After Three Days
Three days had passed since the family gathering at the restaurant with Tsukiko and her two daughters, and today was the day the Tachibana family was moving into the Kurosaki house after the renovation and expansion works were completed.
The weather was sunny and warm, the air filled with the scent of fresh wood and new paint.
"At least the house didn't collapse during the expansion," Ren muttered as he got out of the car, opened the back door, and began unloading some tools.
Beside him, Karin and Yuzu were holding several small bags, ready to help arrange Tsukiko and her daughters' belongings.
But in reality, the heaviest burden fell on Ren, as he was the only one capable of handling the heavy and manual tasks.
As for Ichigo, he was fully occupied with his duties as a Shinigami and had asked Ren to cover for him, which Ren agreed to without hesitation.
To him, it was nothing more than "moving stuff," and he didn't really need Ichigo's presence anyway.
For the past three days, the Kurosaki family had been staying at a nearby hotel while the renovation of the house and clinic was being completed.
Although the house had been spacious to begin with, it was not equipped to accommodate three additional women for a long time without expanding the shared space.
Fortunately, Isshin had planned everything in advance and hired a restoration company which—supported by generous funding—finished the work in just two days, which was unsurprising in a world full of supernatural powers and people with strange abilities.
"Add three new rooms, expand the living room, extend the kitchen, then connect the clinic with a private back entrance..." Ren said, watching the house from outside. "It doesn't look amazing, but it's practical and comfortable."
The three new rooms were distributed between the upper and lower floors: a new room for Isshin and Tsukiko in the basement, while Hina and Rui's rooms were adjacent to them on the upper floor.
As for the original bedroom that belonged to Masaki and Isshin, it was sealed off so no one would use it, preserving Masaki's place and as a sign from Isshin that he had not forgotten his late wife.
The kitchen and living room on the ground floor were also expanded to fit the new family members, with a minor renovation to the adjacent clinic to provide a separate entrance.
When Ren entered the house, the floors were still shiny from cleaning, and the sound of a handheld vacuum cleaner came from one of the rooms, while Yuzu was arranging dishes in the new cabinets.
"Oh, Ren-onee! Put the box in the top left room—I think it'll be Hina-nee's room!" Yuzu called out, waving at him.
"Alright," Ren nodded indifferently as he headed up to Hina's room, which was next to Yuzu and Karin's rooms, while Rui's room was next to his.
The room layout consisted of six facing rooms: Ichigo previously lived in the first room, Ren in the second next to Ichigo, while Karin and Yuzu lived in the opposite rooms—the third and fourth, respectively. Now, with two new rooms added, Hina lived opposite Ren, and Rui was his neighbor in the deeper room.
The room assignments had been decided by drawing lots, a suggestion Isshin had proposed, which no one opposed since it was just a room and not very important.
But the most important thing was that Ren insisted Isshin install strong soundproofing in all rooms because he knew how annoying it would be if someone overheard them talking about supernatural things—especially since Ichigo was careless and spoke casually—and it wasn't appropriate to involve Yuzu and the others in their matters. Although Isshin was powerful enough to protect their family from most threats, he hid his strength from everyone, so it was better to be cautious to avoid dragging anyone into their problems.
When Ren reached Hina's room, he kicked the door open and entered. The room had a unique smell of fresh paint and wood, but it wasn't completely empty: it contained a bed, a wardrobe, a neat desk, and a spacious area.
Ren put the box next to the desk without much care and started to leave, but Rui blocked his path, staring at him with troubled eyes.
"Can we talk?" Rui asked softly, clearly cautious of others overhearing them.
"Okay, I'll come to your room at night, since I need to finish the moving work," Ren nodded lightly and walked beside Rui out of the room, as he still had a lot to do to finish moving all the new things.
"..." Rui stared at his retreating figure, saying nothing, but a mixture of complex emotions showed in her red eyes as she gazed after Ren. When she could no longer see him, she walked back to her room, still needing to organize many of her belongings.
...
To get more chapters please visit my p@treon :
p@treon.com/Akasaki_Ryujin
For support :
https://ko-fi.com/akasaki_ryujin