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chenziee · 1 year ago

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If I change the whole world (I can protect you)

Written for the Growing Pains anthology! It's a digital and completely free zine and you can download the whole thing here! Check it out, it came out so good ;__; Full of little traumatised OP babies!

I am so grateful I got write Uta & Luffy for this <3 I love her and I love them and in this essay, I will--

[ Read on AO3 ]

—————

“U-T-A! U-T-A! U-T-A!”

The crowds cheered, their deafening voices echoing in the backstage and shaking the whole room. The music hadn't even started and yet, the vibrations were already resonating through Uta’s body, making her heartbeat speed up as she listened to the excitement just outside.

Soon, she would be standing on the stage, facing all those people, seeing them directly for the first time; it was exciting… yet terrifying at the same time. It had been so long since she had performed in front of so many people.

Eleven years? Twelve? She wasn’t even sure anymore.

But now, she would get to do so as much as she wanted to—as much as her fans wanted her to. She loved them enough to push herself beyond her limits. To protect them, to help them escape this rotten world for just a moment longer.

—————

Uta loved Dawn Island. Out of all the temporary bases the Red Hair Pirates have made over the years, this one was definitely her favourite. It was calm, the shore was pretty, the Foosha Village was almost picturesque with its windmills and Mt. Corvo behind it, and she loved the kind tavern owner Makino. Surprisingly, the villagers were unexpectedly welcoming of the big bad pirates as well, throwing parties for them after every raid they made—to be fair, it was probably in part thanks to Shanks always giving them a part of the treasure ‘because he’s nice like that’.

Uta preferred to call it bribery but as long as it allowed them to stay there in peace, she supposed the name didn’t really matter.

The only bad part was—

“Shanks!! Let me join your crew!!”

—this brat.

“Luffy, how many times do we have to tell you no?” Uta asked, not even bothering to suppress the annoyance in her tone.

Luffy paused where he was tugging at Shanks’ arm to try and get him to pay attention; instead, he slowly turned to look at Uta. “As if I’d listen to a kid like you!” he announced, then stuck his tongue out at her.

Uta took a deep breath, counting to five before she hissed, “I don’t want to be called a kid by a baby.”

“You’re just two years older than me!” Luffy cried. Then, finally, he let go of Shanks’ arm to jump down to the floor and stride over to stand next to Uta.

Or below her, considering how tall the bar stool she was sitting on was compared to his short, child’s body.

“Yes. And that’s exactly why you are more of a baby than me,” Uta noted, her lips curling into a smirk as she looked down at Luffy. “And why you’ve lost to me 347 times.”

Luffy puffed up. “I’m the one who beat you 347 times!! Even though you keep cheating!”

“I’m a pirate. There’s no such thing as cheating.” Uta shrugged and this time, it was her turn to grin as she raised both her hands up to her face, wiggling her fingers at Luffy. “There he goes! Sore loser.”

“Uta~,” Luffy whined, glaring at her with a huge pout on his lips.

“Uta, Luffy. Don’t fight,” Makino tried to placate them but to no avail.

Luffy put one hand on his hip, pointing at Uta with the other. “Fine! I challenge you to a match!”

“So you can lose again? Sure,” Uta said casually before she easily jumped off her stool. “What are the rules?”

Luffy crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes as he hummed, his face twisting into a deep frown as he thought hard. Uta could swear there was steam rising from his head and she had to bite her cheek to keep herself from giggling at the sight.

Finally, Luffy’s eyes snapped open and his face split into a wide smile. “We’ll have a singing contest!”

Uta blinked. Did he really just—

“Is that a joke?!” Uta cried with wide eyes, staring at Luffy as if he just spoke the words that would bring down the sun upon them and destroy the world.

Actually, he might as well have.

“Shanks, did you let him drink your sake?! Or did he go insane all by himself?!” Uta accused, pointing at Luffy while she turned to her captain to demand answers.

Shanks, however, only laughed. “I can’t wait! Dibs on first row seats!”

“Hey, boss! No fair!” Roux called from the back of the tavern.

Uta clicked her tongue. “You really want him to burst your eardrums from up close?” she scoffed before turning back to Luffy. He was still standing there, positively beaming at her with a proud look in his eyes and Uta sighed. “You do realise I'm the Red Hair Pirates’ musician, right?” she asked, just to make sure Luffy didn’t hit his head and lose his memory or… something. Because this was nothing short of stupid, even for him.

“Yeah!” The idiot nodded with that annoying bright grin. “Are you scared, Uta?”

“Excuse me?” Uta’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re on, you brat.”

Taking that as a cue, the Red Hair Pirates got up as one, clearing the tavern of chairs and tables to create Uta’s very own stage. Allowing her to spread her wings, to make her stage into whatever she wished. To show everyone her world, painting the floor, walls, and ceiling with her words, building props with musical notes—creating a world for herself… and for everyone she loved.

And Uta… sang.

She sang, the words flowing out of her mouth, her chest, her heart. She sang, letting the music envelop her, to dance around her as she commanded. She sang, guiding everyone around her to join her in her world. The stage was hers and she was the stage; they were one, always would be, and she hoped that one day, she could lead everyone to this place, to show them how beautiful the world inside her songs could be.

She sang until she felt the exhaustion pulling on her and her eyelids started feeling heavy. She wanted to go on but since this was a contest… a little taste was enough to show how superior she was to—it wasn’t even enough to call Luffy an amateur. A joke, more like.

As the last note faded out and the song came to a close, Uta closed her eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath before she looked around herself to take in the faces of everyone who had watched her performance. A wide smile pulled on her lips at the sight of everyone’s dazed expressions turning into ones of excitement as they cheered loudly, a round of applause soon erupting around the tavern.

Uta giggled to herself, spreading her arms wide as she spinned around before bowing to everyone deeply.

However, the calls for an encore were cut short when Luffy jumped up, his fists raised up in the air, and he called, “My turn now!!”

Rolling her eyes, Uta backed away from the centre of the tavern to make room for the boy who was already running over to take her place, undescribable excitement in his impossibly bright grin. He took the stage and inhaled deeply.

“The islands~ in the south~ are warm~”

“Oh god,” Uta let out immediately, at the same time as her hands flew up to cover her ears and protect her from the horribly off-key screeching.

“Heads all a-swoon-swoon~”

“Make him stop!” she cried desperately.

Unfortunately, he didn’t stop as the other Red Hair Pirates simply laughed and clapped, some even slapping their knees in a fit of hysterics. Uta had no idea how they could find this… atrocity funny but she sure as hell wasn’t going to stay to try and understand it.

“They’re all fools~!”

Hands still on her ears, she bolted out of her chair and out of the tavern, running far enough to get out of earshot—and even then, she could do nothing but drop to her knees, her hands never falling to her sides; she just continued clutching at her head in a vain attempt to get rid of the dreadful echo ringing in her brain.

It was only minutes later that a large, comforting hand came to rest on her shoulder and Benn Beckman’s deep, soothing voice asked, “You okay?”

“No,” Uta replied, her fingers curling in to grab onto her two-coloured hair.

“I suppose Luffy won in a way, huh?” Benn said, barely suppressed laughter in his voice.

Uta only groaned and gripped her hair tighter.

—————

“Uta, come on! You’re gonna get lost!” Luffy called triumphantly as he charged forward, sprinting through the forest behind Foosha Village.

“Excuse me?!” Uta cried. How dare this brat suggest she’d get lost?

Gritting her teeth, Uta picked up speed. It didn't take her long to catch up to Luffy; she threw a smirk at him as she overtook him, taking his place in the lead. “Right back at you! See if you can catch me before I get to the cliff!”

“Loser has to tell everyone the winner is a better pirate!” Luffy announced.

“Sounds good to me!” Uta agreed, a new wave of determination coursing through her veins.

As she weaved her way through the trees, she stopped paying attention to her surroundings. She simply focused on her goal and on her feet, dancing over the roots and rocks as to avoid tripping and giving Luffy an advantage. She felt light, almost as if she was flying, the swishing of the wind around her headphones only enhancing the impression. A grin was pulling on her lips and she almost startled; was she… actually having fun? With Luffy?

“Uta!!”

At the alarmed shout of her name, Uta’s eyes snapped up from the ground only for her to come face to face with a man—a tall, muscular man, dirty and ugly, but carrying more weapons than any of the Red Hair Pirates ever did. Because none of them are weak enough to need ten guns and twenty knives, her mind readily supplied… but that didn’t change the fact she was 9 years old, unarmed beyond her voice with no one but Luffy to help her and she wasn’t stupid enough to think they stood a chance.

She froze, her heartbeat speeding up as her eyes went wide while she stared at the man, who she could only assume was a mountain bandit. He was staring back at her without moving—obviously just as surprised to run into two little kids as they were to run into him—and Uta prayed he would let them leave without a fuss. After all, they had nothing but their clothes on them, there was nothing to gain.

But of course, Luffy, the idiot, had to go and throw that chance out the window himself. “What do you want, bandit?!” he shouted at the man in a shaky voice. “Leave Uta alone or I’ll beat you up!!”

If Uta wasn’t so scared, she’d have groaned and face-palmed but as it was she could barely just force herself out of her stupor to move. She gulped loudly before she took a deep breath—and bolted, crossing the small distance that separated her from Luffy to catch his wrist in a vice grip.

“Run!!” she yelled while she yanked on his arm.

They didn’t make it further than a few paces before they noticed something charging at them and Uta threw herself to the side, dragging Luffy with her; just in time to avoid being run into the ground by two… children?

“Sabo, hurry up or the hag will catch us!” a boy’s voice shouted impatiently.

“I know,” another boy replied just as he slid on the ground right by Uta, missing her by apparently carefully calculated inches. “Wait, Ace! Bandit ahead!”

“Oh, you two—! I’m taking you to boss Higuma for what you did last time!” the bandit Uta and Luffy had been running from growled as he pulled one of his larger guns from behind his belt, taking aim.

And then, Uta could only watch with wide eyes as the two boys—neither much older than herself—exchanged a single glance before they moved in perfect sync, using the pipes in their hands to knock the giant man to the ground, rendering him unconscious and swiping a few knives on their way. They made it seem so easy that Uta felt like her jaw had hit the floor. She would have expected no less from her family but two young boys like this… It was almost enchanting.

“Out of the way, asshole,” the dark-haired one muttered before he took off again.

On the other hand, the blond stopped for a moment, a confident, easy smile on his lips as he glanced at the bandit… then at Luffy and Uta.

Before either of them could say or do anything, an angry female voice carried over to them. “Ace!! Get back here you shitty little brat!!”

Somehow, the boy’s smile only widened. “See ya!” he called… and then he was gone, leaving Uta to wonder to whom exactly the words were addressed.

Uta and Luffy sat there in stunned silence for a few more minutes as they gathered themselves enough to finally run away before the bandit woke up and decided he’d take his anger out on them.

By the time they made it to the shore, neither Uta nor Luffy remembered there was a race—nevermind what they were racing over. They were just glad to be out of the forest, gasping for breath, laughter on their lips from the relief that washed over them as soon as the sea came into view.

“I could have beat him too,” Luffy said defiantly after a long while of them simply lying on the grass.

Uta rolled her eyes. “Sure you could.”

“Just you watch! One day, I will be the strongest thing on this island—no, in this sea!” Luffy announced, and Uta could basically hear the pout on his lips.

With a small huff, Uta’s lips curled into a crooked smile. “And what then, Mr Strongest?”

Luffy hummed. “Then I'll become a pirate and leave this island and become the strongest!”

“Weren’t you trying to leave with us?” Uta asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, that’s what I was saying,” Luffy announced as if it were obvious and Uta…

Uta couldn’t fight back the laugh that bubbled out of her chest.

This brat just cowered and almost cried in the face of one bandit and he was already talking about becoming the strongest in the East Blue before the Red Hair Pirates left? How cute… and hilarious. How long did he think that was going to take? A week? A month? It wasn’t like they were going to stick around for ten years or more.

Suddenly, Uta stopped laughing.

They were going to leave this island for good soon, weren’t they? She should be happy about finally being rid of Luffy… But somehow…

She couldn’t even remember what life was like without his annoying laughter and stupid bright grins and cries of ‘Shanks! Lemme onto the ship!! I wanna be a pirate!!’

…actually, how did she even for a second think she was going to miss him?

“You really are a kid,” Uta said instead of voicing her thoughts.

“Hey!” Luffy cried immediately, rising on his elbows to glare down at Uta, who only stared back at him impassively until Luffy’s face twisted in frustration over her lack of reaction and he threw himself back to the ground next to her. “What about you? Don’t you want to beat all the stupid bandits up?”

“I’m a musician,” Uta replied simply. “I will use my voice, not violence like a stupid monkey.”

“Okay but is your voice going to protect you or the people you love when someone comes at you with a gun?” Luffy asked with genuine confusion.

Uta laughed, the sound a happy chime around them. She could almost see the musical notes dancing in the air. “Music is my power. I can bring a new genesis with my voice and I don’t need any help. No bandits can stand up to me.”

“And yet you ran away screaming,” Luffy piped up.

“Hey!”

—————

Uta smiled at the memory; it had been so many years and yet, she could still see the scene as if it were yesterday. She wondered—where was Luffy now? Was he still on Dawn Island? She would bet he really was the strongest one there by now.

She shook her head, trying to get rid of her thoughts. It wouldn’t do to get nostalgic now. She had a job to do, songs to sing, fans to meet. A world to change. She couldn’t get lost in the memories of her carefree childhood and long for the simpler, easier times when she had not a single worry in the world.

Taking a deep breath, Uta closed her eyes, ignoring the painful pang next to her heart.

Luffy, are you watching? Though it doesn’t really matter. Not anymore.

With a final, slow exhale, Uta opened her eyes and took a step forward, one last whisper lingering in the backstage before her singing voice drowned it out.

“A new genesis is the future.”

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