Chapter 245: Family meeting
(Ryoto's pov)
I was walking back to the barracks of my Division, and I was in a pretty sour mood. Rin, as the good lieutenant that she was, was walking next to me.
"Was it smart to agitate another Captain like that?" she asked after a long silence.
"You are talking like you weren't ready to kill him if he said something wrong." Rin blushed hearing me. "But to be honest, I feel like he won't be a problem. He is too lazy for that. And even if he does... Just like I said in the meeting, we'll need to find a new Kenpachi."
And I wasn't joking by saying that. I would kill him if he did something against my family.
"Changing topics Rin. What do you think about adopting two more children?"
"... Huh?"
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I'm going, to be honest, I mentioned adoption out of the blue on purpose. Confused Rin is really cute, but I try to restrain myself from doing it too often so she wouldn't adapt to my weirdness too fast. Also, this was a conversation for the whole family. Rin and I shouldn't make a decision like this alone that affects the entire family.
That's why we had our own meeting after the children went to sleep.
Before we started the main topic of our gathering, Yoruichi jumped on Isane's back and started poking her cheek while Isane was embarrassed.
"I knew that you have your wild side, but who knew that our shy little lieutenant was a beast under all that fluff."
Isane covered her face with her hands.
"Please stop... Captain Unohana already teased me about it the whole day..."
"Can't blame her. That killing intent was intense. It was even stronger than Rin's, and she was standing behind me." I added. "Besides, it's cute seeing this side of yours outside of the bedroom."
"Nooo!!! Stop!!!" Isane screamed and planted her face on the table to avoid looking into anyone's eyes.
I enjoy times like these. Just goofing around and being a family. It gives me the strength to keep going. I'm not saying that without them, I would give up, but it is a lot easier to keep going, thanks to them.
*CLAP*
I clapped my hands to gather attention. I think I understand why Yama-jii does that so much. It feels great!
"I have two announcements to make. Rin heard about one of them already, so let's start with this one. I was thinking about adopting two kids."
Isane and Yoruichi's eyes went wide open. They expected many things to come out of my mouth, but that wasn't one of these things.
"That was my exact reaction when Ryoto said that to me earlier today."
Rin nodded a few times with her arms crossed, agreeing with their reaction.
"Now, before you try dragging me into the bedroom and try for a pair of kids, please hear me out." Everyone turned their heads to Isane, who tried to curl into the smallest ball possible. "It's about the two children Masaru, Akio, and Yukima were talking about. I didn't meet them or anything like that, but after today's incident, I don't feel like it's safe for them to stay in that forest."
I explained my plans to my lovers, and all of them went deep into their thoughts. Even always so embarrassed, Isane raised her head from the table.
"You are hiding something from us, aren't you."
Of course, it was Yoruichi who saw right through me. While Rin is the one who knows me best, Yoruichi is the best one to see through my facade. It's probably a combination of knowing me and her upbringing as a princess of the Shihoin clan.
"I admit that I'm not telling the whole truth, but I wholeheartedly believe that it would be for the best. The children already know them and also like them, so they can't be bad. Tomorrow, I plan on visiting them and asking if they would like that. From what I felt, they have enough Reiryoku and Reiatsu to become Shinigami, too, so it wouldn't be a problem to get them inside Sereitei.
Also, I'll judge them myself when I meet them. I know that I said that they can't be bad, but it's better to be careful."
I know that it doesn't make much sense from the outside perspective. Why would we adopt two practically unknown children without any significant reason, but I just want to help Gin. He really reminds me of my younger self and my current self to some extent.
Maybe I should start thinking about how to help him in other ways...
"Okay, I'm in." Yoruichi answered as soon as I finished talking.
I blinked a few times as it was my time to be surprised.
"What?"
"I said that I'm not against the idea. We all here know that you don't do things without reason, at least things so major." All the girls nodded their heads. "We are already used to you keeping secrets."
I felt something stabbing me... It was probably guilt.
(E/D: Or maybe... the ghost behind you has awakened something.)
In my defense, my secrets are difficult to share. What should I say? 'Hey, so I know the future, but I'm not going to tell you because I need certain events to happen, so an orange hair boy is born so that we can defeat Hitler Jesus.'
The more they know, the less I know. After Ichigo is born, though, I can move more freely.
I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the Vizard incident. I don't want Yoruichi to leave, and I don't know if she would now that we have a daughter.
Time is ticking, and I still don't have a plan.
"Thanks for believing me..."
"You don't need to worry about it. We are family, but it doesn't mean we share everything with each other. There are some secrets that you want to bury as deeply as possible. Maybe because they represent the past you that you don't like, remind you of something unpleasant, or they are just difficult to share.
You don't need to force yourself to tell us what is troubling you or your every thought. We are happy that you opened yourself to this extent compared to a few decades ago.
What I want to say is that if you are ready to share some of your secrets, we will be there for you to listen."
Isane finished her speech, which left everyone speechless.
Sometimes I forget that she is the oldest one of all of us and from age often comes wisdom.
"W-what? Did I say something wrong?"
And she started panicking again. She really is cute, so I walked up to her and gave her a big hug, plus some headpats, which she shyly accepted.
These girls are too good for me.
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END
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