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Reiji likes to think his only sister wasn’t useless, even if the rest of his family insisted so.
He and his brothers listen as her soft, timed, almost silent footsteps. If he wasn’t enhanced, and she wasn’t wearing heels, he probably wouldn’t be able to hear her at all.
Judge sits at the head of the table, and his brothers and he sit straight in their chairs, not eating until Sanju gets there.
The doors open, and in steps the women who reminds him so of his mother. Their hair is parted the same way, but her eyes are a deeper, ocean blue instead of their mother’s sky blue.
A servant girl, behind her, leads her to the chair directly opposite Judge, and she sits gently, offering the woman a soft smile and a thank you.
Her smile vanishes as her eyes land on Judge, and while she doesn’t glare, her eyes are blank in a way that sends chills up Reiji’s spine.
With a bark of ‘Serve us!’, the servants rush to plate food in front of the family, and immediately, they all dig in. Except for Sanju, who takes her time and inspects it carefully.
Reiji can’t help but notice the rings on her hands. On her right, a silver ring with a Jolly Roger carved into it—a duck with a chef’s hat and cutlery as the ‘bones’ behind it. On her left, an obviously hand carved, delicately detailed ring, that when Reiji peers close enough, says ‘For the Ocean, from the Earth’. Romantic.
Niji immediately sets on complaining to a particularly nervous servant girl, Cosette if he was right, while Reiji watches disapprovingly. Ichiji is as impassive as ever, and Yonji continues to eat because it’s Yonji.
Niji, he can tell, is about to bark out something about getting a new meal when Sanju’s soft voice cuts through the air.
”Cosette-chan.”
The entire family’s attention snaps to their only woman—Odd, she’s twenty-one now. Reiji remembers when she was a tiny little girl in a pretty yellow dress.—as her one visible eye trains onto the brunette servant.
”Y-yes, Sanju-sama?!” Cosette squeaks, shaking and holding her serving plate to her chest.
Sanju’s shacklesbracelets ding as she moves, loose on her thin wrists, and holds her hand over her mouth to giggle, cheeks pink. “Please, call me Sonya. I prefer the name.”
Her one blue eyes sweeps over the room, but no one says a word, and she seems content to turn back to Cosette.
”How was this made?”
The servant girl panics, rushing to the blonde’s side and reaching for her still mostly full plate. Sanju-Sonya, blocks her readily.
”Is it not to your liking, Sonya-sama?! I can get you another plate!”
Sonya chuckles, still blocking Cosette’s attempts for her plate. “No, no, Cosette-chan, it’s alright. And I would only ask for another plate when this one is finished.”
Sonya finally pushes the plate to her other side, leaving it out of reach of Cosette.
Reiji slows down his own eating, eyes trained on Sonya as he smacks Yonji to catch the youngest’s attention. The green-haired man looks up from his plate, and his eyes track over their two other brothers, before it lands on the two women.
”Might I recommend, Cosette-chan, could you pass along to the chefs that they might need to hydrate the steak more? And, it’s much easier for gravy to smoothen out when whisked counter-clockwise instead?”
Cosette blinks, and nods to Sonya. “A-alright, Sonya-sama.”
Sonya tilts her head and smiled at her, perfectly red painted lips pulled into a tight, polite smile.
”Sanju.”
Judge’s voice carved through the air, and everyone in the room stiffens very quickly. Sonya’s hands curl together, in her lap as her one eye snaps to their father, the light immediately draining out of her kind eyes.
”I’ve heard news of your crew.”
Sonya’s shoulders draw up defensively, but she goes back to eating as her eyes train on Judge even more intently.
”What of them?” Her voice lost it’s kindness, now hard.
”They’re on their way. You are required to make them leave.”
The blonde woman tilts her head. She waved a hand to dismiss Cosette, who leaves the room quickly. Niji sips from his drink, eyes trained on his would’ve been partner-sister.
Sonya’s eye goes distant, and she seems to be remembering something.
Reiji, vaguely, remembers something about war on the World Government. The burning of the flag for the crew’s Archaeologist, Nico Robin. Where Sonya and her crew attacked Enies Lobby and declared war for him.
”…No.”
”No?” The surprise in Yonji’s voice is evident. Ichiji tenses minutely, and Niji’s hand tightens just barely on his cup.
Judge’s eyes narrow at his only daughter. She raises her chin and glares defiantly back.
”You’re already holding my father against me.” She begins, rolling a hand over the silver ring on her right hand. “You will not hold the rest of my family. You will not hold the woman I am going to marry against me.”
Marry? Even Ichiji, blank as he is, looks surprised by this.
”Who?” Judge demands.
”I won’t tell you. She doesn’t deserve that.” Sonya’s eye narrows back at him. The necklace around her neck shifts just barely, and Reiji sucks in a breath when he sees the scar on her neck.
Sonya fiddles with her pocket and lifts a cigarette to her painted lips, flicking open her lighter and lighting it.
”Cigarettes make you lose your sense of taste.” Yonji mentions almost offhandedly. Sonya nods, blowing out smoke and continuing to eat. Ah, Reiji realizes. She can’t taste it.
”You won’t marry her.” Judge says, as if he could decide.
”Yes, I will. We’ve been dating for years, and we’re ready.”
”You’re marrying on of Big Mom’s sons.”
”I don’t like men.”
”You must provide heirs.”
Sonya lifts her head and stares daggers at Judge. And then she smirks, suddenly. “I was wondering when I should tell you.”
She leans forwards, hands sliding smoothly over the table and she stands. Her heels clack, and her lips curl into a more smug grin.
”I can’t have children. The medicine Mother took made it impossible.”
Judge’s eyes widen in outrage. Reiji’s shoulders draw up, and Yonji takes a deep breath. Ichiji goes back to picking at his food, but he’s watching the father and daughter intently through his glasses. Niji takes another sip.
”So, no. I won’t be marrying one of Big Mom’s children, and I won’t be giving them any children.”
She sits back down, continuing to eat. With a glare at her brothers, she tells them not to waste their food.
Judge glares, standing and storming out of the room. Sonya doesn’t even look up from her plate to watch him. She blew out more smoke.
Slowly, the brothers go back to eating. She smiles proudly at them. She raises her hand and looks over them.
”Where are the keys for this?”
Niji waves a hand and a servant comes rushing over. The blue haired brother whispers something and the servant leaves soon after.
Sonya merely raises an eyebrow as she finished her food, sipping her drink.
Soon after, the servant comes back and unlocks the shackles on Sonya’s wrists. She rubs them and whispers something of a thanks to the man.
”And Zeff? I trust you’ll let the shitty geezer go.”
Reiji nods, finishing his own food.
”Good.” She smirks, standing. “The nearest den-den is in the kitchen, right? I need to call Njord.”
And, a day later, when Reiji watches as Sonya boards the Thousand Sunny to cheers from a black-haired, tan woman with a scar, and the cries of a skeletal woman and an orange haired man, as well as a fishwoman in a kimono, he doesn’t say anything, but wipes tears from his eyes.
He can see the den-den, with a black shell and hair, but striking green eyes, as it cries for it’s ‘Seabreeze!’. That must be the woman Sonya is going to marry.
Briefly, Reiji wonders if he’ll be invited to the wedding. Judge won’t be, but he hopes to be.
His younger brothers watch almost lifelessly, but Yonji waves and yells about Sonya being less of a failure now. Niji waves, but Ichiji offers a nod at the Captain, whose face is stretched into a grin. Reiji can feel his face heating up at the women who surround Sonya, and the hearts in Yonji’s eyes say it all.
———————-
Reiji doesn’t hear any news of the Mugiwara crew until their adventures to Wano.
Sonya marries her bride to the cheers of a newly freed Wano, with ‘Pirate Hunter’ Roronoa Azuki acting as her Maid of Honor and ‘Mugiwara’ Monkey D. Luffy as ‘Goddess’ Eshe’s Maid of Honor. ‘Devil’s Son’ Nico Robin is their officiate, and ‘Cotten Candy Lover’ Tony Tony Choppie was the ring-bearer.
Reiji likes to think his only sister isn’t useless.
Reiji very much likes when he’s right. It comes with being a Vinsmoke, he supposes.