Summary: While on the way to the Whitebeard Pirates, a former ninja is asked why he let his princess go to be with unruly pirates. His answer was a bit harder to come by, but the love is there.

Inspired by a friend's drawings of Judai's original self back in Yugioh GX, and went with it to help with prepping for a writing midterm.

Themes this time are all for the former Unscatched Hero. Teardrop by BOWL, both the original song and the piano version done by Alejandro Jimenez.

Back then, everything was set. Everyone was ready to go home. Judai could feel his back ache from all the action alone, and even if his daughter was the cutest little girl he could have, her tackle-hugs could use some work.

It should've been simple. It was as simple as setting up the Hiraishin kunais and seal work for everyone to get out of this place to head back, once Tomoko-chan was safe. He was already missing Hikari, just because donning the headband again was another reminder of that old mask. That same mask he hated putting on, back then, and still now. Even if it was of his own choice, even if it meant saving his only princess, his tanto still felt heavy in his hands through all of his rage.

Whoever or whatever took Tomoko-chan away from him and Hikari was going to pay. No one made his wife cry and was going to get away with it. No one was going to get away with kidnapping his hime.

Judai was already prepared to kill.

It should've been simple. Kill any scum without so much as a fuss, clean up the mess, find his daughter, and go home. The others were all for it, if the dark looks on Kei and Kakashi's faces were any indication. If the clenching of Obito's fists were any better sign. But then they met Jack and Wendy. Compared to the other Marines that were in his way, they were honest, unwavering, and most importantly, protective of that same little girl he was looking for.

And if the previous tears in his hime's eyes were any indication, she felt the same way towards them.

"P-Please don't hurt Nii, Papa! Please!"

Judai couldn't even recall the last time Tomoko sounded so desperate, holding up her arms protectively in front of Jack when the idea of interrogations was brought up. The idea itself was originally drowned in that old rage, but the look in Tomoko's eyes made it all disappear. It made everything from his old mask disappear. The tears were indicative of any other child, but the fire in those blue eyes was a different story. From making eye-contact alone, in that very moment, Judai felt like he had gone back in time to glimpse a younger version of Hikari all over again.

It had been seven months. Seven. Whole. Months. He couldn't help but agonize back then about what happened, about where his daughter was, if she was okay. It hurt to know that he missed out on seven fucking months of his daughter's life, and all because of some dipshit taking her away when he wasn't looking. To find her again was something he would do anything for. Even if it meant going back into hell. Even if it meant killing anything and anyone that stood against him. But that look. It just took one teary-eyed look and a high-pitched plea, and then it was all gone.

The rage was all gone, and the resignation and exhaustion had come back to replace it.

His heart beat against his chest as he took a breath, twirling a kunai absently from the thoughts as he leaned back against one of the main masts holding the ship afloat with its sails. The tune in his mind was old and familiar, and he hummed to it with a tap of his foot before Jack approached him. The footfalls were obvious with how rugged they were. Today was a "he" day from the looks of it.

"Hey, Judai," Jack said coolly with a wave of his hand.

"Hey, Jack," Judai returned, stashing the kunai back into one of the many pockets on his flak jacket before opening his eyes to make eye contact. A smile comfortably slid onto his face. "What's up?"

Jack shrugged in time with his hat changing its font to a dull, "EH." With a wave of his hand, he replied, "Just thinking," before walking over to stand by Judai's right side, and Judai stepped over one pace to allow more space. "And was wondering something."

"Okay," Judai was intrigued, but hid it and went on with a nonchalant, "What's on your mind?"

"A question." Jack raised one pointer finger as he used his other to adjust his hat. The font on the hat's front changed again to a single bolded question mark to accentuate the intent. "Think I can shoot it by you?"

Judai made sure to relax his shoulders. There was no need to be so tense. Instead of answering, he said, "Before that, who's handling the ship first?"

"Wendy," Jack said dryly with a sheepish shrug. "It helps in calming her down, considering we're going to see pirates." He opened his mouth, paused, then closed it. "That's not the point. Lemme ask?"

"Go for it."

Jack sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Now I see where Tomo-chan gets her demeanor from," he muttered, just as his hat added a quiet, "YEP." Judai didn't know whether the comment was a jab or a compliment. Then again, considering his hime… it could have been both. Another pause before he crossed his arms and leaned back against one of the unoccupied sides of the mast. "Why did you let Tomo-chan go?"

That was something Judai wasn't fully expecting. Sure, that line of questioning wasn't wrong, considering Minato's own thought processes throughout this entire mission, but Jack? Judai hid his surprise with a casual incline of his head. "What do you mean by that?"

"A thought occurring, really," Jack shrugged, but his body language said otherwise. Curious and if anything, confused. The simple fact that his hat's font expanded to show a larger question mark was proof of that. "Throughout this entire trip, Minato was all about taking Tomo-chan home with you, and then when Leith showed up, you were the one to let her take the Princess along." He frowned while levelling an eye towards him with a wry smile. "Something happen? That prompted the change?"

Oh. Judai took a step forward to stand on his own, stretching. "Something like that. If you had a occurring thought, I had a realization." He looked up towards the sky, just as the sound of the sea graced his ears. The same shade of blue.

Judai already knew if he closed his eyes, he could hear his little Hime calling for him. Hell, even from the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw a small figure in a white-pink kimono dress waving at him, just a moment ago.

"Papa!"

He took a breath. It wasn't the time to reminisce. "Y'know, Jack?"

"…What is it?"

"You're the first person I've seen Tomoko-chan defend so quickly, y'know. Aside from Wendy."

The backtracking was obvious even when Judai wasn't looking, all because of the footfalls that started this conversation in the first place. This time, the footsteps were hasty and loud against the wooden deck, and Jack sputtered. "Wh-Whaaaa?" A small choking noise, and then a higher-pitched, "What do you mean by that?" followed.

Judai couldn't help but laugh loudly. Jack left himself way too open. He was almost as bad as Tomoko-chan. Hah. "I mean it, man, really." Another chuckle left his system as something warm settled into his chest at the thought. "Tomoko-chan is nice to everyone, but you and Wendy? It's the first time in years I've seen her that determined for someone outside of the family." Out of habit, he glanced past the other sail masts to glimpse the ship deck. Yet again, Obito and Kakashi had gotten into an argument, much to Kei's visible chagrin, and he shrugged his shoulders to hide a chuckle. Minato could handle them for now. "Before those ninja kids? She was never that fierce. Sweet and kind, but not that determined for someone."

"Oh," Jack said, calmer, and a few more steps sounded. Judai turned his head to catch a glimpse of that brown hair as the hat atop the Marine's head read, "HUH." He proceeded to adjust the brim of his hat to better shade himself from the sun. "Even… even back at your home?"

The doozy. Judai held back the urge to sigh. From the tone alone, even Jack noticed.

Tomoko-chan was far too kind for her own good. Too hard on herself to make everyone else feel better. Just like someone else he once knew.

It was way too ironic and foreboding for his liking.

"Back at home, she never stopped helping unless Hikari and I told her not to, Jack." The words were bitter even in the open air, and Judai took a breath. "She could've been like other kids. She could've went along and played at the playground with everyone else to have a life outside of ninja. But once she put her hands on that piano?" A soft smile was already forming on his face from the memory alone. The silly, brave little girl. His hime. Even back then. "She was all, 'I want to help Mama and Papa in the cafe!' and it was history." He paused before glancing over to meet Jack's stare with a wry smile. "Didn't she say something similar to you when she first came to you by," he raised his fingers in air quotations, "'black hole thingy'?"

The gesture made Jack tense before breaking out into a soft laugh himself, and Judai politely waited for him to calm down. "Pffff, that's true!" A second, and then Jack wiped at the corner of his eye with his sleeve. "She didn't like that I was paying for everything, and one too many drinks equaled blueberry muffins and that was it."

"That's the thing." Judai could feel his smile turn more wistful as he shrugged his shoulders. "She's so sweet like that, and because of how shitty our world is, she has to see everyone she loves get hurt one way or another. And you've seen how she doesn't care and wants to help us all anyways." It was ironic. He was the same way, and his name was still carved on the Memorial Stone. If Tomoko went away like that…

Jack's eyes widened and he opened his mouth.

Judai raised a hand of his own and shook his head, closing his eyes. The smile couldn't even be wiped away now. The honesty was bleeding through. Hikari was rubbing off on him more than he thought. "I love that little girl so much, and I don't want to see her go down a bad path. If anything, even if I want to fucking slap myself for it, I let her go because those 'bad' pirates and one 'bad' Marine or two have been teaching her a lesson we ninja have been trying to teach her for years."

Kei was still trying. Miyako had gotten through, but how long would that last?

Tomoko was stubborn. Like mother, like daughter, that girl.

Jack inhaled sharply. "Lesson? Like what?"

Judai turned to him to give a full smile. "To be more selfish. To be a kid."

Jack's eyes widened again, probably from the realization before they softened to a darker shade of brown. "Judai…"

"Sooooo, yeah." He took a few steps forward to walk away from the mast, facing the sea. Leaving the conversation like this would be way too awkward, and he was not good with awkward. "Thanks. For taking care of my hime. For letting her know she can still be a kid away from home. For letting her be herself without worrying about something else. Without worrying about the world."

Another breath, and a hand landed on his shoulder. Judai didn't have to turn around to know it was Jack's hand. "Glad I could help," he said quietly, and a smile was already in his voice. "She's helped me a lot too."

A chuckle was already leaving Judai's lips again. "She does that. She always does. Though, I guess that means I have more allies in making sure my hime doesn't burn out, huh?"

"The day she tries to save the world from burning all by herself, I'm wrapping her in bubble wrap and not letting her go anywhere," was the flat response. "She nearly got into a fight once and I'll be damned if she gets into something like that again."

A single second was all it took for the words to stick into Judai's head and not come out. He held back the urge to grab his tanto. "…That settles it. Though, Jack?"

The hand flew off his shoulder. "What?"

"What's this about about a fight?"

The Marine raised his pointer finger, paused, then lowered it, a bead of sweat sliding down his cheek. "To be fair, some of my more corrupt coworkers were being really shitty and kinda shitfaced when it happened."

"Still. What's this about a fight?"

"At least you didn't see the other guy when he called Tomo-chan a 'furry'? Leith took care of him. I took care of the others."

Crik, his composure went. Crik, crik, crik. "That's not helping, Jack."

"…"

Judai crossed his arms. "You complete jerk. Here I was trying to thank you. Now." A teasing smile replaced the grim frown on his face. "How did my daughter start loving you again?"

The unlucky Marine blinked, stared at him, then laughed, a light pink covering his cheeks. "To be honest? I have no idea. It happened?"

Hm. Judai looked Jack over before allowing himself one last laugh. Naaaaaah.

"H-Hey, what's so funny?!"

Judai shook his head.

It's obvious why she'd love you. You're honest, Jack. And you let my hime be a kid again. That's more than enough reason to love.