After sending Tatsuki to Yoruichi for training, Ren returned home, since he was still busy training himself and didn't have the time to train Tatsuki.
Although Yoruichi complained a little, she eventually agreed to train Tatsuki.
As for Ichigo, he went with Rukia to Urahara's shop to train for Bankai, since Urahara didn't refuse his request to restore Rukia's powers and awaken his own to achieve Bankai.
Even though Urahara had been exiled from Soul Society for over a century, he still maintained his own information network, and he knew that Central 46 had already issued an order to retrieve Rukia. Within a week at most, people from Soul Society would come to take her back.
"I'm back," Ren called out as he entered the house around 5 p.m. Everyone had already returned except for Ichigo and himself, since Ichigo was still at Urahara's shop.
"Welcome back, Onii-chan," Yuzu greeted him with a happy smile. Unlike before—when she was always busy cleaning, cooking, and managing the house—she was now sitting comfortably watching TV, since Tsukiko had taken over the role of housekeeper. "Onii-chan, where's Onii-chan?"
"He went to a friend's house. He has a makeup exam in three days and will be staying there to study," Ren lied without changing his expression, knowing the old man should already be aware of where Ichigo really was and what he was doing.
"By the way, where are you headed?" Ren asked, his gaze falling on the beauty with neck-length dark blue hair and sapphire eyes, who seemed about to leave.
"I'm going shopping for dinner," Rui replied as she finished putting on her shoes. "Do you want to come too?"
"..." Ren stared at her for a moment before nodding slightly. He handed his bag to Yuzu. "I'll go with Rui to buy dinner ingredients. Can you take care of my schoolbag?"
"Of course, leave it to me!" Yuzu quickly replied, holding the bag as if it were a precious treasure, then added mischievously, "But if there's unfinished homework inside, I'll open it!"
Ren chuckled softly without answering and followed Rui toward the door.
From the kitchen, Tsukiko quietly opened the door and glanced at them as they left. She didn't say anything—just blinked slowly before returning to her work.
On the way, the afternoon sun leaned toward dusk, its golden rays spreading across the streets and rooftops like a calm curtain of warmth.
Rui walked steadily, with Ren beside her, hands in his pockets, eyes calmly following the sky beneath his blindfold.
"Where did you go with Arisawa-san?" Rui asked, her curiosity plain. There was no trace of jealousy or reluctance in her voice.
"We just talked a little, and I gave her something I'd been holding onto for her," Ren replied, shaking his head lightly. It was clear he didn't want to share the details of what happened between him and Tatsuki.
"I see..." Rui nodded softly, realizing Ren didn't want to talk more, so she didn't push further.
"By the way, what are the ingredients you want to buy for dinner?" Ren asked curiously. He didn't really know what tonight's dinner was and had only come along on a whim. Besides, he also wanted to buy some sweets, since they were useful for quickly restoring his mental energy.
"We're thinking of making Katsu Kare tonight," Rui replied casually, opening a small brown leather notebook. "We already have rice at home, but we need sliced pork, ready-made curry, carrots, potatoes, and onions."
"Pork?" Ren raised an eyebrow slightly. "Didn't the old man tell you we don't eat pork in this house?"
"Is that so?" Rui looked up in confusion. It was the first time she'd heard about this. "I didn't know. I guess we'll have to change it to beef."
"Yeah, that'll be better," Ren said calmly as he walked beside her. "The old man might not say anything, but you don't want to see his face when he finds out."
Rui laughed softly, tucking the notebook into her coat pocket. "Then beef it is… no problem. With the right spices, the taste isn't much different anyway."
—
They soon arrived at the local marketplace, about ten minutes' walk from their home. The area was lively: vendors shouting, the smell of fresh food wafting through the air, children running along the sidewalks, and soft music drifting from a speaker above one of the shops.
Their first stop was the vegetable stand.
Rui leaned over the crates of carrots and carefully picked one up, then handed another to Ren.
"What do you think? Fat enough?" she asked, turning it in her hand.
"Looks like it just won a carrot bodybuilding contest," Ren replied, pretending to examine it with expertise.
Rui laughed lightly, then crouched down to choose some potatoes, while Ren used the chance to buy a small piece of daifuku from a nearby cart.
"Are you eating sweets before dinner?" she asked as she stood up with the potatoes.
"Good for mental fatigue," he said while taking a bite, then offered her half. "Try it, it's full of red beans."
She accepted it without hesitation, tasted it, then nodded softly.
"Not bad. Want me to make some for you later?"
"You can cook?" Ren raised an eyebrow skeptically—it was the first time he'd heard that she could.
"Mm, I've been aiming to open a café, so I learned to cook for a while," Rui replied gently.
"A café, huh…" Ren muttered under his breath, as if the idea took root in his mind for a moment. "Have you thought of a name for it?"
Rui stopped walking for a few seconds, then looked at him over her shoulder, her dark blue hair brushing her cheek. "Not yet. I'm still searching for something that suits me… simple, but unforgettable."
Ren nodded slightly, then said quietly, "What about 'Hibiki'? It means 'echo'… A café where the sound stays in your heart even after you leave."
Rui blinked in mild surprise, then smiled softly. "That's… beautiful."
She continued gathering ingredients in silence for a while, then whispered without looking at him, "I didn't expect you to think about things like names or meanings."
"Well, I was born a philosopher," Ren said arrogantly, lips curling into a smug smile.
Rui laughed lightly, her laugh like raindrops on a window. "A philosopher? You don't look like one when you're staring at sweets like a little kid."
"That's part of my philosophy," Ren said as he reached for a ripe orange on the nearby table, gazing at it as if it held cosmic wisdom. "The soul needs balance… a little bitterness, lots of sweetness."
"I think your wisdom went straight to your stomach," Rui teased lightly as she pushed the cart toward the meat section.
At the butcher's, Ren paused, eyeing the neatly hung and wrapped rows of meat, while Rui negotiated with the butcher about the beef slices.
"Make them medium-thick, please. We don't want them to disappear in the sauce," Rui instructed with a tone of practiced ease, as if she had done this a thousand times.
Ren blinked lightly as he watched her, then said quietly:
"You look like a pro."
"Not really," Rui shook her head softly as she received the package. "Learning to cook means trying and failing, then getting better next time. I gained experience through that trial and error."
"Trial and error, huh…" Ren murmured as he walked beside her toward the spice section. "Like battles… no one learns just from winning."
"Maybe," Rui nodded softly, leaning toward the shelves to choose a medium-spicy curry box. "But battles leave scars. Cooking leaves memories."
"Sometimes… scars are the memories," Ren said quietly, his tone heavy as if his words carried weight from somewhere deeper.
Rui glanced at him from the corner of her eye but didn't reply. She simply placed the curry box into the cart silently.
A few minutes later, they wrapped up their final stop in the market. The bags were full, and the sounds of the city slowly faded as the real sunset approached. The sky turned into a canvas of orange and gold, and the air grew cooler.
The two walked back quietly, each carrying a shopping bag in one hand, while their free hands were subtly and discreetly intertwined on the way home.
...
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