"Good evening," said Ren as he went down to the basent, only to see a flying kick aid at his face. Despite this, his expression didn't change; he leaned his body back slightly, caught the foot very quickly, and waved the kicker upward before slamming it into the floor.
Boom!!
A loud explosion echoed as Isshin lay on his back on the ground, staring at Ren in shock and disbelief. Although he knew Ren had awakened his Shinigami power, he hadn't expected him to possess such overwhelming strength.
The mont Ren touched him, Isshin felt an astonishing spiritual power emanating from Ren—it seed like an endless ocean that clearly surpassed anyone he had t in his life, even the spiritual power of Ichigo.
[Ding! Direct connection detected with Kurosaki Isshin. S-Rank Treasure Chest acquired.]
[Would you like to open it?]
Ren ignored the system notification for now since it wasn't the right ti to open the chest.
"What are you doing trying to surround your handso son's face, old man?" Ren stared at his useless father on the ground, noting the bruises on his forehead. The old man hadn't backed down, because if this had happened before awakening his power, he would have lost a tooth or two from Isshin's kick.
Isshin smiled broadly, still lying on the ground, then raised a finger pointing at Ren and said dramatically:
"Huh?! You're the one to bla! Who walks down the stairs that calmly? I almost died of fright!" He said as he struggled to get up, brushing the dust off his traditional white robe that he wore even inside the house.
"If I were young... I would have sent you flying straight to the ceiling." He muttered as he flexed his muscles playfully, though his eyes still studied Ren carefully.
Ren frowned slightly and ignored his father's usual exaggeration:
"Even if you were young... you're still useless."
Isshin laughed loudly, then approached and stood beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder in a friendly manner. But Ren silently shrugged off the hand, as if dealing with an annoying stranger.
'Looks like the old man's Shinigami power has returned,' Ren thought. The mont Isshin touched him, he felt the spiritual power scanning his body, but Isshin acted as if unaware of it. Without Six Eyes, Isshin wouldn't be able to detect it, which only showed how strong Isshin was beyond Ren's current imagination.
"Where is Ichigo? We should leave soon or we'll be late for the welco party," Ren asked, staring at his father before extending his hand toward him. "By the way, I want so money because I need to buy so gifts—I can't go empty-handed to a friend's house for the first ti."
"Hahaha, as expected of my son, you've grown up to be like your mother, caring about details unlike your careless father," Isshin smiled happily and didn't hesitate to pull out his wallet, taking out a stack of bills worth 10,000 yen and placing them in Ren's hand. "Here, buy the gifts to visit your friends, and keep the rest. As for Ichigo, he already left; it seems he wants to stop sowhere before the welco party."
"I see, thanks, old man," Ren nodded and took the money from Isshin, who was always generous with money—except with Ichigo, as they seed harsher on the eldest son for reasons no one understood.
Ren left through the front door, quietly putting the money in his pocket, his eyes gazing at the sky that had started to turn the color of sunset. He wasn't in a hurry... but he wasn't comfortable either.
'Ichigo left before ?' he muttered to himself, then took out his phone and sent a ssage:
[I'll get there ahead of you, don't be late.]
After sending the ssage, Ren headed to buy so luxury fruits, which were more than enough as a first-visit gift. He might also bring so chocolate. As for the rest of the money, it would go back to his pocket to buy so new manga to enjoy himself.
With this thought, Ren headed toward the shopping district, which wasn't far from his ho, to buy the gift before heading to Inoue's house. Although he wanted to go with Tatsuki, he couldn't because Tatsuki's house was too close to Inoue's, and the welco party with the orange-haired girl was probably already being prepared.
_
Inoue's house was about a 10-minute walk from the shopping district and 20 minutes from the Kurosaki residence, so it didn't take Ren long to reach her apartnt.
It was a simple apartnt in a quiet neighborhood. During her childhood, her parents had abandoned her and her brother, leaving them in this apartnt, forcing her brother to start working early to support his younger sister.
At that ti, her brother was 16 years old. He had to quit high school to pay the rent and other expenses, including Inoue's school fees.
After years of work, her brother managed to buy the apartnt and raised her alone until she matured. Unfortunately, he died in a car accident when Inoue was in middle school, leaving her a large sum of money through life insurance, which allowed her to easily graduate from university with plenty of money left over.
When Ren arrived at the apartnt entrance, he paused for a mont, holding the luxury fruit basket in his hand, quietly staring at the door. He wasn't nervous but wasn't used to visits like this either. His relationship with Inoue had always been strange—not distant, not close, more like a transparent thread loosely connecting two points.
He raised his hand and knocked lightly three tis.
Knock Knock Knock.
Not long after, footsteps were heard behind the door, followed by a lively, familiar voice.
"One mont!" Inoue's cheerful voice ca, but it sounded unusually excited or maybe nervous?
The door slowly opened, and Inoue appeared wearing a kitchen apron over a light pink dress, with a little flour on her right cheek. Her orange hair was tied in a tilted ponytail, and she looked at him with wide eyes.
"Ren-kun! You're early!" she said with a bright smile, though she seed a bit flustered.
"I didn't want to be late. And I brought fruit, as expected from the perfect guest," he said, raising the basket in front of his face with a light sarcastic tone. She noticed it was the expensive kind.
"Ooh~ Ren-kun is very serious," she laughed, tilting her head, then stepped back. "Co in, Tatsuki-chan is inside helping prepare drinks."
Ren entered quietly, took off his shoes, and put them by the door. He then took a mont to look around. The apartnt was simple but clean and cozy, with an indescribable feeling of comfort... as if it preserved traces of childhood mories.
"Oh, you're finally here," Tatsuki said, coming out of the kitchen wearing a practical black shirt and shorts, holding a jug of juice and staring at him.
"You're late, Ren."
"Bla the old man, he tried to assassinate as soon as I ca down the stairs," Ren said confidently as he sat on the couch.
"As usual..." Tatsuki sighed as she put the juice on the table.
"By the way, hasn't Ichigo arrived yet?" Ren asked, looking out the window as if his timing depended on it.
Inoue gently shook her head, placing a plate of sweets on the table.
"He said he'd be a bit late... he's going to pick up Kuchiki-san."
"I see..." Ren nodded lightly.
He then looked at the table filling with dishes, then back to Inoue, who returned to the kitchen energetically to check sothing in the oven. Her orange hair swayed with her movent. Tatsuki sat opposite him, inspecting him with sharp eyes.
'This calm...' Ren thought, resting his arm on the edge of the couch, '...won't last long.'
Because the system wasn't silent either.
[Ding! You have a new Quest.]
[Ding! You have a new quest.]
[Na: Ominous Welco Party.]
[Rating: ★★ Side Quest.]
[Objective: Discover the source of the spiritual disturbance approaching Inoue's house and eliminate it before it causes damage.]
[Rewards: C Treasure Chest.]
[Ti Remaining: 00:21:59.]
[Do you accept the quest?]
[ / ]
"..." Ren stared at the floating screen for a mont before pressing Y, seeing no reason to refuse.
"Tatsuki, I'm going to sleep a little. Wake when Ichigo and the others arrive," he said, stretching comfortably on the couch as if he were at ho. His eyes couldn't be seen clearly due to his blindfold.
"Help us a bit instead of sleeping, you idiot," the black-haired girl grumbled, but seeing the other ignoring her and resting, she could only nod reluctantly.
"Okay, I'll wake you when Ichigo and Kuchiki-san arrive."
...
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