"What's your favorite color?" Lucy asked. At the end, their 'playdate' started - oddly - without complaint. Most of the time, Lucy and Sanji were talking to each other; she couldn't help but notice the restraint and sheepishness his voice held when he spoke.

A moment ago he'd been speaking openly with her, but she guessed he wasn't as confident with crowds - more specifically, his brothers. It was just as her mom said.

Lucy had enough of it and tried to involve the others. She was trying to make them get along, albeit impossible in many eyes. The blonde suggested a game and it ended in a question game. Considering they never played games that didn't involve violence, they had to settle with a game played inside and with less effort in playing it. Though, she never got any good answers and questions out of them in the game - mostly awkward, she must say.

She'd suggest games with more activity on a later date. Hopefully, it would be better.

"Favorite color?" Yonji repeated. He parted his lips to speak, but not too long after, his lips was pursed closed. Favorite color? 

The green haired boy looked around, almost resembling Sanji for a miraculous second, and he looked at Lucy with a frown. She looked at him with that smile, expecting an answer to a question he couldn't answer. He couldn't grasp without wondering: "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

Lucy stared at him as she processed. Yonji felt something unnerving. The fact that he felt it was unnerving itself. What was it? It was similar to wanting his dad's approval, but not quite. The feeling of not knowing something and having to not know what is meant by it. He felt the feeling before, yesterday.

Confusion would be the closest word to what he was experiencing. He knew there were more words to describe what he was feeling, but he didn't want to get into that.

He never felt it often, yet he noticed that it was a recent feeling. Dare he say, ever since Lucy Heartfilia's long-term visit.

The said blonde looked at him with curiosity. "What do I mean?" She repeated the question. She tilted her head to side and tilted it back. All doing so, while contemplating what she would say. "I don't understand the question too," Reiju said, earning nods from the other two, "We have never been asked that before. Is it the color we favor the most. One we prefer over others?"

"Yes, that's one way to say it." Lucy nodded, but still held up a raised eyebrow. That's a weird question. They really are different from other kids. She crossed her arms. But when I asked them to play this game they didn't know what it was either. "Uh, in that case wouldn't your favorite color be... green," a soft voice, clearly nervousness hinted in it, suggested. Everyone looked at the boy next to Lucy. 

His siblings were slightly taken aback by Sanji's sudden courage. Even more surprising, Yonji hadn't glared at him, but he did think over what his older brother - like he considered that - said. "Green?" Yonji repeated this time.

"Oh, I see. Your hair is green and your clothing too!" Lucy exclaimed, clapping her hands in excitement. She was not only happy that Sanji talked, but also to get an actual response out all of them. 

Green. Yonjo thought about it. "I guess I do like wearing things that are green." He always wore it too. "I just came to like it, I guess. Since I was always wearing it, because dad assigned it," he said, hiding the small interest he had in the conversation. He didn't expect the blonde to frown after she got her answer. He thought an answer was sufficient. "But that's forcing. Something that's not your decision, isn't it?"

He simply shrugged. Why was he the target of these confusing morals of hers! All he needed to know was how to be strong and fight. Why was it suddenly something else now? Other things he and his siblings didn't know a thing about!? This mission or whatever was hard. "Lucy-san, we never really cared for those things before, you see. So it's a bit difficult to think about for us," Reiju explained. 

The blonde looked at the three colorful haired siblings and detected complete bewilderment in their expression and body language. She felt the slightest bit guilty and sheepishly smiled. "Oh. I'm sorry for pushing you in a corner like that, Yonji-san," she apologized. 

"What? Pushing me in a corner? No way," he denied, but he knew that would be an accurate phrase to explain how he felt. Lucy laughed.

Again, it was something none of them were used to. A smile like that and a laugh like that; all of it out of pure happiness and kindness. It was so... weird. Though, they found it nice. Leaving them wondering how it would feel if they could laugh and smile like that. These things really were foreign to them. "Okay, Reiju-san. Your turn!" Lucy said, seemingly in a good mood. 

Why? I wasn't making a joke. Yonji could only stare at her with confusion.

"Sure, I've got a question for you Lucy-san."

"Okay, what is it?"

Reiju almost smirked, but she did well to hide it. "If you had to marry one of the four here, who would it be?" She asked with a smile and of course, she was generally curious too. Reiju caught the four perk up, almost flinching. The young Heartfilia blinked; she was caught off guard by the blatant question. The hidden meaning to the question. 

She guessed she only told Sanji that she knew about her father's deal.

But she couldn't gain anything from telling them and it felt awkward to say she knew. Lucy would rather not say anything. The frail blonde returned the smile the pink haired girl offered. "I don't know, really." She chuckled. "But if you had no choice to pick," Ichiji clarified. 

"If I had no choice? I would have a choice, don't you think?" She didn't answer again. 

"Lucy-san," Reiju called, significantly whining. The said girl sheepishly looked away, tints of pink coloring her cheeks. Sanji looked at her and tried reading what she was thinking. To no avail, he couldn't figure out what was holding her back from answering the question. Then again, he wouldn't be able to answer a question like that either. In conjunction, she knew about the circumstances too. The answer would be pondered about, and carefully at that. 

"Actually, a boy I consider a brother. He told me that if I ever get married, it should be with someone I love dearly. I don't understand it much, or why that was his parting words. But, I know that when I have to choose who I want to marry, I have to love him like how my dad loves my mom. That's why it's hard to answer," she spoke slowly, every word laced in something they couldn't comprehend. Sincerity. Then, there was hesitance - as if it was something she couldn't comprehend herself. 

Love? They wondered.

"Oh, okay." Are these questions not meant to answered? "Then, let me make it easier. Who's your favorite?" 

Reiju guessed the question had benefited, so she didn't ask in vain. She was sure the boys got an idea of what they were getting themselves into. And who they were dealing with: a human being with sentiments and morals. The idea would give them a better chance, she was sure. 

Somewhat.

The answer would give them encouragement too; they were waiting for an answer as well.

"I think my favorite is you!" Lucy answered cheerfully. "Me?" The pink haired child stiffly pointed a finger at herself. Her eyes widened in surprise - an understatement. In response, she got a hum and an enthusiastic nod. "You're my favorite, because we get along and I can relate better with another girl. You remind me of Michelle!"

Michelle? Me? Reiju forced a smile, "But I meant the bo- Ah, never mind."

In short, her plan backfired. "Ichiji," she called with defeat, "Your turn."

After a few rounds, they stopped playing. She managed to get to know them just a little more. Conversations would break out too in between questions, but they were short and not as intense as the previous ones.

It was close to lunch, so they ended the game. However, their first lunch together would be postponed.

Jude Heartfilia asked for his daughter's presence.

➵

Jude glanced down to have a look at his daughter. She would smile then and there; he assumed she was getting along well with Judge's children. That was good. It would mean there wouldn't be too much conflict if ever came the day she would come back to marry one of the soon-to-be young men here.

He walked at a slow pace.

Heartfilias got what they needed from other eras and had given the borders to eras. They made the rule to never interfere in the affairs of other - let's say - worlds and their rules. Yet, they had the power to do so if they wished. He always done well to convince his wife to stick to this rule, because she was too kind. Too emotional and thought too much of other worlds' wrong-doings. 

He told her to worry about her own world and it backfired on him.

Jude had a sneaking suspicion that Lucy would one day do the same. As she had the power, she would use it to meddle in different eras; her actions would be purely on emotions.

He had to do something about that.

He had to show her the rule that he tried to follow. To protect her from doing the same as her mother did and to stay out of trouble. After all, there were people after the Heartfilia's name too. An example was Judge Vinsmoke. Yes, he knew what the power hungry man was up to. He decided to ignore this, putting his wife's health first. 

"Lucy." The two were outside on a balcony. The air wasn't fresh, but it was cool. She looked up at her dad. "Yes, dad," she said.

"Take a look. Beyond. Do you know where these people are going?" He asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know."

"They are going to invade one of the separated lands here and there will be bloodshed. These are the true nature of the Vinsmoke family," Jude spoke bluntly. Then, he asked the horrified child a question. "Do you think this is wrong? Innocent people being harmed for power and status?" 

"Well, yes father! How could they-" Lucy's rant was interrupted by her father. "Lucy." His voice was stern and deep. It was scary to her.

"Our dads are alike, you know. We have the same problems more or less."

Her creased eyebrows and frown hadn't ceased. Those brown eyes of hers had widened with fear of both the future and what was before her.

"I want to get to know you, Sanji-san..."

"That is correct, but that isn't our concern. We are mere spectators in their world. We don't belong here, so we do not interfere with their problems," Jude stated and looked away. He couldn't bare looking at the girl's face. It was the same face his wife gave him when he said these exact words to her. Disgust? Not being able to believe what he was saying? Most likely it.

"But dad-"

"That is final, Lucy. We will not interfere," he raised his voice and looked at the girl, "All you have to do is choose the boy you want to marry in the future. Pick the one you can tolerate the most and that is all."

Lucy looked down. Her frown deepened and she could say nothing else. Those sombre thoughts had rushed back towards her by one interaction with one person. The day... wasn't going well as she thought, wasn't it?

"... beyond the shackles our fathers locked us in."