Morning came.
Leona—who, thankfully, seemed to have made it through the night without nightmares—woke up looking clear-eyed and refreshed.
That said, the moment she was fully awake, she turned bright red and spent a while with her head down, unable to meet my gaze.
Maybe she was embarrassed about clinging to me like a spoiled child when she woke up—apparently she'd been hugging me in her sleep, not just the other way around. Or maybe it was the drowsy "Mom…" she'd let slip right after waking. Or both.
Honestly, setting aside the half-asleep slip of the tongue, she's still a kid—and we're both girls—so there's no need to make such a big deal out of it.
…Though, yeah. If she's around late elementary to middle school age, falling asleep pressed against "Mom" and even hugging her would probably feel mortifying once you're fully conscious. Even if we're both girls.
Leona couldn't look me in the eye properly until breakfast. But afterward, once she'd settled down, she seemed to return to her usual self.
After we ate, we left the island and headed back out to sea.
I used my power to drive the ship forward, and by sometime after noon we reached our next destination—the place I'd originally planned to stay for a while with Leona.
Little Garden.
"..."
Oh, she's stunned. She's really stunned.
A primeval jungle teeming with life. Dinosaurs roaming through the green. And maybe even—
"Gabababababa! Who's this? That white-haired runt from back then!"
"Gegyagyagyagya! I remember! The girl who came all the way here just to eat dinosaur meat! Long time no see!"
Two giants—each easily over ten meters tall—boomed with laughter.
Anyone who knows the original story would recognize them at a glance. The two Giant Tribe warriors of Little Garden, still locked in a duel that had raged for more than a century.
The former captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates: Red Ogre Brogy and Blue Ogre Dorry. Both infamous names, both with bounties of 100 million Beli.
I'd met them before, back when I came here for dinosaur meat and ended up staying for a while. It had been a long time.
…Leona looked like her brain was still rebooting, so I handled my business first.
"Long time no see, you two! Would you mind if I stayed on the island for a while again? Oh—and this time I've got someone with me."
"No problem," Dorry said easily. "It's not like this island belongs to us. If you've got the strength to survive here, you can do as you please."
"Indeed," Brogy agreed. "Just don't get in the way of our duel. Now, daughter… I've got another thing to ask you."
"No problem. I brought some. Here—heave-ho!"
I hopped off the ship and pulled out a huge barrel of sake from Enigma, setting it down with a heavy thump.
Both giants lit up instantly.
"Gegyagyagyagya! You came prepared!"
"I heard it's your favorite," I said. "Thought it would make a good gift. There are six barrels total, so take three each."
"Gabababababa! Perfect! Looks like tonight might actually be a good night!"
"Alright then, I'll take my leave for a while. I'll find a spot where we won't interfere with your duel," I said, turning. "Come on, Leona. Time to come back. And greet them properly."
"Huh?!"
Once she'd finally rebooted, Leona somehow managed a greeting, though she was still visibly rattled, murmuring under her breath, "Gi-giants… dinosaurs…"
Whether she was terrified or simply overwhelmed, her behavior was definitely strange. But the giants seemed used to reactions like that from "little humans" and didn't mind.
Just then—
BOOM.
A thunderous explosion rolled across the island.
Middle Mountain—the volcano at the center of Little Garden, named by the two giants themselves—had erupted.
The daily eruption.
Their signal.
Since they planned to continue their duel after hauling the sake back to their homes, Leona and I hurried off to find somewhere to stay.
"W-wait, wait, Mama! Here?! We're going to live here?!"
"Yeah. I've been saying that."
"But… this place—wasn't that giant dinosaur just earlier?! That huge two-legged lizard! Does that mean this forest—this whole island—is crawling with those things?! Why would you pick somewhere this dangerous on purpose…?"
"Well, it is risky," I admitted. "But we can make as much noise as we want without bothering anyone. There's food everywhere too, so it's easy to live. Bit hot, though."
"Make noise…?" Leona's expression tightened, suddenly apologetic. "You mean… my thing?"
She was thinking about the last two nights—waking up, turning into a lion, and attacking me.
That was part of it, sure.
But the real reason was something else.
"Leona. I know you've got amnesia," I said, "but before you lost your memories, you must've remembered—no, recognized—your Devil Fruit power, right? And I think you probably used it to fight. Or at least to cause trouble."
"Huh?"
I'd realized it yesterday, when I held Leona in my arms through the night.
The way her body felt… and the glimpse I'd gotten while wiping away her morning sweat, after she'd changed clothes.
She's thin now, but she's not frail.
Under that slender frame, she has a trained body—toned, supple muscle built for movement. Even her everyday motions have a certain efficiency, like her body remembers discipline even if her mind doesn't.
Of course, saying all that to her right now would only confuse her. She'd just stare at me with a blank, helpless "???"
But I had a hunch.
There's a method people talk about—triggering dormant memories in someone with amnesia by recreating situations tied to their past.
It's a classic trope, sure, but it exists for a reason.
So I wanted to try it.
In other words, I wanted to provoke Leona into rampaging.
A real rampage. No restraint.
Here, on Little Garden.
And I'd be the one to face her.
"If you used your power in battle before you lost your memories… it might awaken something," I said. "It might help you remember."
Leona went still, thinking hard.
This island is frightening even when you're just visiting. Living here is outright dangerous. And now I was asking her to fight using some unknown power she didn't fully understand.
Anyone would hesitate.
But when it came to her memories… if I asked whether she wanted them back, the answer was obvious.
Because she couldn't remember, she was hungry to know what kind of person she'd been. What she'd been capable of.
After a long moment, that curiosity seemed to win.
"…But will you really be okay, Mama?" she asked quietly. "You stopped me yesterday and the day before like it was nothing, so you must be strong, but still…"
She hadn't actually seen me fight. When she'd been berserk, she hadn't been aware of anything.
Even if someone tells you, "I handled it," it's natural to doubt it.
But still—
"No problem," I said. "This might sound blunt, but… someone like you wouldn't be a challenge."
"…!" Leona's cheeks puffed up. She shot me a sulky glare.
Looks like that landed.
She didn't snap back, though. She just stared at me for a moment, then steadied herself.
"…Alright," she said, meeting my eyes. "I'll do it. Please… take care of me."
"Likewise," I said. "Let's enjoy camping here for a while."
Then, almost as an afterthought—
"By the way."
"?"
"I've been meaning to ask… are you okay with that name? 'Leona,' I mean."
"…Huh?! Y-yawn!"
Her face went bright red instantly.
Ah. So she really hadn't noticed.
Leona had been calling me "Mama" this whole time, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Unconsciously.
Honestly, I didn't mind. It wasn't unpleasant.
Once you pass thirty, you stop getting hung up on that kind of thing.
☆☆☆
We found a moderately open area and set up our cardboard house.
Since it would be our base for a while, I didn't use just cardboard. I mixed in stone and metal and reinforced it until it was closer to iron than paper.
That way, even if a dinosaur tried to bite through it or smash into it while we slept, we'd be fine.
And I'm not just saying that.
Right after we finished building, a triceratops charged full speed—
CLANG!
—and bounced off, stumbling back.
…Though the wall was dented, and there was even a hole. I patched it immediately, then decided to double-layer the outer wall just to be safe.
By the way, that triceratops became lunch.
It's my favorite dinosaur.
As food, of course.
After eating, I decided to burn off the calories with a bit of exercise.
So, without hesitation—
"Alright! Come at me from anywhere, Leona!"
"Y-yes… I'm coming! Um… eii!"
The moment she shouted, her body began to change.
It was the same transformation she'd shown me yesterday. Her hair rose like a mane—no, it became one, thickening and spreading as it grew.
Steel-colored fur spilled over her skin. She dropped to all fours, bared her fangs, and glared at me with a low growl—
…Wait. What?
"GRRRRR… GAAAHHHH—!!"
Ah.
So even when she's awake, transforming still sends her berserk.
To be continued...