Omake: Way less sad

by Arakiisjogenius

"We have to get autographs from Uta!"

"I don't know who that is."

"Me neither."

Harumeg gasped. "What?! How do you not know who Uta is? She's the biggest idol ever! Everyone listens to her songs."

"Well, Wano is really isolationist and my dad was a bastard..."

"I've been on the run as long as I can remember..."

Harumeg looked chastened. "I'm sorry... Uta streams her songs over the Den Den Mushis, she's incredibly famous."
She suddenly brightened, "Do you think you could get us autographs Izuku? You're super famous yourself!"

"I'm infamous Harumeg. For kidnapping young women. I don't think she would li-" "Hello!"

A cheerful young voice cut him off. All three turned to see a young lady with white and red hair walking towards them.

Uta poured Izuku a cup of tea as Harumeg sipped her own.

"I don't really get visitors around here. The calm belt deters most people. Where is your ship anyway? I didn't see one anywhere."

Harumeg lit up and silently gestured for Izuku to show her.

Izuku shook his head.

Harumeg pulled her bangs back to give him puppy dog eyes.

Izuku managed to crumble while floating up into the air.

"Woah! You can float?"

"Yes."

"And you just flew over the calm belt?"

"Yeah, we've been island hopping for a bit, we started in the New World."

Uta's eyes sparkled. "Wow~"

"Hey, Uta? Can I ask you something? Why do you live all the way out here in Elegia?"

Uta frowned for the first time since the others arrived. She looked away.

"I don't want to talk about it," Uta quickly changed the topic. "How did you three start traveling together?"

"Well, my mama wanted me to marry Izuku to form an alliance. We were discussing the details when she went on a rampage and Izuku flew away with me on his back."

Uta perked in interest. "You two are engaged?"

Harumeg nodded gleefully. "Izuku agreed that he would marry me when I turned eighteen. We get to spend four years getting to know each other first!"

Izuku sweatdropped. He had to agree, he didn't think he would get off that island otherwise. Damn near everything was a loyal servant and some of her brothers were scary. It was fun floating with Dolce and Dragee, though. When he had been seen with Harumeg, the press instantly saw it as another kidnapping so Big Mom had to pass it off as kidnapping in order to avoid angering Kaido. For now.

"Izuku helped me escape from my dad. He's... a monster."

Uta's eyes became sad and she turned to look in the distance. "I think I know the feeling..."

Harumeg had tears in her eyes while Yamato sneered in rage. Izuku was dangerously quiet.

Without a word, Izuku reached over and took the sobbing Uta's hand into his own.

"That's just..." He paused to contain himself. "Uta, I swear to you that he won't get away with this. Not just the destruction of Elegia, but how he hurt you."

"He means it you know?! My dad's an emperor too, and Izuku already promised to beat the crap out of him for everything he's done to me and Wano!"

Uta sobbed once again. "W-w-why would you?"

"Because you deserve better."

Uta fully broke down and wrapped her arms around Izuku.

"Let it all out, Uta."

Uta cried long and hard into Izuku's shoulder. Yamato wrapped them both in a hug while Harumeg patted her shoulder and looked thoughtful.

"Is it really okay for you to come with us like this Uta? We're kinda infamous right now."

Uta smiled from behind her mask as Harumeg talked quietly into a tone dial that she would play for her sisters later.

"I have had to leave Elegia before you know. People will just think we're some no-name crew because of the matching outfits."

Uta, Izuku, Yamato, and Harumeg were all dressed in baggy hoodies of various colors, baggy pants, sunglasses, and surgical masks. Yamato and Harumeg still stood out slightly due to their height, but they really didn't garner much attention. Weirder people come through all the time.

Yamato looked at a sound in the distance. "Is that a festival?"

"That's a fair, it's a smaller kind of festival."

"Ooh, let's go! I rarely got to enjoy myself back in Wano, I never fit in with the beast pirates."

Uta smiled behind her mask, "That sounds lovely."

"Haha!" Yamato cheered from the side as Izuku and Uta rode on the rollercoaster together. Uta held on to Izuku's arm during the drop.

Yamato, Harumeg, and Uta tried different foods. Yamato got cotton candy, Harumeg got tornado fries, and Uta had popcorn. None of them noticed the small crowd of men that seemed to focus on them.

Izuku did.

"Narikabura!" Yamato yelled as she blasted a group of delinquents away. The strike destroyed the chin of one of their larger members.

"Izuku I'm scared!" Uta screamed as Harumeg kicked one man in a leather jacket into his friends. Uta's mask had been torn away and her hoodie had been stretched where the men had tried to grab it.

"These guys are too numerous and organized for this to be spontaneous. They must have noticed you coming here before!"

Uta's eyes widened further.

"Girls! Form up!" Izuku yelled as he pulled Uta into his side. Yamato and Harumeg did so and were quickly embraced by Black Whip. Izuku batted away the rest of the hooligans with the tendrils before Izuku took off into the air with the girls.

"Come on Uta. We'll take you home."

"Izuku... Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Anything."

"Uta! You can't!"

"Gordon, please," Uta replied with tears in her eyes. "I-I'm not happy here."

Uta looked down at her lap. Yamato glanced at her sadly while Izuku and Harumeg placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I haven't been happy for a very long time. I love you. You've been my caretaker for eight years now and you've done a great job, but... but... *hic* I-"

Uta screamed.

"I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!"

Tears fell freely from Uta's eyes.

"I'm miserable! It's not just what those bastards tried to do today. I've been miserable ever since my stupid dad left! Every day I sing and dance, none of it actually makes me happy!"

Uta looked down again and her voice became much quieter. "I'm... really not happy here. But," Uta gulped, her throat dry.

"I had fun today. Izuku, Harumeg, Yamato made me happy today. They helped me realize that I wasn't happy here. I..." Her fingers clenched on her legs. "I want to get out. I want to hang with my new friends. I feel like I'm going to break if I have to stay here. And now, with what happened today, I don't even feel safe here anymore."

Silence reigned.

A tear rolled down Gordon's cheek.

"I know that I'll have a target on my back, but it looks like one is already there. And at least this way, I can enjoy myself again, as I did back then."

'The view up here is amazing' Uta thought as she clung to Izuku's back. The wind rushed through her hair and rustled the feathers on her wings.

Uta looked down at Harumeg and Yamato. The former's bangs had been blown back by the wind, revealing bright eyes that shone in wonder.

"You know Uta, we'll have to keep island hopping like this often."

"I hope so!"

'I don't know when I'll be truly happy again.' A laugh erupted from Uta's mouth, 'but I'm way less sad!'

This is how Uta came to travel with and trust Izuku