knew it, it's gone!"
At the exact spot where the door had definitely been yesterday, there was nothing.
Did that guy destroy it or make it vanish so we couldn't escape? The Uta World is supposed to be Uta-chan's domain as the Ability User, and yet... being the Song Demon King, maybe it can interfere to some degree?
Or maybe... like a game or something, the map randomizes each time and the exit is in a different location?
Ugh... that's plausible.
Annoying as it would be, if that's the pattern, it at least means there's an exit somewhere. So honestly, I'd almost prefer that. It means we can escape if we search hard enough.
While I was busy thinking about all that, Tot Musica caught up!
For now, just keep running and searching! Search!
"I... I'm sorry, Sue-san... it's because of me, after all... it's my fault...!"
"Look, I said this yesterday too, but going on about that right now doesn't help anything, so stop! Including what happened at Elegia, none of it is your fault, Uta-chan! It's not like you did any of it on purpose..."
"But... but because I sang, Elegia, everyone... and Shanks got blamed for it...!"
"Including all of that, you're not at fault! I mean, if it had been one hundred percent a disaster caused purely by your Powers, that'd be one thing, but your singing was just the trigger. The real cause was that Special Grade Cursed Object!"
If anything, I think Gordon-san's failure to properly manage the thing is more of a problem. Seriously.
He knew it was a Cursed Object and kept it anyway. He should've disposed of it immediately, or at least sealed it away far more securely.
Well, okay, I get that at the time of the Elegia incident it couldn't be helped. But keeping the Sheet Music around for reasons like 'as someone involved in music,' and as a result, here I am, caught up in all of this.
"And one more thing: Shanks, who told them 'blame everything on us' back then, absolutely does not think badly of you! Otherwise, no matter how much of a man he is, he wouldn't have taken on false charges and dragged his entire Pirate Crew into it! So Uta-chan, you can't talk about yourself that way! I'm not saying don't reflect on it, and I'm not saying don't feel bad, but you must not think thoughts that deny yourself or treat yourself carelessly or with contempt!"
"That's... I mean... but... but, I...!"
"No buts! No demos, no trial versions! Parents, you know, they always want their children to be happy, and they'll do anything to make that happen! They'll endure pain and fear for that, and even if their child hates them, even if they can never see them again, they're totally fine! ...Okay, sorry, that was a little bit of a lie. They're not totally fine. If it happened to me, I'd probably cry... But I mean, I think I'd tough it out, barely..."
Sorry about trailing off like that. But I think that's honestly how it'd go.
If something like what happened with Uta-chan happened to me, and I had to say goodbye to Suzu, Leona, Alice, or Iris, or Snow to protect them, or if they ended up hating me... if that happened... oh no, just imagining it is making me want to cry. No way. I'd fight it with everything I had.
...But if it truly, truly came down to it, with no other way out, then... I'd probably endure it.
It'd be agonizing enough to kill me, but still, if they could be happy... that's what I'd think.
You know the proverb "a parent's heart, unknown to the child"? Lately, I don't think it's necessarily just about the child being selfish or foolish... Parents sometimes do things like that for their children's sake.
When it really matters most, parents often hide the most important things from their kids. It's terrible, really.
But, you know. That's just how parents are.
"..."
Hearing all of that, Uta-chan... said nothing. She went quiet.
But it wasn't the sulking kind of silence. Rather... right now, she seemed to be... in the midst of despair and dejection... desperately searching for hope and courage.
Through Observation Haki, I could sense her will, like someone parting the dark to frantically search for light. This surely wasn't my imagination.
"...Sue-san."
"Hm?"
"I... I told you before, didn't I? That I'd definitely meet Shanks again. That I'd meet him again, and by then... I'd become an even more amazing Songstress than before, and show him what I'm made of."
"...Yeah, you did say that."
"...There's one more thing I want to do now."
"Oh? What's that?"
"Kick him. With a running start, a full-force dropkick."
Oh, going straight for the feet?
I'd expected maybe she'd yell at him for lying and leaving, or maybe throw a punch or an open-handed slap at most, but she's going with feet? And a flying two-footed dropkick at that.
"When I found out... that during the Elegia incident, they were protecting me... I know it's inappropriate, but I felt just a tiny bit happy. Because I understood that Shanks and the others didn't abandon me because they wanted to."
But, she continued.
"Even so, leaving without telling me anything... that's still terrible, right? It means they thought I couldn't handle it... and okay, when I was little, I probably couldn't have, and even now I'm being crushed by the guilt... but still!"
"!"
A sudden volume spike. The sharpness rang in my ears and startled me.
Oh, by the way, I'm currently carrying Uta-chan in a fireman's carry.
Sorry if pressing against your stomach hurts, but this is the most stable way to carry someone one-handed.
"Even so! I'm... I'm his daughter! I was the musician of the Red Hair Pirates! Even if it hurt... even if it was sad, even if it was painful... I wanted to be with Shanks, and with everyone...! Even if it caused more trouble, even if it made everything a tangled mess...!"
"I wanted them to stay with me... I wanted us to get through it together...!"
...Her voice sounded incredibly serious, like she was wringing every word from the very bottom of her heart.
This wasn't a mere Temper Tantrum or selfishness. This was... a child's absolute, full-force demand hurled at a parent, from the depths of their soul. Probably.
And receiving something like this... yeah, that's a parent's duty. No question about it.
'The proverb "a parent's heart, unknown to the child" certainly exists, but just as often, "a child's heart, unknown to the parent" happens too... In fact, in most cases, these two come as a set.'
I glanced back over my shoulder for just a moment, and Uta-chan was crying, tears streaming down her face...
But at the same time, her eyes were... unmistakably ablaze.
...As expected of Shanks's daughter and Luffy's childhood friend. She could make eyes like that too.
In my Experience, anyone with eyes like those is strong. And terrifying.
'Well, I don't know when that'll be, but... when the time comes, Shanks is going to have his hands full... That's the price for neglecting your daughter during her adolescence, so he'd better take it head-on! Sorry, but when that time comes, I'm taking her side... Hm?'
Right in the middle of that thought, something occurred to me.
For a little while now... there hadn't been any attacks from Tot Musica?
Just a few dozen seconds ago, the thing had been smashing through the town with explosive enthusiasm, making it hard to even hold a conversation, but... when I flicked my eyes over...
The Demon King was there, grin unchanged from before, simply following and staring at us without swinging its arms.
Those eyes, too... it wasn't glaring or looking down on us. More like... observing?
The being's very existence radiated malice and an aura of Evil, yet from its gaze, I sensed nothing.
...Wait, what was this? What was going on? What just happened? This was so sudden, I couldn't understan
"Sue-san, put me down! I'm done running, I'll fight too! If this is the Uta World, I can fight... and if I'm going to face Shanks, I can't be running from the Demon King either! So..."
"Oh, sorry Uta-chan, no can do, we're done for today! I found the door!"
"Wha !? Hey, wait!? The timing !?"
Carrying Uta-chan on my back as she let out a scream (?) heavy on comedic energy, something like 'I just worked up my resolve and everything!?', I charged at the Anywhere Door that had appeared before me with either perfect or terrible timing, kicking it open and diving through...
And for some reason, the Demon King simply watched us go, doing nothing...
"...Good morning, Uta-chan."
"...Good morning, Sue-san."
Even accounting for just having woken up, Uta-chan's expression was decidedly unfriendly, eyes half-lidded in a magnificent glare aimed right at me, clearly with a lot she wanted to say. Together, we got up.
...Yeah, um... sorry about cutting things off right when you'd made up your mind.
But hey, look, we'll probably end up there again tonight... if you want to fight, you can do it then, right?
...I said I'm sorry. My bad.
To be continued...