(Ryoto's pov)

... ... ... I am speechless. I literally don't know what to say. On the one hand, I'm happy as any man can be hearing that your partner of years wants to start a family. The difference is that we were in a relationship for over 20 years.

But on the other hand, I wonder if it's the right time for it. Any time in this world, really. I don't want to be delusional enough to think that since I'm Captain now, I'm strong enough. But I also feel that right now would be the best time to start a family before all the crazy stuff starts happening.

(E/D: No it's not. Because if it happens I am personally ripping the baby's umbilical cord out and eating it in front of Ryoto to teach him a lesson and give him some character development.)

"Don't worry about it. You have us, right Zan-chan?"

"Don't call me Zan-chan!"

Gyaku giggled at the embarrassed Zangetsu. I keep forgetting that I'm not alone. And I'm not talking only about my Zanpakutos. There's Rin, Yoruichi, Isane, Kisuke, Yama-jii, and others that would help if I have a problem. Old habits die hard, I guess.

There's also a third hand in this idiom, and that's Lala. She is pregnant with our child, and let's be honest, I was not ready for parenthood at that time but now... I'm still not entirely sure, but I would be a better parent now than I would be 20 years ago.

The real question is if this is enough reason to refuse Rin and the other girls their request. I could tell it wasn't easy for them to make this decision, and I should answer her equally as seriously.

"Rin, before I'll tell you my answer, I think you need to know something first."

Because of my serious tone, Rin got nervous but kept quiet and listened carefully to what I was about to say.

"Lala is pregnant." I said it without dragging the topic too long, and I waited for Rin's reaction, and as expected, it was explosive.

"WHAT!!!?" She slammed the table she was sitting at, and because of the shock, she didn't control her strength enough and destroyed it.

"OK, calm down. I know how this sounds, but there's an explanation for everything."

Rin looked into my eyes, calmed down, and let me talk. She wasn't unreasonable, after all.

"It was an accidental pregnancy..."

Rin nodded at me sarcastically. "I bet so many other teenage pregnancies were all planned." I could practically feel sarcasm oozing from her.

I raised my finger. "I know how it sounds, but I really am going with this somewhere."

I cleared my throat. "As I was saying, it was accidental in the most accidental way possible. As you probably can guess, my stamina in bed is unmatched that with no problem, I can take care of all three of you and still rest and wake up without a problem."

"It's incredibly unfair if you ask me."

"Don't blame me for having the ability to satisfy all my lovers and have the strength to spare." I smirked and winked at her.

"But going back on topic, Lala also has a high libido, so as soon as we started having sex, we didn't have a day without it except for a time my arms were injured. Let me tell you that I wasn't irresponsible, so of course, I used contraception regularly, but no one was ready for the unexpected to happen."

At that moment, I unsheathed my Zanpakuto and ran its blade on the palm of my hand. I then allowed my blood to drop on the floor.

Rin didn't even flinch at the sight of my blood and observed me carefully.
Seeing nothing happening, she raised her eyebrow.

"You made the floor dirty with your blood. What's your point?" As she was saying it, Rin stood up from her chair and went to get the bandages to take care of my wound. Unfortunately, I don't possess Hollow's regeneration ability. I wonder if it will be possible in the future.

Rin could have healed me a lot faster using Kaido, but she enjoys taking care of my wounds in an old-fashioned way if it isn't something serious. I could tell by her smile as she was treating the cut I made on my palm.

As she was wrapping the bandage carefully, I continued my explanation.

"Let me ask you this question then. Did you ever see me bleed before we came to Soul Society?"

Rin took some time to think, but her hands didn't stop moving.

"I don't think so, which is strange now that I think about it. We were training swordsmanship sometimes for hours, but your hands were always uninjured."

"Bingo. I couldn't let myself bleed because my blood was extremely poisonous. To the point, it would melt wood, stone, metal, or any other material in literally seconds. Because of that blood, the contraceptive pills that I was taking didn't work on me as my blood destroys anything 'foreign'."

Rin took my words very seriously, but she was stuck on one thing. "You took the pill?"

"Alien contraceptive pills made for man. They work like a charm... unless you have blood like me. *Sigh*."

"But that leaves the question, why is your blood normal now?"

"Universal mumbo jumbo," I answered quickly without any hesitation. I wasn't even lying this time.

"...Aha... let's stick with that then... but why are you telling me that right now?" She asked with curiosity.

I smiled gently. "That's easy to answer. If I want to start a family with you, then I need to be as honest as possible, and that's kind of important information. That also opens an interesting question. If we will have a child, would it be an older or younger sibling to Lala's child? You know, since our world is frozen in time."

I started wondering, but my focus was brought back by Rin.

"Stop asking stupid questions. It's not that important. But I would need to apologize to Lala for doing all of this behind her back. You too." She gave me a look that said she would drag me to Lala and force me into dogeza if she needed to.

"I know, and trust me, I'll do it as soon as possible. Maybe after school since we would be back on our first day."

Her expression softened. "Good then."

Rin stayed quiet for a while, but I could see that she had more to say.

"Rin, did you want to ask me for anything more? You know that I'll at least consider your request."

She inhaled and let out the air a few times to calm down her nerves. Is it a bugger request that asks for a child? I'm getting a little nervous here.

"Can I call myself Rin Yuuki...?" She twirled her hair around her finger, and at the end of her sentence, she put her fingers together and pushed them gently.

How is this creature so cute? I just couldn't stop myself from hugging her and spinning around with her in my arms.

This action surprised her. "Wait, Ryoto put me down. You didn't answer my question."

"Of course, you can. It was silly of you to even think that I would disagree." I put her down. "But won't Yoruichi and Isane be jealous?" Yoruichi Yuuki and Isane Yuuki don't sound as good as their current surnames. Maybe I'm just not used to it. Only time will tell.

"Speaking of that, I was talking with them about that, and both of them won't or can't change their surname. In the case of Yoruichi, since she is from the Noble clan so, you would be forced to marry into her family, and she doesn't want her child to be part of it."

Understandable. Being part of the Noble clan is very stressful, and a lot of responsibilities come with being born a Noble, whether you want it or not.

"Isane just doesn't want to change her name. She says it's very important to her."

Hmm. I sense some history. I can probably guess why she feels like that, but I'll be waiting patiently until she wants to share this story with me.
"But they still want to have children with me?"

"Is it that hard to believe it?"

"No, but I know what I will be doing today." I picked Rin up and put her on my shoulder and Shunpo out of this place to do far more important things.

(E/D: I hate this arc... I am having a Migraine from this.)

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