"Are you dissatisfied with your father's decision?" — rang a sharp, masculine voice, emerging from the black cat that sat with faint pride atop the low stone wall, licking its front paw slowly. Its yellow eyes watched Ren with an intensity that masked something deeper than simple curiosity.
Ren paused for a moment, his fingers brushing along the bottom edge of his blindfold before he slowly shifted it, revealing part of one eye — that glowing blue one which had always unsettled those around him. Not just for its beauty, but for the secrets it seemed to hide behind its light.
"Not really," he said softly, like someone treading the edge of an inner cliff. "It's his right, after all. Honestly… I'm glad he finally found something that keeps him from constantly looking back."
He leaned his shoulder against the stone pillar beside him, his gaze following the reflections dancing on the restaurant's glass windows nearby.
"But..." he added more slowly, "I still need a little time. Not because I reject the reality of it, but because... I just haven't sorted out my feelings yet."
A short silence followed his words — broken only by a soft, familiar meow.
"Nee-san...?" Ren muttered hesitantly, as the black cat leapt gracefully onto his shoulder and began rubbing her face against his cheek with a cold, yet oddly warm display of affection.
He didn't stop her. Instead, he smiled faintly — half genuine, half a silent gesture of appreciation. He raised his hand slowly, fingers stroking her head gently.
"Good evening, Ren-kun." — came a soft, composed voice from behind him, prompting him to glance toward the source and momentarily ignore Yoruichi's antics.
Ren had been standing near the family diner to clear his thoughts and hadn't expected anyone else to appear.
The other person turned out to be someone familiar — Saki, a classmate of his and the daughter of his employer, who also worked at the café.
When Ren had left the diner, he had seen Saki with her mother. It seemed her mother, too, was considering remarrying, caught in a situation not so different from his own.
"Did I bother you?" — she asked as she approached with light steps, her tone respectful enough to put Ren at ease despite the surprise.
Ren shook his head gently, instinctively slipping the blindfold back into place, concealing the eyes that always drew too much attention.
"It's fine… I just stepped out for a bit of air." — he replied calmly.
"Night air at this hour helps with thinking." — Saki said, now standing beside him with only a short metal railing between them, overlooking the quiet street.
"Maybe. Or it just complicates things further." — he replied with a half-smile.
"Is this about that woman?" — she suddenly asked, glancing through the restaurant window, where Isshin sat with Karin, Yuzu, Tsukiko, and Ichigo.
Usually, Saki wasn't one to pry into others' lives, but with Ren, things were different. They had been childhood friends, and that familiarity made it easier for her to speak more openly.
He didn't answer immediately, just kept his eyes down, watching the city lights reflect off the parked car windows.
"Kind of." — he nodded without elaborating, gently petting Yoruichi's cat-like form perched on his shoulder. "So… Akiko-san is also trying to start over?"
"..." — Yoruichi didn't say anything. She simply let him stroke her head, her eyes narrowing in comfortable contentment.
Saki smiled softly, unsurprised by his question. She clasped her hands behind her back, her eyes resting on the dim lights of the street.
"My mom hasn't said it directly, but… she's been smiling more lately. Cooking without a reason… rearranging the house like she's waiting for someone."
She paused, then continued in a gentler tone:
"After what happened with my father in the past, my mom shut her heart… but now, it seems she's finally ready to open it again."
Ren nodded quietly, his fingers still brushing gently through Yoruichi's fur, as if the cat herself was a thread linking him to a peace he didn't yet fully understand.
He said calmly:
"I think everyone who's left standing after a loss... eventually has to decide whether they'll live under its shadow, or walk beside it."
Saki glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She didn't comment, but her eyes said plenty.
After a short silence, Ren asked in a quiet voice, one tinged with curiosity:
"Does it bother you? I mean… the idea of someone new entering your life and… taking your father's place?"
She shook her head gently.
"No one takes anyone's place. There are spaces that can't be filled. We just… close their doors gently, and open a window in a nearby room."
Yoruichi let out a faint meow, almost like she was agreeing with Saki's words, making Ren smile without thinking.
He spoke in a low voice:
"Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one still left in that room…"
"You're not alone." — Saki replied quickly, then softened her tone as she added:
"But you've gotten used to locking the door from the inside."
He didn't answer… but he didn't deny it either.
Just then, the restaurant door opened again, and Ichigo appeared, lazily waving his hand.
"Hey, Ren, your food's getting cold! Karin's planning a coup if you don't get back soon."
Ren raised an eyebrow with a deadpan expression, then turned to Saki, his blue eyes meeting her calm ones.
"Thank you." — he said sincerely, without pretense. Despite the lingering guilt he still felt toward Saki for his reckless past, it was better this way — better to be honest.
Saki smiled gently and replied simply:
"I didn't do anything… I was just outside, getting some fresh air."
Ren left her behind as he walked back inside, but his steps were lighter this time, and a faint smile had found its way to the corner of his lips.
Sometimes, I wished I were just a breeze in that room where he stayed behind. — Saki thought as she, too, turned to leave, heading off to meet her new stepfather and brother, finding herself in a situation eerily similar to Ren's.
Yoruichi leapt from Ren's shoulder at the last second and followed Saki with graceful steps, while a gentle breeze swept past them — as if the night itself had chosen to remain silent… just for those who were trying to move forward.
...
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