"Hello? Hello… Ah, the call dropped. Well, I guess that's enough for now."
Cain had only gotten halfway through explaining what happened with Ace when the connection to Garp suddenly cut out. He sighed, tucked the Den Den Mushi back into his clothes, then turned around and swept Uta into his arms.
"Well then, from here on out, the rest of the day belongs to us."
"W-Wait, Cain! You're not planning to jump down from here, are you?"
Uta immediately wrapped both arms around his neck, clearly alarmed by how casually he had picked her up on the roof.
"Of course I am. It's the fastest way down."
Uta blinked, then slowly smiled.
"In that case, there's somewhere I've been wanting to visit with you."
"Lead the way."
…
"…Uta, this is the place?"
Cain stood in the doorway and stared at the artist inside, who was currently bent over a stack of sketches.
His expression grew increasingly strange.
"This looks suspiciously like the Flower Capital's version of a police office. I know they don't call it that, but this guy is obviously the one who draws wanted posters and suspect portraits."
Cain could even see the old portrait Yamato had commissioned when she was searching for Garp.
"Well, yes, but that's not the point."
Uta tugged excitedly on his sleeve and led him farther inside.
"This artist is really good, and everything is done with a brush."
She looked up at Cain with bright eyes.
"Let's have our portraits done again."
Cain could hardly refuse when she looked that enthusiastic, so he obediently sat down while the artist prepared the paper and ink.
He behaved himself for all of five seconds.
Then a stupid idea entered his head.
Cain leaned his head backward, tucked his chin as hard as possible, and somehow forced three layers of chin into existence. Combined with the grotesque expression he made with the rest of his face, he suddenly looked like someone being violently possessed by an evil spirit.
Uta burst out laughing.
"Pfft! Cain, what kind of face is that?!"
Cain returned his face to normal and grinned at her.
"I just thought drawing the same normal expression would be boring. Why don't you try it too?"
"No way!"
Uta immediately shook her head.
"Absolutely not! That's hideous!"
"Come on, just once."
"No!"
The result was exactly what Cain should have expected.
Several minutes later, he stood there holding a finished portrait with a dead expression.
The painting showed him with three chins, bulging eyes, and the exact horrifying expression he had made as a joke. It looked less like a formal portrait and more like photographic evidence of demonic possession.
"Why am I the only one who got painted like this?!"
Uta, meanwhile, held two perfectly beautiful portraits of herself against her chest and hummed happily.
"That's what you get for messing around. You made such an unforgettable face that the artist obviously had to preserve it."
She gave Cain a cheerful shove.
"Come on, stop sulking and put it away. We've still got more places to go."
"Yeah, yeah. Coming."
Cain stuffed the ugly portrait into his pocket and hurried after her.
He had absolutely no idea that the ridiculous picture he had casually shoved away would eventually bring him a level of regret he couldn't yet imagine.
…
"Cain, what do you think of this one?"
"Looks great. Buy it."
"And this?"
"Tastes good. Buy it."
Uta moved from stall to stall with a spring in her step while Cain followed behind carrying bags in both hands, two boxes balanced against his chest, and several more purchases hanging from his arms.
After running from one side of the street to the other trying to keep up with her, he finally let out a breath.
"Shopping really is something women are naturally better at."
"Don't say that."
Uta looked back at him with an amused smile.
"Not everything I bought today is for me. Quite a lot of it is actually for you."
"For me?"
Cain immediately became suspicious.
Uta only winked.
"You'll find out tonight."
By the time afternoon arrived, Uta stretched both arms above her head and let out a satisfied cry.
"Ahhh, that was great! I think I bought everything I wanted, and I finally got to enjoy myself properly."
She glanced around the busy streets.
"It's still a shame there isn't one of those fireworks festivals you talked about. Though it looks like all the merchants around here are preparing for something."
Cain remembered what he had seen the day before.
"Ace mentioned that Yamato only informed the samurai about the decisive battle with Kaido. The ordinary residents of the Flower Capital still haven't been told."
"To keep people from noticing how tense everything is, apparently they're holding a huge banquet tonight."
He smiled.
"So we might actually get fireworks after all."
"Really? Then I'm definitely looking forward to tonight."
Uta stretched again before tugging at the collar of her clothes.
"Though I'm completely sweaty after walking around all day. Another bath would be nice."
Then she suddenly narrowed her eyes toward the distance.
"Huh? Cain, look over there. Isn't that the old woman from the bathhouse?"
Cain poked his head out from behind the mountain of packages.
The bathhouse proprietress was carrying a large bundle while repeatedly glancing over her shoulder, moving suspiciously toward the hill behind the building.
Naturally, Cain and Uta became curious.
They quietly followed.
The woman eventually reached a deep well behind the hot spring, peered down into it, then emptied the entire contents of her bundle straight inside.
After tossing the empty cloth aside—
she jumped in too.
"Someone jumped into the well!"
"Quick!"
Cain and Uta immediately rushed over.
They leaned over the edge, only to discover that the well was completely dry.
The proprietress was crouched safely at the bottom, carefully stacking the books she had just thrown down.
With sunlight filtering from above, Cain and Uta could clearly make out the covers.
Both immediately turned red.
…
"Cain-sama, please spare me!"
Once they pulled her back up, the proprietress immediately dropped into a full dogeza, pressing her forehead firmly against the ground.
She didn't dare look up as she confessed everything.
Ever since Shogun Yamato had spent an entire night reading those forbidden illustrated books, the old woman had been terrified that someone might eventually trace them back to her bathhouse.
She had wanted to move the collection somewhere even more hidden.
After thinking it over, she decided an abandoned dry well in the hills was probably the safest place.
So she had waited until the quiet afternoon and secretly begun relocating everything.
Cain stood beside the well with the last traces of embarrassment still on his face.
He remembered Yamato being diagnosed with "mental exhaustion" two days earlier, then looked down at the trembling proprietress and sighed.
"So that's what happened."
"You can get up. There's no need to be this frightened."
Cain rubbed his forehead.
"If anything… Yamato probably owes you a thank-you."
"Exactly."
Uta had already crouched beside the collection and casually opened one of the books.
She studied an illustration, dragged a finger thoughtfully across the page, then pursed her lips.
"Looks like I should buy some whips and candles."
She paused.
"Actually… would Seastone versions be better? Cain's ridiculously tough, after all."
"H-Hey! Uta, don't—"
Cain watched her turn page after page.
His initial alarm slowly transformed into resignation.
"…Yeah. These definitely need to be destroyed."
Uta immediately hugged the book protectively against her chest.
"Come on, Cain. I was joking."
She smiled.
"Besides, these are the proprietress's treasured collection. It would be cruel to destroy all her hard work."
Still holding the book, Uta stood and turned toward the old woman, who had yet to rise from her dogeza.
"We've been walking around all day, and I'm getting tired."
She smiled sweetly.
"Could you arrange a private bath for us?"
"And afterward, a room where nobody will disturb us?"
The proprietress slowly raised her head.
She looked at Uta.
Then at Cain.
Understanding immediately dawned in her eyes.
Without asking another question, she sprang to her feet, dusted the dirt from her knees, and hurried away to make the arrangements.
…
"Ahhh… finally."
Uta leaned comfortably against the edge of the hot spring.
"This time I'm not dizzy at all. I can actually enjoy the bath properly."
She relaxed into the warm water and naturally shifted closer to Cain.
"Yeah. Last time was pretty dangerous."
Cain smiled.
"You had me pinned underwater by myself. I almost ran out of air."
"Oh, stop bringing that up. It was an accident."
Uta pushed his face away with one hand, the flush across her cheeks no longer entirely caused by the heat.
They continued talking quietly.
Nothing important.
Just memories.
Old jokes.
Small moments from their travels that only the two of them remembered.
Neither brought up Kaido, Shanks, the Marines, or anything else waiting outside.
For once, neither wanted the rest of the world intruding on the time they had together.
Nearly an hour passed before sunset gradually dyed the bathing area gold.
Steam drifted above the water in shimmering waves, while the only sound around them was the gentle lapping of water against stone.
When the moment felt right, Uta leaned closer and kissed Cain first.
The kiss was slow and affectionate, lingering without any urgency.
Just as she had promised earlier—
Cain had to finish their day together before he was allowed to kiss her.
And for once, both of them had actually kept the agreement.
Cain slipped an arm around her waist and instinctively tried pulling her closer, only for Uta to catch his hand and retreat slightly.
"No."
Cain stared at her.
"…Why?"
The disappointment in his voice made Uta laugh.
"Because we'd make a mess of the hot spring."
"The proprietress has been really nice to us. I don't want to create extra work for her."
She climbed out of the water and tightened her towel around herself before glancing back over one shoulder.
"Besides…"
"That falls under tonight's reward."
"So just follow me and you'll understand."
Cain watched as Uta quickly dried herself, crouched beside the pile of packages they had bought earlier, then gathered several of them and hurried barefoot upstairs.
Cain followed.
He had barely reached the door of the private room when Uta's urgent voice came from inside.
"Wait! Don't come in yet!"
"You're only allowed in when I tell you."
The door slid shut in his face.
The soundproofing was apparently excellent, because Cain couldn't hear a single thing happening inside.
After what felt like a surprisingly long wait, the door finally opened a narrow crack.
Uta's voice drifted through.
"Okay."
"You can come in now."
Cain slid the door open.
Then stopped.
He rubbed his eyes once, convinced he had somehow started seeing things.
There wasn't just one Uta inside.
There were seven or eight of them scattered around the room, each wearing a different outfit they had bought throughout the day.
All of them looked toward Cain with matching smiles.
"…Clones?"
"That's right."
One Uta reached out, pulled him inside, and slid the door closed behind him.
"Tonight's reward starts now."
The smallest of the group was dressed as the little ninja Uta from earlier. She immediately clung to Cain's leg, looked up with an overly serious expression, and clasped her hands together.
"Master, please teach this humble ninja your secret techniques."
Another Uta wore the elaborate outfit of a geisha. She leaned against Cain's chest and traced one finger lightly along his clothes.
"My dear customer, I normally only sell my performances, never myself…"
Her voice became mournfully dramatic.
"But my poor father has lost an arm and has no work, while Mother has only just brought another member into the family. We can barely afford to eat, so I have no choice…"
A taller Uta dressed like an idealized traditional wife stepped behind Cain and wrapped him warmly in her arms.
"Tomorrow will be such a difficult day at work, anata."
She leaned toward his ear.
"Why don't you let your wife help you get comfortable?"
Those three were merely the ones talking.
Several more Utas were waiting around the room in other outfits, each doing her best to tease him in her own way.
Cain stood motionless.
Something in his brain had apparently stopped functioning.
So this was the surprise Uta had been preparing all day.
Seeing him completely overwhelmed, one of the Utas spoke in a reassuring voice.
"You don't have to feel strange about it, Cain."
"They're all me."
"Our consciousness is connected. Every single one of us is still Uta."
Her smile softened.
"I prepared all of this just for you tonight."
"That's right, Master!"
The ninja Uta nodded enthusiastically from below.
Cain opened his mouth.
"This…"
Nothing else came out.
The situation was far more intense than anything he had imagined when Uta first mentioned a reward.
"What are you waiting for?"
A short-haired, tomboyish Uta stepped forward and grabbed Cain by the collar.
"If you can't even handle all of us, how do you expect to defeat Kaido tomorrow?"
The others immediately joined in around her.
"Come on."
"Don't keep us waiting."
"Be gentle with your customer."
"Hey, it's my turn first."
"No fighting. There's plenty of time."
Whatever remained of Cain's ability to think rationally finally gave up.
He allowed himself to disappear into the ridiculous, affectionate fantasy Uta had created for him.
…
Outside, the banquet had already begun.
Lanterns illuminated the streets of the Flower Capital, music and laughter filling the night as people celebrated without knowing that a decisive battle waited just beyond the horizon.
Then the first firework climbed into the sky and burst into brilliant color.
A second followed.
Then a third.
Inside the private room, however, Cain and the many Utas were far too occupied with their own celebration to pay much attention to what was happening outside.
Every now and then, their scattered voices escaped into the room.
"That's only one of us!"
"Master, I'm next, right?"
"Customer, you haven't even—"
"Hey, it was supposed to be my turn!"
"Relax, relax. Nobody needs to rush."
Then one Uta suddenly remembered the fireworks.
"Wait, they started already! Should we open the window and watch?"
Another immediately protested.
"Looking outside dressed like this?! Absolutely not!"
"We'll have another banquet after Kaido is defeated anyway."
"Then forget the fireworks!"
Somewhere far beyond the room, Tot Musica shuddered for reasons it could not possibly understand.
'Stop! Stop whatever you're doing!'
'I don't know what's happening, but I have this horrible feeling my power is being used for something extremely strange!'