A Boring Garden Party

[z0pu]

Ren #1

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Ren almost blankly scanned over all the people in the reception hall of the Kurogami estate, there must have been a hundred people there at least. The hall's sliding doors were open on both sides of the length of the room, giving on the inner and outer courtyard gardens of the estate, although the vast majority of the guests kept the hall itself.

Every once in a while a great clan like the Kurogami had to make a social show and organize something like one of these events, luckily this was one of the smaller affairs, only important administrators, bureaucrats and Shinigami Captains along with their immediate subordinate and families were invited.

Normally someone like Ren would not really find himself invited at such events, and were it any other clans doing do he would not, he was only from a branch family himself, but his mother was the actual sister of the clan head, that made him directly related to the one technically organizing the reception, therefore Ren had no choice to be here.

It was made slightly worse in some aspect, things Ren did not like to think about. The Four great clan followed certain hereditary rules, according to them, until Captain Kurogami Kyosuke-sama gets married and has a male child, the next in line to lead the clan was Ren himself, by the line of his mother. No, this was things he did not want to think about, the Captain of the 6th division was still young anyway, he had hundreds of years to find a bride and father children.

Instead, Ren moved between the guests, occasionally nodding and returning greeting to the all the people that greeted him first, the vast majority of which he had no idea who they were. generally the more important someone was the later they would show. At present the only Shinigami present were Ren and his own father, as the head of a branch family and a seated officer of the 1st division. Most everyone that would show had arrived now, the only people left would be whichever captain decided to show and finally the host of the party itself.

Still, in the meantime Ren made his way to the edge of the hall and looed at the outer garden, with it carefully curated bonsai trees and well kept white sand patches around the carp ponds, a perfect example of a zen garden, with only Ren in his light blue fine silk kimono in contrast against it.

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3

[/div]

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #1

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When Lenalee was told of this grand party at the Kurogami estate, her first response was a refusal to go. However, some gentle coaxing and a couple of threats from her mother and Lenalee found herself dressed in a delicate dark blue kimono. It might not have been the most formal of kimonos as Lenalee herself had amended the fabric to make it suit her style and colour preference a little bit more, but that was simply the bargain that had to be made for the girl to agree to go. Azai Saeki, captain of the 12th division and mother to the blue-haired short-tempered girl, was dressed in a heavily modernised version of a traditional outfit with a tight pencil skirt that reached her knees below a thinner overlayer of the kimono itself made of fine fabric. Although unusual, it was befitting of a captain in its delicate style and bore the unmistakable influence from the customs from the land of the living that Captain Saeki was known to be heavily involved with.

“I don’t understand why I even had to come here.” The girl grumbled, tugging lightly at the skirt of her dress, her legs concealed beneath tights and her little feet warm and cosy in a flat pair of ballerina shoes, a heavy contrast to the high heels that her mother wore.

“Look, we would both rather be somewhere else right now, but this is big event and we both need to show up and pay our respects.”

“You mean you-” The girl rolled her eyes as she was about to correct her mother’s statement before she was interrupted

“Stop it. You are acting like a brat.” With the hushed scolding, Lenalee grew silent and crossed her arms with a subtle sulk. “Some things just have to be done. Your friend should be here somewhere, go and find him. I’m certain he will make this experience all the more pleasant for you.”

Daring not utter another word after their quiet exchange as she walked through the door with her mother, she politely greeted anyone they crossed paths with, then wandered off while she knew her mother would be busy chatting with the other captains. Her mother was right, one of those goofs should be here… Definitely not Akira, this was too high end for him to even look this way, also not Shiro - if he even attempted to be here, his head might be chopped off, but Fukumoto Ren… he fit right in. The funny one.

They weren’t exactly best buddies, and they rarely got to spend time just hanging out together, as either she was busy, he was, or neither of them were interested, but today it seemed that they might have a common interest, if he dreaded this occasion as much as she did.

Being small meant slipping between crowds could be done fairly easily, but it also limited her view. Locating Ren proved more difficult than she’d anticipated and she looked back several times to see if she’d missed him, but always found no sign of him, only other guests roaming around the hall and her mother now mixing with the other captains, the distanced and unemotional look everpresent on her face. As she reached the end of the hallway, she spotted Ren’s tall figure and a little smile spread across her lips.

“The view’s a lot nicer outside than it is inside, huh?” She spoke as she also looked out at the garden.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[z0pu]

Ren #2

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Ren simply enjoyed the view of the garden as he tried to ignore the bureaucrats and sycophants that populated this party. Maybe now would be a good time to think of some good jokes. Hmmmm... unfortunately this entire event was not exactly a source of inspiration to Ren.

Eventually however a voice interrupted Ren's thoughts, this was however a much welcome interruption.

“The view’s a lot nicer outside than it is inside, huh?”

Ren blinked a couple times, refocusing his attention on reality and on Saeki Lenalee who had appeared next to him. Of course, she was the daughter of Captain Saeki, therefore had a place here herself, although it was odd for someone like Captain Saeki to bother coming to such events.

Smiling gently as he was one to do Ren bowed lightly to Lenalee.

"It sure is."

Ren took in the room again for an instant before continuing the conversation, if Captain Saeki had arrived then it was likely any other Captains were about to do so as well or already had, he really should have paid more attention to the people being announced.

"I am surprised to see you here. I understand your mother is not normally one for such... "frivolities" I believe is the word she used."

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #2

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Lenalee rolled her eyes and let out a groan as her mother’s words were repeated to her, “Yes, yes, ‘frivolities’… She said we have to be here to pay our respects, I guess, but you don’t really strike me as one to care much about all of this either, even if it is in your blood.” Her cheeks seemed to puff out the second she finished that sentence in something of a sulk.

“Now she’s busy standing around in her usual unsocial manner, only engaging in minimal conversation and giving icy stares because that’s what she does.” Her almost appallingly informal description of her mother might have been a little bit harsh and particularly disrespectful toward a captain, but it was not entirely inaccurate. Her tone was certainly tainted with spite toward the woman who forced Lenalee to be present here against her will. She wasn't quite sure why, her mother was never the type to show off her daughter. In fact it was quite the opposite, winning her approval in anything seemed like an impossible task to Lenalee, no matter how hard she tried.

With a little huff, the girl looked down at her sandals, curling her toes as they longed to be free of their restraints. She absolutely hated wearing shoes and always liked to be barefoot whenever possible. It was an argument that she and her mother had quite often, actually, as if it were up to Lenalee, she would walk around everywhere barefoot. Meanwhile, her mother was the complete opposite, always in her high heels and harping on the fact that shoes gave a woman elegance, and so the girl must grow accustomed to wearing them!

Suddenly hopping over the threshold into the garden, she didn’t dare leave the premises, but she did sit down on the little step that separated the indoor hall from the outdoor magnificence that was this garden. It was the most well-kept garden area that she had ever seen. Her mother had a soft spot for plants, but they were always potted and there weren’t that many of them around. Of course, it wasn’t the same as having such a lavish space such as this one. She knew that Ren was only invited here and none of this belonged to him, specifically, but she was no stranger to the lore behind the noble families, and she was very well aware of his connections. He probably got to visit this place fairly often - it seemed like a perfect explanation as to why he looked so bored of it.

With a soft sigh, she placed an elbow on her knee and rested her chin on her palm as her frown was concealed beneath her fingers. This was only for a moment, however, as she soon turned and looked up at her company.

“Are you going to sit?” Ren was a tall young man… with her seated on the step by his ankles and him standing beside her, he only seemed like more of a giant, which somehow seemed to worsen little Lena’s mood further.

“What do you think of this whole event, anyway? You kind of fit right in.”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[z0pu]

Ren #3

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Ren raised his eyebrows a little at the offer to sit. It was an odd quirk of his but... he never liked sitting down, it's not so much the not moving that bothers Ren, in fact the young man had no issue simply standing in a spot for extended periods of time, but the actual act of sitting made him uncomfortable in most situation so avoided it when he could.

"I'm quite alright standing actually."

Saeki eventually followed up with her of what he thought about such events and how he seemed to fit well. This very much took Ren by surprise, to him he felt like he stood like like a sore thumb, he had nothing to do at such events, other than simply meet and greet people he did not care to know. If anything he was just an oddity, almost an attraction for the bureaucrats who wants to see the one will most likely never inherit the clan put on a show for them.

"Haha... I don't think much of them. Nor do I feel I fit in that well either. The well dressed daughter of a Captain like you has more of a place here than I do, I assure you."

Yet before he could ask a similar question to Saeki a voice came from behind Ren, interrupting the conversation.

"So that's where you were hiding, Ren."

The deep voice could only belong to one person, really there was only a single person in Soul Society that simply called Ren by only his first name with no honorifics.

Ren turned to face the voice and gave a small bow. "Please father, you know I was not hiding."

Fukumoto Souma stood but a few feet away, his tall and broad frame in a dark blue silken kimono with only the smallest decoration betraying the high quality of the fabric. Despite how different the father and the son were one would be hard presed to deny the resemblance between the two. Where the father was sturdy and broad, the son was delicate and slender, yet nearly every features they shared. The same wavy wavy dark hair that parted in the middle, the same nose and mouth, only the eyes were different, Ren having not inherited his large blue eyes from his father who held narrow black ones. Other difference one could easily attribute to age, as young as Ren was he was always clean faced were Souma preferred to keep a pointed goatee on his chin.

Ren's father kept his tone neutral though from the relaxed state of his face the son knew his father was actually fine with the situation only acting as people expected him to. "You know the guests will expect you to be more central to the festivities." The older Fukumoto added before sighing.

"Not that I blame you for avoiding it." He finally added before turning his attention to Saeki.

"You must be Captain Saeki's daughter, you look much like she did at your age. I am Ren's father, First Division 6th Seat, Fukumoto Souma." The older man finally added with a small bow to young shinigami trainee.

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3
Fukumoto Souma #587392

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #3

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As Ren refused to sit down, Lenalee narrowed her eyes, glaring at him slightly as if his decision to remain standing was offensive to her. Of course, it was the only way for him not to tower over her, so the fact that he deliberately chose not to lower himself to a level that was closer to her own felt quite insulting.

She gave a sarcastic smile, then turned to face forward again with a sulk. Too rich and fancy to sit on a step, huh? Mr Nobility is too good to sit down here with me, is he? her thoughts ran on until his voice interrupted them. As he spoke, she reached down to untie the unbearable straps of her sandals that were irritating her skin - if he was going to do things however he pleased, then so was she, and the first thing that had to go were those dreaded sandals. Her smile was now a proud one as she moved them aside and let out a loud laugh in response to his comment about her fitting in here better than he did.

Lenalee’s mouth was open and a snarky reply was about to spat out, but another voice caused her stop and upon turning round to see who it was, she froze. She had never met Ren’s family, but she could easily recognise nobility, and since this man was certainly no captain that she recognised, it only left one possibility as to who he could have been. Having come here in search for Ren, he must be an uncle, cousin, or his father.

Immediately sobering up, she hurriedly rose to her feet to be polite and nearly fell over as she wished that she hadn’t just taken off her shoes. Worried that it would come across as rude, she looked down at them to see if she could get her little feet back in them without making it obvious, but since she had cleverly moved them to the side, there was absolutely no way to get them back on without crouching down and using her hands.

When she was addressed, the girl nervously straightened up and nodded. She forced a smile as she was compared to her mother and then bowed her head politely, her lowered gaze falling on her bare feet that she prayed he wouldn’t notice.

“Yes! It’s an honour to meet you, Fukumoto-san.” Pausing, she raised her head once more and smiled to him again. Perhaps trying to offer some support to her friend as he was accused of hiding, she glanced at Ren for a moment, then gestured toward the garden, perhaps also trying to keep attention away from her sandal-less feet. “Your son was just showing me the garden, it’s very lovely.”

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[z0pu]

Ren #4

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A hint of surprise showed on Ren's face as he looked towards Saeki, the fact she told what was arguably a lie, seemingly only to cover for Ren was not something the young man expected, but it made him appreciate his friend all the more, regardless how unnecessary it was. The surprise was quickly replaced by an appreciative smile.

Yet before Ren could even speak any further another voice let itself be heard, cutting right into the conversation

"HAHA! This is where you were hiding Senpai!" the voice was loud and clear, cutting right through the background noise and chatter of the party just as the owner of said voice pushed his way past people, literally sliding into the group and resting on of his hands on Ren's father's shoulder, a cheerful grin all over their face.

Captain Adachi Toshiro rarely actually behaved like one would expect a Gotei 13 Captain to do so. Yet the man had always been that way to Ren, to him Captain Adachi, despite all the respect he was due from his position would always be the funny friend of his parents that came around whenever his wife was mad at him. Although he had done so much less as teh years went by, both due to his responsibility as Captain, Ren assumed, and the little girl he carried in his left arm.

Fukumoto Souma, sighed at the comment from his old friend. "I wasn't hiding anywhere and you know that, *Captain* Adachi."

By the way his father clearly emphasized the Captain part, it was obvious to Ren that the older Fukumoto was trying to remind his friend that he was the one that was expected to mingle and behave, not him. A notion that Captain Adachi either missed or ignored entirely, choosing instead to act more of a fool than he already was.

The man instead opted to hug his toddler daughter all the tighter and "cry" into here. "Oh! Eri-chan! Look how mean he is being to daddy! Calling an old friend so coldly, rather than by their names! You hurt me Senpai!"

The irony that Captain Adachi had outranked Fukumoto Souma for decades now and still called the man Senpai rather than his own name, yet admonished him for not being overly familiar, was not lost on anybody, least of old Captain Adachi himself, but that was just the kind of person Adachi Toshiro was. It was just much easier to go with the flow, something Ren had learn to accept from a young age. the only person that held any kind of control over the strange man was his wife, and one day, Ren had no doubt his daughter would control her father much in the same way.

Little Eri however seemed to care little for her father's clowning, instead was looking to the side and became fixated with Saeki, staring at the young woman and the more gesticulating her father did the more the little three year old tried to break free, reaching for Saeki herself with her little arms.

This eventually came even to Captain Adachi's notice, who turned his body and held Eri-chan up, who kept on trying to make her way to towards nearby girl.

"What's that Eri-chan!? You have found someone you like have you!? Well if it isn't Captain Saeki's daughter Lena-chan isn't it?"


For now Ren was simply happy not to be the focus of Captain Adachi's attention, remembering a birthday of his own when he was young when the man who was then simply "Uncle Toshiro" took him on an "adventure" which had left the young Ren dizzy and exhausted for days after.

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3
Fukumoto Souma #587392
Adachi Toshiro #6c84ff

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #4

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As Captain Adachi’s voice was heard, Lenalee looked past Ren’s father to see the speaker. One eyebrow raised, the girl soon sighed and shook her head lightly at the interaction between two fully grown men, supposedly of respectable statuses.

Lena stayed out of it entirely and was glad not to be a part of any conversation anymore, but turning around and getting back to garden-gazing would be too disrespectful, so she simply waited for them to take their meet-up elsewhere. Unfortunately, however, the chances of that seemed to become slimmer by the second, as she noticed that little Eri was staring at her very intently. Blinking a few times, the older girl was horrified and she looked up at Ren, lightly nudging him.

“Why is she staring at me? What does she want?” she asked in a quiet whisper.

Then the toddler did something truly terrible, as her tiny hands reached out for Lenalee, the child clearly not the least bit interested in what her father was saying to her and more so in Lenalee. As the captain spoke, turning the spotlight right onto her, Lenalee froze. This could only mean one thing…

Nearly glaring at the girl, Lenalee frantically shook her head and silently mouthed ‘NO’ to the girl as if she had done something bad, but quickly ceased all movement when Adachi addressed her.

“Yes, Captain Adachi… Lenalee Saeki.” She uttered to the man whom she considered the goofiest and most unprofessional captain to ever walk the seireitei. Quite frankly and perhaps cruelly, he would be slightly embarrassing to call a captain, in her mind. He never seemed to have a serious moment, got way too chummy with people who were supposed to be below him, and dragging his daughter along with him everywhere was just plain irresponsible and something of a nuisance - how he earned and maintained his seat as captain was beyond her. Sure he was capable of great things and she didn’t question his strengths, especially as a kido practitioner, but there had to be more to being captain than that…

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[z0pu]

Ren #5

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Ren raised his eyebrows in surprise at Saeki's reaction, his fellow academy student seemed to almost cower at the sight of a small child. It was funny really, enough to make slightly chuckle, which he try to cover with his closed hand, more out politeness than really hiding it.

"I think she must just really like you. Small children have good instincts about people."

It really wasn't much to worry about, Eri-chan was just a little girl, nothing worth being as upset as Saeki seemed to be.

Before the conversation could proceed much further a very audible silence took over the reception room, quickly followed by a few odd whispers. Looking towards the main entrance of the room and over the crowd, Ren quickly confirmed his guess as to the cause.

Three people had entered the room, the first and foremost, taking centre position as they walked in was the current head of the Kurogami Clan and Captain of the sixth division of the Gotei 13, Kurogami Kyosuke. The man who on paper had organized this event; in practice Ren was well aware his uncle was probably the person in the room, that cared the very least for such frivolities but his position and tradition meant he had to sometimes play the part. Not that the man was ever anything less than a perfect example of a noble Shinigami.

On the left, the man who walked at the right of his Captain was Honda Sosuke, the current lieutenant of the sixth division and probably as much of a polar opposite to his captain as can be imagined. Honda wore his hair in an eccentric pompadour style and walked with a style and attitude more fitting a street thug than a Gotei Officer.

As for the third person... well they had managed to split off from the other two with incredible speed and bee-lined for exactly the location where Ren and the others were standing.

Truly this person stood out the most out of all three people who had entered, many could hardly take their eyes of the stunningly beautiful figure of the woman in the bright red kimono who had moved passed the crowd with grace that could be described as almost a dance, long silky black flowed behind her as she moved contrasting a rosy porcelain white skin. Many a man could not help but stare and blush whenever this woman entered any room. To Ren her presence had always been a comfort... but often also a source of anxiety.

"Ren-chaaaaan~! I missed you!" The woman exclaimed as she launched herself into a hug, stepping right passed captain Adachi without even addressing the man, and grabbed the young Shinigami, bringing his head into her embrace, making the position even more awkward than embarrassing as Ren had grown to be nearly a foot taller than his captor.

Truly this was inappropriate.

"Mother... I saw you yesterday..." Ren managed to let out, his voice muffled by his face being forced against his mother's silken kimono.

Really the young Shinigami should be used to it by now, his mother had always been as such, she would enter a room and suddenly the entire world revolved around her, not from her seeking attention however, Fukumoto Sakuya simply commanded people's attention by her very being. Ren came to realize this more and more as years went by, even as he saw his father age somewhat his mother was an unchanging monolith of his life, that looked much the same now as she did when she was a young Shinigami recruit herself, a fact that often confused people who were unaware of the filial relation of two.

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3
Fukumoto Sakuya #dd0000

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #5

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Lenalee hadn’t replied to Ren’s response, too horrified by the interest that was shown in her by the little girl and also preoccupied with making no show of disrespect by allowing her true feelings to leak out through her facial expression to the captain who was little Eri’s father.

Suddenly, the hall became eerily silent and Lenalee frowned. She had no way of looking over anyone’s shoulder, being significantly shorter than everyone present, so she leaned to the side slightly to try and peer through. That was when she saw the three newcomers - of course she recognised the captain and lieutenant of the sixth division, but the third person was new to her. She couldn’t help but wonder why her mother insisted on her coming here - was it to get to meet captains and lieutenants for future recruitment? Was this woman somebody important? If that was the case, then this was about to backfire tremendously, as Lenalee had no intention of mingling and meeting any of them. She had already decided whose squad she wanted to be on anyway, and it belonged to none of these other captains.

It was shocking to see how gracefully the woman strayed from the pair she entered with, however, as Lenalee found herself staring just as the majority of other people at this gathering were, although surely for different reasons. When she suddenly launched herself at Ren, the girl flinched and immediately moved away, her brow raising while her gaze remained fixed on Ren and this new company he had, who seemed to be so happy to see him.

Does Ren have a girlfriend? How did I not know about this? she thought to herself, seeing the tight embrace that he was pulled into and the manner in which he was addressed. Did everybody else know about this and am I the last to find out? Annoyance accompanied that thought, until Ren addressed her as ‘mother’.

“Mother!?” Lenalee accidentally blurted out, before quickly raising a hand over her mouth in horror.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[z0pu]

Ren #6

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A few head turned at Saeki's outburst. Captain Adachi and Eri-chan turned in unison towards the petite woman, Fukumoto Souma, simply sighed and shook his head, somewhat exacerbated at such events still happening, Finally Ren mostly escaped his mother, who now settled for holding to her son's arm and resting her head on his shoulder, to turn to Saeki in turn.

"Indeed." Ren simply said with a nod.

"Allow me to introduce you, this is my mother, Fukumoto Sakuya." He added while gesturing to his mother, still happily holding on to her son's arm. Now this was getting real embarrassing.

"Err... Mother. This is-" Ren tried to introduce his friend before being cut off by the overbearing matriarch.
"I know, Ren-kun."

With this Fukumoto Sakuya actually let go of her son and straightened her back to actually look around to the people, her large dark blue eyes now opened and clearly visible to everyone around. these were what clearly marked the relation between Ren and his mother, being the most striking feature he inherited from the woman.

"This is Saeki Lenalee-chan." Sakuya turned to look at the younger woman. Ren knew this look well and how much his mother's eyes made i feel like she could stare straight down into the deepest part of your soul.

"I'm sure these men simply said your resembled your mother, what I am sure they meant is you hold yourself in much the same way, a strong, skillful and dedicated Shinigami." Sakuya took one more step closer to the smaller woman, her own deep blue eyes, looking even deeper into Saeki.

"Your eyes however have so much more life in them though. Keep them as such and I have no doubt you will grow splendidly."

It was not just Fukumoto Sakuya's appearance that was bewitching to many, even her voice, melodious and clear as it was, had a weight to it that was hard to ignore.

That is until she reverted back to the bubbly dotting mother.

"Ara~ You must make sure not to let such eyes take you in Ren-kun! Remember you are all children still! You must be as melons!"

Of course such a sentence would be confusing to anyone, anyone except Ren.

"Yes mother will be as melons." The young man responded with a nod.

No doubt everyone around must ahve looked at them like they were crazy people. Well it was not too far off the mark.

The mother and son duo turned in unison to look at the rest of the group and said in perfect sync.

"Because melons... Can't elope!"
"Because melons... Can't elope!"

Any tension now... was gone.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{Joke explanation}

This was a cantaloupe joke btw.

---

Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #6

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Lenalee couldn’t believe that she just shouted that out for everyone to hear. It was so embarrassing that she wished the earth would open up beneath her feet and swallow her whole. Her hand still over her mouth, she turned to look at the heads that had turned, also glancing at Eri who seemed to be even more fixated on her now.

Turning back to Ren and his mother as he spoke, she lowered her hand with a sheepish smile, her cheeks red with embarrassment. Remaining silent as Ren introduced the woman, she didn’t dare interrupt, not even to apologise, as one rude outburst was enough. Instead, she quietly listened and nodded, planning her words to make her apology only after he was finished. However, before he could even reach the end of his own statement, his mother interrupted him and released her grip on his arm.

As she rattled off Lenalee’s name, the girl was quiet surprise, her gaze fixed on the taller woman who now had the attention of every person at this event. The closer she moved, the smaller Lenalee felt. It was like she was shrinking before the mighty figure of Fukumoto Sakuya, the lady’s deep blue eyes as piercing as she knew her own mother’s to be, but in a different way.

The girl could only nod very gently in response to Sakuya’s words, spoken with such gravity as if every word lingered for but a moment before crashing right through her. “T-Thank you…” she quietly stuttered, her voice somehow smaller than her stature. At this point, Lenalee’s mother was also watching what was going on, a piercing gaze of her own reaching the little gathering that was happening just at the threshold to the garden. However, as was typical of Azai, her facial expression revealed very little and her thoughts were kept to herself.

“I’m very sorry, I didn’t-” Lenalee began to apologise, but perhaps the words that came from the small shinigami were not uttered loudly enough. Before she knew it, Sakuya had returned back to her former livelier personality, addressing Ren once more.

The spectacle that came next from the mother and son duo eased all tension in the air. The synchrony in their performance was flawless but elicited many groans from their audience and only a few chuckles that may as well have been only as a show of politeness than a genuine response. Lenalee, however, merely stared at them for a moment in pure silence, her mouth partly open in disbelief.

“So this is where…” she started, though shortly after her sentence began, her lips curled into something of a smile and a gentle giggle escaped her. “This is where you get your sense of humour from!” she exclaimed as her smile cracked wider and the girl was quite possibly the only soul in the entire estate to be thrown into a fit of honest giggles by their joke.

---

Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[z0pu]

Ren #7

---

Ren and his mother remained unmoving for a few moments, as if to let their mother-son joke combo sink in for everyone, once sufficient time had pass for anyone to have processed and understood the joke the two began moving again.

It seemed only a few chuckled at the melon joke, perhaps the cantaloupe pun was a bit too subtle for most, but explaining a joke like that makes it unfunny, so it could not be helped. Perhaps next time Ren would try a different fruit based play on words. Maybe something about lemons? Lemons are more common than cantaloupes after all.

To Lenalee's question about the source of Ren's humour, of course the young man could not deny the answer.

"Yes, mother has always made sure to nurture a sense of humour and levity in the household. For example when I was very young she started..."

Before Ren could prattle on about past events however Captain Adachi intervened, really saving most people around from dreadful stories and more terrible jokes.

"ANYHOW. As much as I'm sure we would all enjoy more humour in our lives, us adults have actual business to discuss, therefore."

Adachi turned to face Lenalee and squat down to be eye level with the young woman, staring at here intently for a few seconds, before thrusting little Eri-chan into her arms. At which point the little girl promptly began holding on to Saeki.

"Lena-Chan! I entrust my dear Eri-chan to you!" Captain Adachi added before begining to walk aways, tears in his eyes at leaving his daughter behind even for a few moment. the man was quickly followed by Sakuya chuckling at the situation and Souma sighing at the same.

This left Ren and Lenalee by themselves for now. With Eri-Chan of course.

Ren then turned to the one and a half ladies. "Would you like a tour of the house? The rest of the event will be quite dreary until meal time now."

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Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3

[Bobbie]

Lenalee #7

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Lenalee nodded as she listened to Ren’s response and was quite eager to hear a bit more about his upbringing. Since Ren was a quiet individual, she didn’t get to learn much about him very often. There were events like this that bridged the gap in status thanks to her mother, but they tackled the history of the family name, not Ren in particular.

Captain Adachi soon interrupted Ren, however, preventing him from going on. As the speaker changed, the girl redirected her attention to watch Adachi now with a sceptical brow raised. It was ironic for him to refer to the business of adults. He himself did not accurately reflect his words as he was seen babying his daughter and fussing over less important matters far more often than dealing with proper issues that needed his attention. As the captain of the kido-squad, she would expect somebody more serious than this man.

Her thoughts came to a sudden halt as the taller man lowered himself in a squat to be at eye-level with Lenalee. She flinched and stared right back at him with a bewildered look, her eyes wide.

The air between them was tense as she wondered what he wanted - could he somehow read my thoughts? He’s a captain, if he finds out what I actually think about him, I will be in so much trouble. I don’t think I actually said anything out loud, right?

Then the unthinkable happened, and Lenalee’s nightmare came true as a shiver ran down her spine.

Little Eri-chan was thrust into her arms.

“W-What?” While she had no other choice but to hold the girl to prevent her from falling and getting hurt, she tried her very best to pull the young girl away from her body, but the creature was latched onto her so tightly that it was impossible. In truth, she didn’t even need to hold onto Eri, she was clinging onto Lenalee like a koala.

“Captain!” She called out to him as he walked away, but she didn’t dare go any further. What would be the result of saying no to a high-esteemed captain?

Spinning on her heel to have her back to the captain, hiding the horrified look on her face, Lenalee began to panic. “What am I supposed to do with her!? Why won’t she let go of me?” She tried to pull at the toddler again, “She’s like some humanoid limpet! Why did he have to just dump her on me when there are so many adults around?” Finally, she relented and let out a very unhappy sigh.

“A tour, yes…” she replied, but was clearly more focussed on her unsuccessful attempts at detaching the sticky girl from her body. “If she throws up on me, I’m going to freak out.” This was embarrassing. Babysitting was not a task that she enjoyed, nor considered it something of her standard, yet Captain Adachi insisted...

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Lenalee: #54d5e3
Captain Azai Saeki: #bd9ac4

[z0pu]

Ren #8

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Ren let a small chuckle escape his lips as Saeki attempted to pry herself free from Eri-chan's grip, but the little one was as determined and willful as Ren knew her father could be. Regardless of his attitude there seemed to be little Captain Adachi was not capable of making happen once he set his mind to it.

His chuckle under control Ren kept up his smile and gestured towards one of the large sliding doors at the side of hall before sliding it open wide enough for the three of them slip through, indicating for Saeki to go first.

Once out into the hall every was much more quiet, the noise and activity of the reception muffled by the walls.

"Don't worry Eri-chan is a well behaved girl, she would not throw up on you. Isn't that right Eri-chan?" Ren replied while slightly lowering himself to Eri's eye level.

The little one immediately replying with a strong nod. "Ewi goo giwl!"

"Yes a very good girl" Ren replied in turn before straightening and looking at Saeki again. "See? It's going to be just fine."

Perhaps a somewhat more serious advantage to the situation might convince Saki though.

"Plus it never hurt to have a Captain owe you a favour. Captain Adachi is one of the capable people in Soul Society. After all, you don;t grown from a Rukongai beggar orphan to a Gotei captain without skills."

Ren then took a few steps down the hall. this way are the private garden and the west wing where the branch families, like the Fukumoto, live. Which would you rather see first?

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Fukumoto Ren #27d3d3

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