Uta's Idol.

It's BACKLIGHT!

A chapter about Uta's inspiration for her next song, which is obviously Backlight. I don't own One Piece.

Uta sits in her room humming a tune while writing on a music sheet. It's been a few weeks since Uta has seen Luffy and seeing him declare his dream made Uta realize that she needs to make something new. A new song. She can't afford to lag behind Luffy. Uta has made many cover songs, but she has never made an original song since 'I'm Invincible', which was many years ago. There were two songs that stood out to Uta. 'Where the Wind Blows', which she has only made a verse and the chorus, and another song she had come up with that only has a chorus. Uta has been inside for too long and it has been affecting her mentality.

I have to choose between the two, but what should I choose...

Knock. Knock.

"Come in!" Uta yells.

The door opens to reveal Gordon. Who walks inside and looks over Uta's shoulder.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long." Gordon said. "I was calling you for dinner."

Uta looks at the clock to see that it's past the time she usually eats.

"You should take off your headset when you're inside." Gordon suggested. "Can't hear us when you have those we try to call you."

"It helps me focus." Uta counters. "You can always knock on my door if you really need me."

"I was knocking on your door every ten minutes, Uta." Gordon said with a heavy sigh.

Uta gives Gordon a blank look and takes off her headphones in defeat. Her headset is like her lifeline to her and having them off just doesn't feel right, but having them on twenty four seven is a stretch when she thought about it. Gordon looks at Uta's crumpled up music sheets and takes one. Uta didn't mind as her mentor flattened out the piece of paper and read it.

"You seem to be on to something, but left in a rut." Gordon notices.

"You can tell by reading my failed music sheets?" Uta groans.

"They're not failed, Uta. Just music sheets." Gordon corrected. "Come down and let's eat. Perhaps putting some food in your system will do you some good."

Uta nods and follows Gordon downstairs and to the dining room. Awaiting at the table are Abell and Pitch who give Uta an concerned look.

"What?" Uta asks, slightly worried.

"Nothing." the two said in union.

Uta can tell that her friends are concerned for her well being. Uta hasn't been doing her training these days and she has gotten paler. This usually happens when she gets too focused on her music. Since Uta is considered the 'leader', when she gets into such a state, the whole party gets concerned. The girls assumed that Uta would be more chipper now that she has met Luffy, but it turned out to have the opposite effect. Seeing Luffy pursue his dreams in person made Uta believe she had to strive further. However, she has taken it a bit too far as her focus is taking too much of a toll on her. It's hard for the Section Leaders to butt in since writing music is what she should do. However, Uta has been cooped up in her room for days doing nothing but writing and humming to herself eating the bare minimum. It was concerning.

"What's for dinner?" Uta asks, breaking the tension.

Uta sees several long sandwiches and her mouth waters.

"Teriyaki chicken and udon." Gordon answers. "Chicken is your favorite meat, isn't it?"

Uta didn't hear Gordon's question and dove for the table. She grabs her utensils and takes the large plate of chicken from the center of the table. Uta stabs the chicken with her fork and eagerly puts it in her mouth. After stuffing several pieces of meat, Uta goes for her bowl of udon and uses her chopsticks to slurp down the thick noodles. After going back and forth between eating the two dishes, Uta chokes a bit so grabs her water and chugs the entire glass. Uta is surprisingly capable of eating and what's even more amazing is her metabolism. Nearly all the food she eats can easily be burned off with the amount of exercise she does. The girls envy Uta's ability to burn off calories. Still, seeing Uta eat so lively makes everyone relieved. With Uta back to life, everyone else ate peacefully as the singer downs her own food.