Author's Note:
This time it's a "past arc" of sorts. The idea is that something like this actually happened behind the scenes, and this character joined the cast before anyone realized... Enjoy.
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[Third-person perspective]
This was several years ago.
Not long after Tesoro and Stella had completed Gran Tesoro.
Tesoro and Stella, along with several SP bodyguards serving as their guards, plus Baccarat and Shuraiya, had traveled together to a certain island, or rather, a certain country.
"So this is it... the former music capital, Elegia..."
"I'd heard it was a country that no longer existed, but..."
Spread before their eyes were ruins, utterly destroyed.
And this wasn't recent. The ruins had clearly been left exposed to the elements for years. Parts had weathered away, crumbling into sand.
Elegia had been destroyed nearly ten years ago. A fallen nation, in essence.
And the one who had done it was said to be one of the Four Emperors: Red-Haired Shanks. His raid had destroyed the country overnight, and most of its citizens had lost their lives in the process... or so the story went.
Anyone who knew what kind of person Red Hair truly was might have tilted their head at such an uncharacteristic incident, guessing close to the truth: 'Must be some kind of mistake,' or 'Another one of the Government's favorite cover-ups.' But those who knew the precise truth had dwindled to a mere handful in this world, the Red Hair Pirates included. And since every one of them had closed their mouths for reasons of their own, the only story that circulated was the public version: that the Red Hair Pirates were the culprits. Eventually, even the doubts faded away.
Some time ago, Tesoro and the others had caught wind of a story from a certain merchant who claimed to have heard "a beautiful singing voice" on the destroyed island of Elegia.
A voice so captivating you couldn't help but listen. Still rough around the edges, but a truly beautiful song.
Curious, they looked into it and learned that only two people currently lived on the island.
Just two: Gordon, the former King of Elegia, and a single young girl he was caring for.
Intrigued, Tesoro had taken advantage of a brief window of free time and come here today.
He'd known the merchant for years and knew the man had a discerning ear. The fact that someone like that had praised the voice so highly made Tesoro want to hear it for himself, as a fellow entertainer.
And that opportunity came sooner than expected.
The merchant had told them the "two" lived in a large mansion at the center of the island, so Tesoro and the others had been heading there to introduce themselves first. But on the way...
"Hm?"
The first to notice was Shuraiya, who had come along as a guard.
Someone was watching them. He could feel eyes on them.
Turning toward the presence his Observation Haki had picked up, he saw a small girl standing there.
On this island where visitors, let alone other people, almost never came, a large group of adults arriving suddenly in rather flashy attire would naturally draw attention. Tesoro and Stella were both dressed far more casually than their stage costumes, and Baccarat had come in personal clothes rather than her concierge uniform. Even so, they were still wearing sharply pressed suits and fine clothing, so they probably stuck out like sore thumbs. Shuraiya was well aware of that.
Sure enough, the girl with white and red hair was watching them from behind cover, peeking out with curious eyes.
Because Shuraiya had stopped and was looking off in an unexpected direction, Tesoro and the others noticed the girl a beat later.
As mentioned, only two people lived on this island. One was Gordon, the former King, who should be approaching middle age by now.
Which meant she had to be...
"Hello there. Sorry if we startled you. Are you... the Songstress of this island?"
"...! Who are you people?"
This was the moment of their fateful encounter with the girl named Uta, who would one day reign as the greatest Songstress of Gran Tesoro.
***
"I see... so you came all this way for that. As someone who looks after her, it makes me happy to hear her singing praised like that."
After Uta guided them to the mansion and they finished introductions with Gordon, its master, Tesoro's group carefully and respectfully asked about why two people were living alone in this ruined country. Gordon seemed reluctant at first but spoke nonetheless.
There were things he didn't want to discuss, or couldn't, so the account came in fragments.
Several years ago, the Red Hair Pirates had launched their raid. The country was destroyed, and only two survived: Gordon and Uta.
During that time, Uta had suffered deep emotional wounds. She was here now, slowly healing those wounds over time.
They couldn't determine exactly what had happened to cause Uta's trauma, but Gordon was clearly uncomfortable being pressed on the matter, so Tesoro and the others didn't dig any further.
Recently, time seemed to be gradually healing the wounds in her heart. Uta had slowly started smiling again and begun to sing the way she used to. The song the merchant heard was likely one she had sung during that time.
She had always loved music, always loved to sing. Gordon murmured, his voice tinged with nostalgia, that he hoped she would sing happily again, the way she once had.
After hearing everything, Tesoro and the others considered what to do next.
The original plan had been to listen to the Songstress's singing that the merchant had praised so highly, and if they sensed something special in it, to make an offer as the owner of Gran Tesoro: "Why not come work with us?"
But it seemed this Songstress still carried deep, unhealed wounds in her heart.
Her love of singing appeared genuine, but it also seemed unwise to bring up anything that might weigh on her or become a burden.
'If I could, I'd still love to hear that voice at least once... but given the circumstances, I can't push it. She loves music, and precisely because she does, I shouldn't force her to sing in a way that might cast a shadow over that love. A Songstress and her song shine brightest when she sings freely, following her own heart.'
As a top-tier entertainer who stood on stage himself and led many staff and artists, Tesoro reached that conclusion.
If he happened to hear her sing even once during their stay, that would be good enough.
On the other hand, two people in the group had taken a particular interest in the Songstress, Uta, after hearing this story. Perhaps even more so than Tesoro himself.
One was Shuraiya.
He had a younger sister of his own. The thought of a similarly small girl suffering from wounds in her heart was something he couldn't simply dismiss as someone else's problem.
When he'd been the first to notice her gaze earlier, and their eyes had met, he'd seen something in those eyes.
As if she'd been left behind by someone close, someone she'd trusted. Abandoned. He felt he'd glimpsed deep loneliness and despair there.
'I don't know the details, but... should a kid that small really have eyes like that? You don't end up like that unless something truly awful happened to you...'
And then there was the other one.
'Hmm... Uta-chan, huh.'
Beside Tesoro, wearing the same expression as always, one that held both gentleness and hidden strength, Stella smiled.
Her eyes seemed to be fixed on a certain girl who wasn't present in the room.
***
While the rare visitors were at the mansion, Uta was alone at the far edge of the island.
Even though her wounds had been gradually healing, the scars she carried in her heart were deep.
She had no reason to talk to complete strangers or face them, so she had retreated to a place where she was unlikely to run into anyone. That was her current situation.
Those people... especially the solidly built man with green hair at the center of the group, had called her a "Songstress."
It seemed they had come here because they were interested in her singing.
They'd looked like quite a flashy group. Perhaps they were a famous theater troupe or a party of musicians from somewhere. Maybe they had come to recruit her.
The version of herself from "back then" would have been overjoyed at receiving that kind of recognition, regardless of whether she actually accepted the offer.
But for the person she was now... it was only painful.
The people she wanted most in this world to hear her sing had left her behind, and she could no longer reach them with her voice.
Right now, Uta couldn't bring herself to sing for anyone, in front of anyone. Probably not even for... her "father."
And yet, just then...
~ ~ ~ (music) ~ ~ ~ (music)
"...Huh?"
A clear, beautiful singing voice reached Uta's ears from somewhere.
'Who... who's singing?'
The only people normally on this island were herself and Gordon. And that certainly wasn't Gordon's voice.
A high, female voice. Most likely one of the visitors who had come to the island today. She'd seen two women among them, so it had to be one of them.
Her guess was right. Following the sound, Uta found a single woman singing happily in the plaza.
Stella, her beautiful golden hair streaming in the gentle sea breeze.
Uta was captivated in an instant.
'She's amazing... this woman is such an incredible singer! It's like she's shining on a stage...! But...'
Even as she listened with something approaching awe, or perhaps precisely because of that, Uta simultaneously sensed something strange in the woman's singing voice.
'Why... why does she sound so sad when she sings?'
It wasn't the lyrics that were sad.
Her expression wasn't sorrowful.
Her voice wasn't trembling.
And yet, listening to that voice, Uta felt that this woman was "sad." She accepted that impression naturally and without question.
And there was one other person who understood this, aside from Uta.
Suddenly, Stella's song stopped. Her gaze turned toward Uta.
"...Missy, you really do love singing, don't you? You really love music."
"Huh?"
"You understood, didn't you? That just now... I was singing with sadness in my heart."
Being spoken to so suddenly, and realizing she'd been noticed approaching, surprised Uta. But what surprised her even more was having her inner thoughts seen through so completely.
"How did you...!?"
"You had that kind of look on your face. I hadn't let it show in my behavior at all, and yet what I was only thinking inside somehow got through to you. Song, and all art really, reflects what's in a person's heart. And I know that someone who can accurately sense and receive that is someone who loves it just as deeply, someone with the power and passion to take it in."
Listening to Stella explain this so smoothly, Uta didn't find it annoying or preachy.
If anything, she was drawn in. The idea that you could understand someone through song like this fascinated her.
She had completely forgotten that just a short while ago, she had come here specifically to avoid Stella and the others, and now she was hanging on every word.
Stella received the gaze of this girl, a tangle of curiosity and countless other emotions, with her usual kind eyes and gentle smile. She crouched down to meet Uta at eye level.
"I'm Stella. I happen to work as a Songstress at a certain place. Would you tell me your name too, little Songstress?"
"...Uta."
This encounter would dramatically change the course of her future.
But no one knew that yet.
Not Uta herself, not Stella, not Tesoro and the others, not Gordon...
...And of course, not the Literary Master she would meet several months later.
To be continued...