After finishing breakfast, the four of them left together and headed to their schools: Ren and Rui attended Karakura High School, while Karin and Yuzu studied at Karakura Middle School.
"Karin, how about we train together later?" — Ren yawned lazily while glancing at her from the corner of his eye — "I am quite skilled with the sword, after all."
"Really!? Then it's a promise!" — Karin smiled brightly at his offer — "Just remember, you're not allowed to run away later."
Ren blinked in mild confusion, not having expected such an enthusiastic reaction from her.
"Of course, but I might come back late tonight since I'm going to check on that idiot and help him a little," Ren said with a shrug. Everyone knew he was referring to Ichigo, who was currently training with Hirako and the others to control the Hollow inside him.
Naturally, Rui didn't know the supernatural part of the story, but even she figured out he meant Ichigo, since he'd been absent from the house for a few days already.
"By the way, Ren-nii," Karin suddenly grinned mischievously as she nudged his side with her elbow, "have you gone back to being a playboy? Back when you were in Kuoh Town, a bunch of girls came asking about you."
"Hmm? And who exactly was asking about me?" — he asked with faint curiosity, hands slipping into his pockets as they walked.
"Hmm… Tatsuki-chan, Miko-chan, and also Saki-chan… plus a really pretty senpai from the kendo club named Kujō Rin," Karin tapped her chin as she recalled — "There were others too, but those four came several times."
[ A/N: Yotsuya Miko, Ayase Saki, Arisawa Tatsuki ]
"Kujō-senpai came to the house asking for me?" — Ren raised a brow in genuine surprise. He wasn't shocked about the first three visiting, since… well, he had a certain ambiguous relationship with them, so it made some sense.
He fell silent for a moment as his mind briefly drifted back to the days in the kendo club — to those calm, confident eyes Kujō Rin used to direct at him during matches.
She was not the type to visit someone out of curiosity… she was the type to act only if she had a clear intention.
"That's unexpected…" — Ren muttered while looking ahead — "Kujō-senpai isn't someone who wastes her time."
Karin leaned in closer, eyes sparkling with intrigue.
"Oho~? So there is something between you two?"
"No." — he replied instantly.
"Then she's the one chasing you."
"...No further comments."
Karin snickered in smug triumph, while Rui walked silently on his other side, though her ears were clearly listening very carefully.
'A senpai from the kendo club…?' Rui thought, glancing up at him briefly. 'So his social history is even more complicated than I imagined…'
"By the way, Onii-chan," Yuzu suddenly spoke up, remembering Isshin's unusually serious words, "Papa said that if you ever get a real girlfriend, you have to bring her to him… and also that you shouldn't mess around like you did in middle school."
Ren froze for the third time that morning, staring blankly at Yuzu with a soulless expression.
"When we get back today, tell the old man this," — a sly grin spread over Ren's face — "tell him I'll bring him lots of daughters-in-law, so he should get the clinic ready to welcome his grandkids soon."
"E-Eh!? Onii-chan, do you already have a child!?" — Yuzu blinked in shock, her face full of disbelief.
Even Karin and Rui wore similarly stunned expressions — though theirs carried far more complicated emotions than Yuzu's.
"Of course not, I was joking," — he waved it off casually… though inwardly his thoughts were very different —
'Sorry, but give it a few more months… you'll really become aunts. Akiko is already pregnant.'
He knew the truth would eventually come out, but he wasn't stupid enough to reveal it now — not when he still needed time to protect both Akiko and the child. The age gap alone would already stir trouble — especially given that Akiko's daughter was the same age as him, and he was still a high school student.
Karin exhaled slowly, as if trying to digest the heavy joke he threw so casually so early in the morning.
"Your jokes keep getting worse with time…"
Yuzu was still staring at him with almost teary eyes — a mixture of panic and confusion — so Karin gently patted her sister's shoulder.
"Calm down, Yuzu… if he really had a kid, we would've heard about it by now. The old man wouldn't shut up about it."
'I wonder if I'm pregnant… after all those steamy nights…' — Rui's face turned bright red as she subconsciously placed a hand over her stomach. Considering how much he had come inside her, it wasn't impossible.
Ren noticed the subtle movement, though he didn't comment. But someone else noticed too — Karin — whose eyes narrowed dangerously.
'No way… right?' — the thought flashed through Karin's mind, though knowing Ren's boldness… the possibility did feel real.
"Let's go, Karin-chan!" — Yuzu suddenly called out, pulling Karin with her as they reached the middle school gate.
Ren smiled faintly as he watched the two rush toward Karakura Middle School, while Rui slowed her steps beside him, her face still flushed from her tangled thoughts.
Karin glanced back one last time — as if sensing that there were more hidden secrets than what appeared on the surface — before following Yuzu.
Rui took a slow breath, trying to steady herself, and muttered softly:
"Maybe I should focus on school… and not think about anything else…"
"There's no need to worry. I've been taking the necessary precautions, so it's impossible for you to be pregnant," Ren said quietly as he waved at his younger sisters before shoving his hands back into his pockets on the way to Karakura High School.
"I see…" Rui nodded, relief and disappointment mixing faintly in her expression.
...
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