Chapter 246: Meeting Gin
(Ryoto's pov)
The next day, I talked with my children about my plan. I'm going to go with them to the forest where the incident occurred, and they didn't object for obvious reasons. This was also a fantastic excuse for a bit of doing today's paperwork.
Sorry Rin, but I'm dumping my work on you. I, given my position as a Captain, allow you to dump this work on someone else.
I didn't notice it before because I rushed as fast as I could towards my kids, but this place is really close to the old home that Rin and I had, and if we are going the way I think we are going, then...
I took the lead, surprising the kids.
"Do you know where Gin and Rangiku live, or do you sense them?" Masaru questioned me.
"Neither. I'm going to my old home."
Their eyes went wide.
"I knew that it was in the area, but I didn't expect that it was the exact location." Akio added while Yukima seemed clueless.
---
After a short walk, we finally arrived at the old wooden house. We didn't even knock at the door, and a small blonde-haired girl that looked to be a similar age to my children opened said door enthusiastically with a big smile plastered on her face.
I assume it was Rangiku.
She grew shy, noticing me, which wasn't unusual as I was an unknown adult.
"... Hello." She said timidly.
"Hello there, young lady. I'm Ryoto Yuuki, the dad of these little guys that you are friends with."
I wanted to start explaining why I was there, but the voice that came from a short boy with silver hair and eyes very narrowed to the point they looked closed interrupted me.
I needed to stop myself from making a joke about calling him a son because I wanted our first meeting to be more... serious.
Gin noticing me, positioned himself between Rangiku and myself, ready to attack me at any moment.
He really reminds me of myself because I'm sure he knows that I'm much stronger than him, but he is still ready to fight.
"It's like looking in the mirror, isn't it." Zangetsu commented inside my mind, and he was correct.
Without dropping my smile, I repeated my introduction and explained why I was there once again.
I was invited inside, and while I was not given any snacks, it was understandable, and I wasn't expecting it. After all, I lived in these conditions in the past.
Now comes the tricky part, convincing Gin. Rangiku would be easy. Most people would be easy now that I think about it. A chance to live inside Sereitei doesn't come often, but Gin's only worry is Rangiku's safety, and my proposition was sketchy, to put it lightly.
That's why I asked everyone to leave me alone with Gin.
It probably came out of nowhere as everyone was surprised, and Rangiku was against it, but Gin reassured her that he would be alright.
---
After we were left alone, I kept being calm while Gin was on his toes. "I'm not going to dance around the topic. I want to adopt both you and Rangiku."
What I said was so out of the blue dumbfounded Gin so much that he even dropped his guard for a moment.
"... What did you just say?"
"I want to adopt both you and Rangiku. You are my children's friends, and this area here is becoming gradually more dangerous, so I thought it would be safer for you two inside Sereitei."
Gin's mind went into overdrive, thinking and trying to see through my motives.
"What's there for you?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm asking what your motivation is in doing that, and don't repeat what you said earlier. You were lying." Gin 'warned' me lightly.
He probably couldn't tell if I was lying or not. I'm too good at controlling my body, but the idea of wanting to help some stranger for no reason.
"Now, now, you don't need to be so nervous around me. I don't bite. Yukima, on the other hand, would if you annoyed her too much. But if you want the truth..." I flashed-stepped to the door and opened them quickly, letting a group of children drop on the floor because they lost something to lean on. "These troublemakers would need to leave for real this time."
After we were left alone, it was time to be a bit more truthful, but before that...
"Lollipop?" I offered, which he didn't take. "Don't worry, they are not poisonous. I wouldn't need to use something underhanded like that to kill you." He took the lollipop from me but didn't start eating it.
Baby steps.
"Going back to our topic. You want to know why I want to adopt seemingly unknown children. Certainly, I would need some kind of ulterior motivation, but I really just want to help both of you. If you want to know why, it's because you are similar to me in some way."
This piqued the curiosity in Gin. "What do you mean?" At his question, I smiled.
"This girl, Rangiku, you promised to yourself to protect her, and don't even deny it. You positioned yourself between her and me very naturally, but you can't fool me. You were ready to attack me the moment I made a suspicious move, which is stupid but brave, and I don't hate it. I did something similar in the past. You are also very revengeful."
He opened his eyes, hearing something he didn't expect me to know. "Don't be so surprised. My teacher taught me to always research before making a move."
"... How much do you know?"
"More than you think. I know what you plan, I know who you want to kill, and I know what lies at the end of the path if you continue on your path." I answered truthfully.
"And what would be that end you speak of?"
"You'll make her cry."
He flinched. That was something that only he knew. His promised to never let Rangiku cry. Because of that, he was more prone to believe what I said.
"Listen, Gin, I'm aware how hard it is to trust someone you don't know. What I'm proposing is something that will change your life forever, so it's understandable why you are hesitant. I'm giving you a choice, and you don't need to answer it today. Take your time, talk with Rangiku about it, and let Masaru or Akio know when you are ready. Yukima would probably forget to tell me. Just remember that my doors are always open."
I was ready to leave, but Gin asked me the last question.
"If I became your son, would you stop me from getting revenge?"
"Your new mothers probably would. Maybe Yoruichi would agree on it, but if it comes to me, I will make sure you are as prepared as one could be, which isn't something a father should say, but knowing your target, I wouldn't say no. Sooner or later, he will become the enemy of the Soul Society, and you could fight him entirely justified."
"Wait, mothers?"
---
END
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