Morning ca.
Leona—who, thankfully, seed to have made it through the night without nightmares—woke up looking clear-eyed and refreshed.
That said, the mont she was fully awake, she turned bright red and spent a while with her head down, unable to et my gaze.
Maybe she was embarrassed about clinging to like a spoiled child when she woke up—apparently she'd been hugging 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 elentary 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 in the eye properly until breakfast. But afterward, once she'd settled down, she seed 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 soti 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 prival 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 rember! The girl who ca all the way here just to eat dinosaur at! Long ti no see!"
Two giants—each easily over ten ters tall—bood 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 forr captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates: Red Ogre Brogy and Blue Ogre Dorry. Both infamous nas, both with bounties of 100 million Beli.
I'd t them before, back when I ca here for dinosaur at and ended up staying for a while. It had been a long ti.
…Leona looked like her brain was still rebooting, so I handled my business first.
"Long ti no see, you two! Would you mind if I stayed on the island for a while again? Oh—and this ti I've got soone with ."
"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 so. 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 ca 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. "Co on, Leona. Ti to co back. And greet them properly."
"Huh?!"
Once she'd finally rebooted, Leona sohow managed a greeting, though she was still visibly rattled, murmuring under her breath, "Gi-giants… dinosaurs…"
Whether she was terrified or simply overwheld, her behavior was definitely strange. But the giants seed 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, nad 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 hos, Leona and I hurried off to find sowhere 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 an this forest—this whole island—is crawling with those things?! Why would you pick sowhere 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 an… my thing?"
She was thinking about the last two nights—waking up, turning into a lion, and attacking .
That was part of it, sure.
But the real reason was sothing else.
"Leona. I know you've got amnesia," I said, "but before you lost your mories, you must've rembered—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 fra, she has a trained body—toned, supple muscle built for movent. Even her everyday motions have a certain efficiency, like her body rembers 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 with a blank, helpless "???"
But I had a hunch.
There's a thod people talk about—triggering dormant mories in soone 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 mories… it might awaken sothing," I said. "It might help you rember."
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 so unknown power she didn't fully understand.
Anyone would hesitate.
But when it ca to her mories… if I asked whether she wanted them back, the answer was obvious.
Because she couldn't rember, she was hungry to know what kind of person she'd been. What she'd been capable of.
After a long mont, that curiosity seed to win.
"…But will you really be okay, Mama?" she asked quietly. "You stopped yesterday and the day before like it was nothing, so you must be strong, but still…"
She hadn't actually seen fight. When she'd been berserk, she hadn't been aware of anything.
Even if soone tells you, "I handled it," it's natural to doubt it.
But still—
"No problem," I said. "This might sound blunt, but… soone like you wouldn't be a challenge."
"…!" Leona's cheeks puffed up. She shot a sulky glare.
Looks like that landed.
She didn't snap back, though. She just stared at for a mont, then steadied herself.
"…Alright," she said, eting my eyes. "I'll do it. Please… take care of ."
"Likewise," I said. "Let's enjoy camping here for a while."
Then, almost as an afterthought—
"By the way."
"?"
"I've been aning to ask… are you okay with that na? 'Leona,' I an."
"…Huh?! Y-yawn!"
Her face went bright red instantly.
Ah. So she really hadn't noticed.
Leona had been calling "Mama" this whole ti, 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 tal 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 imdiately, then decided to double-layer the outer wall just to be safe.
By the way, that triceratops beca 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! Co at from anywhere, Leona!"
"Y-yes… I'm coming! Um… eii!"
The mont she shouted, her body began to change.
It was the sa transformation she'd shown yesterday. Her hair rose like a mane—no, it beca 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 with a low growl—
…Wait. What?
"GRRRRR… GAAAHHHH—!!"
Ah.
So even when she's awake, transforming still sends her berserk.
To be continued...
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