The Next Day.
Ren woke up feeling refreshed after sleeping for about a day and a half; as soon as he returned from Soul Society he had slept like a log without taking food or drink.
"Smells good…" Ren murmured, sniffing the fragrant aroma of food coming from downstairs — Tsukiko or one of the girls should be cooking — which made his stomach rumble.
"Good morning, Ren-sama," Amagi said respectfully, bowing toward Ren while holding a set of comfortable clothes. "Allow me to help wash you and put on something fresh."
"Umm…" Ren nodded drowsily; he didn't care much about Amagi seeing his naked body since she was his servant.
"Good to see you're still alive, Ren-sama." Amagi murmured with a faint smile as she watched him slowly pull off his nightshirt. This wasn't the first time she'd helped him with daily matters, but she always felt a quiet inner embarrassment she dared not show.
She washed his face with a damp towel, smoothed his hair with skilled fingers, then handed him comfortable cotton pants and a soft, dark-gray shirt.
"Your hair's grown a little — would you like me to cut it later?" she asked quietly, watching his reflection in the mirror.
"Later… maybe." Ren muttered as he tightened the collar of the shirt around his neck, then yawned and stepped toward the door. "Let's go before I die of hunger."
Amagi said nothing and followed Ren downstairs. Although she had never revealed herself to his family before, Ren already intended to speak with the old man about the past he was hiding; he didn't like all these secrets in the family, especially now that he couldn't reach Mikazuki — who had been sleeping on the throne inside his inner world since his fight with Aizen.
Basement — The Kurosaki Family Home.
Sunlight slipped through the wide windows, bathing the dining room in a soft golden glow. On the large table several traditional dishes were laid out: steamed rice, hot miso, grilled fish, and homemade pickles. Tsukiko stood wearing a white apron over a sky-blue kimono, carrying the last serving from the kitchen and placing it gently in its spot.
"Oh! You're awake." Tsukiko smiled simply as she greeted Ren. "You must be exhausted from the trip; you slept for about a day and a half."
"I needed it… my body went into self-maintenance mode." Ren murmured, yawning as he sat at the table with no concern for appearances, while Amagi followed and stood quietly behind him like a constant shadow.
Tsukiko glanced briefly at Amagi. She said nothing at first, but she felt a subtle shift in the atmosphere.
"And this?" she asked with polite curiosity.
"My maid." Ren answered simply, beginning to eat rice as if the matter needed no explanation.
"…A maid?" Tsukiko raised an eyebrow lightly, then sighed as she poured his tea. "Did Isshin-san hire a maid?"
"Do you think the old man has that kind of money?" Ren said indifferently. Although Isshin had been working at the clinic, it barely supported the family, especially after it grew larger when he married Tsukiko.
"So… you brought her?" Tsukiko asked again, glancing at Amagi with a mix of curiosity and caution.
"No need for that pretense, Tsukiko-san — I know your true identity and the old man's." Ren said casually, placing a piece of grilled fish in his mouth. "I saw your files in Ritsu-nee's room."
"…" Tsukiko stared at Ren with wide eyes. Although she'd expected the other party might know about them given his trip to Soul Society, what frightened her most was the name "Ritsu-nee." Tsukiko had served under Ritsu in the 4th Division for decades, and despite that long service she had never dared to call her that casually.
"I see. It seems Onahana-Taichō took good care of you," Tsukiko said with a smile carrying some bitterness. "But I didn't expect her to let you access files concerning me and Isshin-san."
"I'd suspected the old man for a while — when my powers awakened he tried to examine my body with his reiatsu," Ren said after a moment of silence. "So I've been looking into it for a long time; obviously our family background isn't ordinary. I managed to learn the old man's past when I went to Soul Society, and discovering that you're also tied to the supernatural was a surprise to me as well."
Ren spoke the truth: he had not expected Tsukiko to be connected to the supernatural world and was surprised when Ritsu had told him Tsukiko had been her former subordinate and a member of the Kuchiki Clan — a cousin of Byakuya.
"Did I tell you all this?" Tsukiko murmured softly, looking away for a moment as if recalling memories long buried.
"You told me enough." Ren replied decisively as he chewed a piece of pickled vegetable. "And when I met Byakuya at the Kuchiki mansion… I confirmed it myself."
Tsukiko's brow twitched for an instant, but her expression remained composed.
"…So everything's out in the open." she said quietly, then turned to Isshin, who had just entered the room carrying a newspaper and a mug of coffee; he froze when he heard her last words.
"Oh… did I miss something?" Isshin asked with a strained smile.
"Don't try to evade it." Ren said coldly, staring straight into his eyes. "Tell me the whole truth… from the beginning."
Isshin sighed slowly, set the newspaper on the table, and sat opposite Ren, interlacing his fingers in front of him.
"So, you've already discovered everything?" Isshin said, more as confirmation than a question, with a hint of bitterness in his voice. He hadn't wanted to tell his children about his past — at least not yet — because he felt they weren't ready to hear it, or so he had thought.
"Kind of. I'm currently a Lieutenant of the 2nd Division and I have wide access to information," Ren said without stopping his eating; he was very hungry.
"Second Division, huh…" Isshin murmured, closing his eyes for a moment. "This was supposed to be a very different path from mine, but it seems you chose to walk in the shadows instead of the light."
"Light and darkness are just simple labels," Ren replied calmly as he raised his gaze to him. "What matters most is the strength of the person in question."
Silence fell over the room for a moment before Isshin exhaled and placed his palm on the table.
"Alright, if you've gotten this far… then there's nothing left to hide." He looked at Tsukiko, who nodded slowly as if implicitly agreeing to reveal the past.
"Listen carefully, Ren." Isshin spoke in a serious tone that didn't fit his image as a joking, reckless father. "More than a hundred years ago… I was a captain of the Tenth Division, and my name was known in Soul Society as one of the pillars of the Gotei 13."
"I think you misunderstand something," Ren interrupted Isshin. "I'm not asking you this because I want to hear about your past, old man."
"The reason I'm telling you this is that many factions have started moving — Aizen revealed the existence of other factions and the Shinigami are preparing to establish a base in this town," Ren said, pausing to sip his tea before continuing. "This will put our family at risk, especially since Ichigo and I will be busy from time to time. So I want you to tell Karin and Yuzu everything and let them decide what they want to do. They inherited your blood and my mother's blood, and if it weren't for Ichigo and me overshadowing them, their talents would have flourished long ago."
"Although I'm not sure whether Rui and Hina-sensei have spiritual power — if they do, I think they have the right to know as well," Ren added, remembering Tsukiko's daughters and sisters who were not related by blood.
"As for Rui and Hina, there's no need to worry — they don't have any notable spiritual power; they're at an ordinary human level. I made sure they wouldn't inherit anything significant from my Shinigami lineage," Tsukiko said suddenly. She had intended to live as an ordinary human and had sealed all her power and lineage with her knowledge of Kido, so her daughters hadn't inherited any of her strength — or at least that was how it had been until now; they might awaken their powers in the future, or they might not.
"Alright, I'll leave everything to you and won't interfere further." Ren said, rising from the table; he intended to go out and walk around town for a bit and might invite someone out with him. "All I want is for everyone to know the danger looming over them, and don't hide anything that could threaten their lives."
"…" Isshin fell silent when he heard Ren. He had been confident in his ability to protect everyone and had planned to hide his background and many secrets for a long time, but now it seemed many factions were mobilizing and that was no longer an option. Even with his strength he wouldn't be a match for other factions that might target his children for their potential. "Alright, I'll make sure to tell Yuzu and Karin everything."
...
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