Ryuuken rubbed his sleep laden eyes as he walked out of the master bedroom in the dead of the night.
The after effects of a long day at work and sleepless nights were evident in the form of faint dark circles that seemed to be forming under his eyes. Yet he slowly and quietly made his way to the room right next the master bedroom in his house.
Carefully, he pushed open the door to reveal a room painted in hues of blue, faintly lit by the moonlight that streamed in through the window. The decor ranged from a small pile of stuffed animals upon a white dresser to a single white rocking chair in the corner, although Ryuuken was hardly concerned with the things that filled the room. His eyes, adjusting to the darkness, slowly searched for the woman who stood in the centre of the room, beside a crib.
"Did we wake you up again?" Katagiri asked while Uryu gurgled in his mother's arms.
"No, I just thought I'd check up on him. You beat me to it" Ryuuken replied as he made his way towards his wife and infant son.
"I got up to get a glass of water and check up on Uryu. Turns out he was wide awake in his crib. Weren't you?" She cooed at her baby.
"Hmm" Ryuuken responded while he gently snaked his arm around her waist.
He felt her sigh.
She's smiling, He thought.
Their son gurgled again, drawing their attention towards him.
"He's restless" Ryuuken said, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Shh sweatheart" she cooed at their child again "Mama is here"
"Maybe he's trying to sense hollows" Ryuuken snorted against his wife's neck.
"Oh hush! As long as Mama is around, she will protect you, no matter what" Katagiri said while she brushed away strands of wispy black hair from her son's chubby face.
The child stared at his parents wide eyed, as if trying to understand what they were saying.
"No matter what you do, Mama will always be there to support you and so will papa" She said, looking at her husband from the corner of her eye.
Ryuuken just stared at his son, who stared back at him.
"You will... won't you?"
"Huh? Yes, off course"
"Even if he decides aganist becoming a doctor?"
"He can become a dancer if he feels like it." Ryuuken chuckled.
"What if he isn't the best at sports"
"He can be the best at stitching for all I care. He is still my son. Our son"
"What if he decides... "
"Say it, Katagiri"
Katagiri turned round to face her husband.
"What if he decides to become a quincy..." She whispered, holding her son closer to herself.
Ryuuken sighed.
He had half the mind to tell Katagiri to drop the thought. He didn't want his son to get dragged into the whole mess. He wanted his son to be happy and normal child, without having to endanger his life at the sound of a hollow tearing up the city.
He looked at his wife who was looking him straight in the eye- something that she rarely ever did.
Ryuuken sighed again before taking his son into his own arms.
"It doesn't matter what I want. As long as our son his happy, he may do as he pleases. Even if that means I might have to bandage him up after a fight" He said with a faint smile.
Katagiri smiled softly at her husband and then at their son who had drifted back to sleep in his father's arms. She gently placed the sleeping infant back in his crib not before kissing him goodnight.
Ryuuken took her hand in his much larger one as they made their way back to their own bedroom.
"I ran into Masaki-san the other day" Katagiri said as they crawled into bed
"Did you now?" Ryuuken replied as he drew his wife closer to himself
"Yes, she was with her son. The child seems health"
"That's good to know" He replied sleepily
"I wonder... if Masaki-san's son and our Uryu will ever grow up to be friends"
Ryuuken's eyes shot wide open.
"For now let's deal with Uryu wanting to be a dancing, knitting quincy or whatever. Let's save the topic of him being friends with Isshin's brat for another night"
Katagiri couldn't help but chuckle.