"Why did you have to wait until 17, dammit!" An 18 year old Uta shouted, slamming her left fist on her desk.
The room hasn't changed a bit, except for the row of pictures on Uta's walls. Fortunately for Uta, she was still taller than Luffy, but by a fraction of an inch.
"Wait a second..."
Uta shoves the newest photo close to her face, eyeing Luffy. She slammed her forehead on her desk after a careful inspection.
"And you've seen to grow stronger... sea king meat... that was you, wasn't it!?"
Gordon knocks on her opened door, politely asking what's wrong.
"Take a guess." She sighed.
"It's the boy, isn't it? Uta, maybe it's time to focus on yourself for a bit? Maybe overlook your tour for next month?" Gordon suggested.
"I'm not touring. Not until Luffy appears at least." Uta says.
"But how will anyone ever know of your existence!?
"Guess they gotta wait."
Uta rolls over her chair and stands up. She stares at Gordon, unaware of her tearyness.
"I will only sing if Luffy can hear it! Now, please exit my room, Gordon." Uta demands.
Gordon swiftly left.
"Luffy, you're killing me here! Just set sail already!" She hissed.
Uta snatches a white sketchbook from her top shelf and grabs a pencil. She gathered a pencil sharpener, a box of colored pencils, and a sharpie. On the fourty-second page of the book, Uta titles at the top, "16 - Birthday."
"I'm missing so many precious days with you! I have so many years to make up for!" Uta whines inside her head.
Uta starts to sketch the interior of Makino's bar, hitting every detail perfectly. Eventually, she drew Luffy, copying him from the photo. After an hour of detailing him ever so much, she added herself, hugging Luffy from the side and screwing with his birthday hat.
"Wait..."
Uta looks at the photo behind Luffy's back. There was a very, very familiar straw hat around his neck.
"THAT ISN'T YOURS! THAT IS SHANKS' HAT! She screeches.
"There must be a reason. Shanks would never give his hat away."
"Eh, whatever. I'm stealing that!" She giggles, adding Luffy's hat to Uta's head.
After finishing her work, she pins the picture on her wall next to the photos.
"Next year... just maybe..." Uta sighs.
Uta walks to her window, opens it, and climbs out. She lands on the grass with a small thud.
"Welp, can't let you become stronger than me!" She giggled.
She strolls around the bay, kicking at sticks and rocks. She let the warm sand sprinkle through her toes every step she took.
"Too bad I can't go for a swim. Damn devil fruit."
The waves crashed severely close to Uta's feet. She jumped away, careful not to get wet. Suddenly, something came crashing down next to Uta, scaring her. A small crater surrounded the blow.
"What the hell?"
Uta peeks over at it. It was a giant circular object, like a bowling ball.
"A cannonball? It's been forever since I've seen one of those!"
Uta looks out to sea. A small ship neared the island. The jolly rojer was of a skeleton parrot. Several men stood on the front.
"Pirates. Great." Uta groaned.
~________________________________________~
End of Chapter 8.
YOU ARE READING
Uta's Love
FanfictionThis is a prequel to my first story, "A Second Chance". It walks you through Uta's depressing time without Luffy. How she longed to see him once again, and the love that came with it. How even though he wasn't there, their bond grew stronger. All of...
