"I'm sorry Daddy," blubbered Judge as the tears ran down his face.
"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Niji who was sitting across from him.
"I'm sorry Daddy," he blubbered again.
Reiju knew exactly what he was talking about. She thought back to that moment. It was about four years ago when she felt someone sit on her bed. She woke up and saw her father sitting on her bed. He was giving her a little smile in fact it was very similar to the ones Sanji used to give. However what surprised her most was that he wasn't wearing his helmet. His eyebrows were just as curly as hers. "Father," she whispered.
Another surprising thing he did was giggle, "Thanks for letting me go, Mama. Is Daddy gone?"
"Yes?" she answered confused. "Where's your helmet?"
He seemed to get scared when she mentioned his helmet. "I hate that thing it's too tight. Also it's ugly and mean."He started to get closer to her still smiling. She noticed that his eyes were closed. Then he jumped off the bed and ran out the door. Then he ran back again impatiently, "Come on Mama, let's go play."
She then realized that he was sleepwalking, so she decided to play along with him. "Okay Okay Fa-Judge," she said as she got up and put on her robe.
"Come on, let's play before Daddy gets back," said Judge. They left her room. As they got closer to her brothers rooms Father started to tiptoe. Then Judge put a finger to his lips, "Shhh, this is where the monsters sleep.
Reiju was confused, "Monsters?" she asked in a whisper.
"Yeah Mama they're really scary. Walk quietly so we don't wake them."
"Okay." She was a bit surprised to hear her father say that about her brothers. In his waking mind they were his greatest creation. "What makes them so scary?" she asked.
"They don't play nice with number three," he quickly whispered.
She lifted up an eyebrow, "Oh that does make them scary." That was the first nice thing she had ever heard him say about Sanji. She wanted to say something more but that might wake him up and he would be angry. She quietly followed him down the hallway.
"Yeah," he said. Once they got passed Yonji's door he started running and giggling again. "Come on Mama we're so close to the outside. They made it to the back doors. Father moved the latch. He then grabbed her hand. Then he took her outside.
"What do you want to play, Judge?" she asked.
"Knights and Dragon," he answered.
"Do you want me to be the dragon?"
"Nu-hu you're going to be the beautiful princess that I rescue."
Is the dragon grandfather? Reiju thought to herself as she walked to the rock. "Ready Judge?" she asked sweetly.
He had grabbed one of the old wooden swords, "Uh huh!" He then started to charge at an invisible dragon. "En garede foul beast."
Reiju started to laugh as her father charged at the dragon. Then suddenly he started to falter. Then he was down on the ground. She walked towards him. She was surprised to see that he was crying. This was the first time she saw her father cry. She knelt down and whispered, "What's wrong , Fa-Judge?"
He suddenly became a mixture of her father and the little boy she was playing with. "I can't save you or anything." He put his arm over his eyes.
"Father?"
"Daddy's right I'm a failure. I can't do anything right."
She didn't know what to say.
"But I'm going to prove him wrong by restoring Germa to its former glory."
Then his eyes opened up and he saw his daughter, "Oh Reiju why are we outside? Also where's my helmet?"
Reiju blinked back to the present where Charlotte Perospero was laughing at her father.