"Yo, awake?"
Rayleigh, whose head was wrapped in bandages, greeted Shanks the moment he jolted awake.
The burns on Shanks' body had already been treated, and his arm was wrapped in thick layers of bandages.
Shakky was slowly coming down from upstairs.
She had just arranged a place for Uta and Cain to rest.
Turning toward Shanks, she asked, "How is Uta now? Did you explain everything you needed to explain? We know the inside story, but we weren't there ourselves. We can't explain the details the way you can. Some things have to be told to her by you, her father."
Shanks looked down at his right hand, clenched it tightly, then slowly loosened his grip.
"I don't know whether Uta has forgiven me or not…"
"That child will forgive you. Probably," Rayleigh said, trying to smooth things over. "After all, we've all seen how much you care about Uta. Otherwise, you wouldn't have rushed all the way here from the sea."
Seeing that the atmosphere had become heavy, Rayleigh also told Shanks about the Memory-Memory Fruit.
"I understand what you mean, Rayleigh-san."
Shanks picked up his sword and stood.
"Hm? You're leaving already? Not staying to spend some time with them? Cain and Uta just fell asleep," Rayleigh said, trying to make him stay.
"No. Since we have a way to save Uta, I need to move faster. There are still many things I have to deal with."
A sharp glint flashed through Shanks' eyes.
'Right, Big Mom.'
Even though he knew Big Mom's side already regarded Cain as one of their own, he still had to personally go over and test ...things, just in case.
Before he left, Shakky added, "Cain made a point of telling me before he fell asleep that even if Uta forgives you, he still has to beat you up, tie you up, and hang you from a tree… Tsk, tsk. He said it's a promise between him and Uta. Even if you told her the truth, that 'lesson' is still unavoidable."
Shanks nodded and chuckled softly.
"I don't mind."
With that, he said goodbye to the two of them and turned to leave the bar.
Only after he left did Rayleigh look at Shakky and ask, "Is it really okay to put those two in the same bed?"
"Relax, relax."
Shakky nudged Rayleigh beside her and clicked her tongue.
"Didn't you see how they looked earlier? Tsk, tsk, tsk. They were even drawing threads! I'm a little jealous myself."
Rayleigh instinctively stepped back half a pace and hurriedly shook his head.
"No, no, no. These old bones of mine can't handle that kind of trouble!"
…
Cain and Uta slept deeply, and that sleep lasted two full days.
It was only when the noise from the bar downstairs reached him that Cain slowly opened his eyes.
The moment he woke up, he sensed something strange about his body and muttered inwardly.
'It's so tight. What's going on? And why does it feel like something is poking my back?'
As an extremely normal, mentally healthy young man, no one could possibly endure having something poke them in the back.
But what left Cain most helpless was that the person poking his back was "himself."
He turned his head and saw Uta hugging him tightly from behind, her chin resting against the top of his head.
Her breathing was steady, clearly still asleep.
"Forget it. Let's just keep sleeping."
Cain forced himself to ignore the discomfort behind him and closed his eyes again.
...
It was not until that evening that the two of them finally recovered their energy.
Uta did not bring up Shanks or Elegia, and seeing that, Cain did not ask too much either.
He thought it might be better to take Uta out for a walk, maybe wander around the streets and let her relax.
And then—
"Miss Uta is here!"
"Uta-sama!"
"Pink Cain, stop right there! Put Uta-sama down!"
A burst of shouting came from behind them, and a crowd quickly chased after them.
Cain covered his blushing face with both hands while Uta carried him in her arms, fleeing in a panic.
"Being too famous really isn't a good thing, huh? Uta, how do you usually deal with this?"
Hearing that, Uta teased him, "Normally, I wouldn't run. I'd warmly welcome every listener, of course. But right now, I'm not the songstress Uta. I'm Cain, who belongs only to you, and I just want to have a proper day out with my Uta."
"Where did you learn lines like that? Even as a grown man, I felt my heart skip a little."
Cain peeked through the gaps between his fingers and asked Uta.
"Hehe. Self-taught."
Uta winked playfully and picked up speed, rushing straight into the amusement park ahead.
"Phew… finally shook them off."
Cain collapsed onto a bench inside the amusement park, his chest rising and falling slightly.
In order to protect "Uta's" identity as a songstress, he had no choice but to continue maintaining a feminine image.
The tips of his ears were still faintly red.
Beside him, Uta stretched lazily and openly.
As she moved Cain's original body, the lines of his physique looked clean and sharp, though there was still a faintly childlike dejection in her movements.
She looked around at the facilities that were gradually falling silent and said regretfully,
"What a shame, we're too late. The sky's already dark, and so many rides have stopped."
Cain followed her gaze and looked over.
Not far away, the Ferris wheel was still slowly turning. Warm yellow light glowed from its cabins, standing out beautifully in the night.
He softly suggested, "Why don't we go over there? The Ferris wheel."
"Okay!"
Uta's eyes lit up, instantly sweeping away her earlier disappointment.
"I heard that's a sacred place for couples. Something very magical happens when it reaches the highest point."
Cain remembered those legends about Ferris wheels and said gently,
"According to the legend, lovers who kiss when the Ferris wheel reaches its highest point will stay together forever, and their love will be eternal."
"Eh! Then let's go, let's go!"
Without another word, Uta bent down and picked Cain up by the waist.
Using Cain's tall, upright body to carry her own smaller body made for a strange picture, but there was an indescribable intimacy to it.
Her steps were light as she ran straight toward the slowly turning Ferris wheel.
The cabin door closed gently, shutting out the noise of the outside world.
As the Ferris wheel slowly rose, the lights outside gradually spread into a river of stars.
A subtle, ambiguous atmosphere quietly filled the narrow space.
Yet both of them felt awkward.
Without prior agreement, they sat apart from each other and turned their heads toward the windows on opposite sides.
Even their ears quietly grew warm.
Uta felt as if a little deer were wildly crashing around inside her chest. Her fingers unconsciously picked at the edge of the seat.
'What do I do, what do I do… I was the one taking the initiative before, but now that it's so quiet, suddenly this feels so embarrassing…'
Cain's heartbeat was also absurdly fast.
Looking at "his own face" across from him, his mind was a mess.
'I clearly wanted something to happen. We even got into the Ferris wheel. But looking at this familiar face still feels weird no matter what… Although this body is Uta's, the soul inside is me! And the opposite is the same! How am I supposed to kiss like this? This is way too strange… No, no, no. What I love is Uta's soul. I can definitely do this. We already kissed before…'
"Um…"
They spoke at almost the same time.
Their voices overlapped, and they both suddenly turned their heads.
The cabin had just risen into the air. Warm yellow light fell across their faces, outlining their features softly.
In the end, Cain was the first to gather his courage.
Using "Uta's" delicate body, he stood and walked step by step toward "himself," then knelt on one knee before her.
Even though Uta was using Cain's own body, Cain could still see her clear soul through the eyes looking back at him.
"Uta, I'm sorry."
His voice was gentle, carrying guilt and solemnity.
"After what happened in Elegia, I went to find Shanks. More than once, I also wanted to go find you. But slowly, I realized there are many things we can't do just because we want to."
"I was too weak back then."
He lowered his eyelashes, his voice full of regret.
"Later, after I met Ace and Sabo, one thing after another happened. Only then did I understand that when you don't have enough strength, charging ahead blindly only hurts more people."
"After that, I followed Grandpa into the Marines and trained for three years. It wasn't until I ate that fruit that I finally had the courage to stand in front of you again."
"I'm sorry for making you wait so long."
"Cain…"
Uta looked at "her own" face and listened to Cain's sincere words. Her eyes grew faintly red.
She reached out and gently touched his cheek.
What her fingertips touched was her own familiar skin, but what she felt was a burning, sincere heart.
"Cain, you don't need to apologize. The fact that you found me and saved me from the abyss is already the happiest thing in my life."
Cain raised his eyes.
Her figure was reflected in his gaze. His voice trembled slightly, but it was incomparably firm.
"So, Uta, are you willing to be with me?"
"Mm."
Uta nodded heavily, tears shining in her eyes, yet her smile was brighter than anything.
"I am."
At that moment, every awkward feeling caused by the body swap disappeared like smoke.
In each other's eyes, they saw their truest selves.
The cabin had just reached the highest point of the Ferris wheel. Outside the window, the night view glittered like a woven tapestry of stars.
Looking at themselves reflected in each other's eyes, what they saw was the most sincere love.
Their breaths mingled.
Their lips slowly drew closer, carrying a careful tenderness, and at last, they embraced and kissed.
The moment their lips parted, the Ferris wheel began to descend slowly.
Warmth still lingered against their lips, and they looked at each other with soft smiles, their eyes filled with tenderness that would not fade.
Just then, two arguing voices suddenly came from above, breaking the quiet inside the cabin.
"Bastard, this is a couples' cabin! Don't crowd in here with me! If other people misunderstand this old man, that would be terrible!"
"I clearly found this angle first! You just stole it from me! Move aside! Only from this angle can we see them clearly! Don't forget, I'm your superior!"
"So what if you're my superior? You still can't beat this old man!"
"You bastard…!"
The tenderness on Cain and Uta's faces instantly froze.
Their pupils shrank sharply, and the breaths that had just been mingling together abruptly stopped.
The two of them stiffly raised their heads.
Through the transparent ceiling of the cabin, they saw two familiar and utterly ridiculous faces.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku's nose was smashed hard against the glass, his features crumpled together, yet his eyes remained fixed straight on them.
Garp had one hand pushing against Sengoku's head, while his other hand clung to the edge of the cabin.
His face was full of stubborn indignation.
The two of them shoved at each other, completely unaware that they had disturbed the young couple below.
"W-Why are you two here?!"