Adrien raced down the hallway to the washroom he'd passed, the pain within his stomach was increasing.

'I'm not going to make it,' He thought a second later a strong arm grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him over the toilet not a moment too soon.

He retched loudly as the source of his discomfort erupted from him like a volcano. The arm that had thrown him, his saving grace kept a gentle hand on his back as his body convulsed with the force of his vomiting.

Eventually his stomach gave one final squeeze, expelling a yellow grimy feeling substance from him that he spat into the toilet. He wiped his mouth with the toilet paper but was too embarrassed to turn around.

"You're not the first one," Rin's sympathetic voice reached his ears, he recognized she'd been standing in the doorway. Just like a well bonded cat, she was never far from him.

"I think if I'm honest it's a completely normal reaction. Mine was astoundingly similar," Mamoru's voice chimed in from directly behind him and Adrien realized who had thrown him to the toilet at just the right moment.

"He was worse, actually - puked until he passed out, regained consciousness and resumed puking," Rin offered, giggling a little at the blush that now tinted Mamoru's cheeks. He regarded her before replying, "you're quite special to me as well, my Lady."

"Thanks," Adrien replied as his knees gave out from under him and he slid down.

"Sadly, I wish I could say that's all the bad news I have, but the rest can wait. I'm not going to push you any further. You're already at your limit," Rin revealed.

"My father is Hawkmoth? This whole time!?" Adrien screamed before aiming his fist at the nearest object and swinging. Mamoru easily blocked his punch and took the hit himself. Mamoru flushed the toilet as he sat in front of his young descendent.

"I can certainly understand your outrage," Mamoru began.

"How could you—"

"Think of what my Zanpakuto spirit grants me. I see time as it is in its entirety. I know the beginning , the end, the lies people tell me, the secrets they keep behind closed doors. I know who is truthful, who will speak up for those who are not present to defend themselves, and I know the ones who be little the ones they envy," Mamoru cut him off with a tense edge to his voice.

"I know what my father took from Rin's mother, Tama. I know my father murdered her parents right in front of her, and forced her to watch her twin sister be murdered by him. I know that Tama had an elder brother who rescued her that night, but in doing so died defending her. I know he was the first victim of my father's that was fed to the hogyoku. That disgusting orb that he hoped would grant him the power to rule all of creation. I know how it is to have a father so power hungry he'll sacrifice anything, even his own children," Mamoru added.

The chest nut haired soul reaper took a steadying breath as he concluded, "I've seen great evil, knowing I'm the spawn of the one who brought it forth. I also know how it feels to be shown great compassion, and then to fall in love with the person who is the product of unity from those who provided that compassion. The thing I feel most shameful for is that she returns that love. I feel shameful because I can't give back what was taken away. I can't give those things back to her, I can't make it right. I'll try and in doing so I'll begin the events that lead us to this moment. It's a loop, one that various versions of ourselves will play out for an eternity. I know that if it were not for the benevolence of Sojun Kuchiki, Tama would've bled to death in the streets of a very poor district called Inuzuri. You see, Sojun was the Lieutenant of the sixth squad, he and his father Genrei, were there patrolling when they came across a strong spiritual pressure and a panicked one. They raced to the scenes and found young Tama, barely alive, wrapped in her arms was the one thing she was able to keep that horrific night her family was lost—a teddy bear."

Adrien blinked as he listened intently.

"Tama didn't need to show me compassion, but she did. She made arrangements with Byakuya Kuchiki, my adoptive father, to have playdates. I'm a nobleman by name only—"

"Pfft. Right, I'm the Duchess of York," Rin commented with a roll of her eyes.

Mamoru gave her a questioning look.

"You have the nobility of heart as well, Mamoru. Or is it simply guilt that drives you to do all you do? I don't believe that if you're going to attempt telling me that. You had a choice like any of us, follow his footsteps or mark your own path. You chose to take your own path. That alone shows you do have some nobility within you," Rin stated.

"Quite a compliment coming from one of your lineage," Mamoru remarked.

Rin quirked a brow at him, "If you're about to spill out who my father is, save it. I don't want to know."

Mamoru chuckled, "You're intelligent enough to have figured it out on your own. Your suspicions may well be correct."

Rin cast a warning glare in his direction causing him to offer a knowing smile and concede, "When you're ready then, Rin-sama."

Rin smiled gratefully at him before heading back towards the others.

"She doesn't know who her Dad is?"

Mamoru shook his head 'no', but moved closer to Adrien as he whispered, "between us—it's a good thing I was adopted or the mutual attraction she and I share would be quite inappropriate."

Adrien smiled and chuckled a bit before nodding, "I'm glad I don't have to worry about anything like that with Marinette."

Mamoru signaled his agreement with a slight shrug of his shoulders and a smirk.

"You love her, don't you?"

"I'd die for her," Adrien agreed.

Mamoru nodded, "Then you and I are not much different. When I died in her life, nearly two years ago—she believed I was dying for soul society."

He shook his head, "I would give anything for her, including my own life. If it wasn't my life that was sacrificed it would've been hers. I couldn't bear it—but I made a mistake. I left unanswered questions, unresolved feelings that ate her alive as time went on. When I saw she was putting out more spiritual pressure than she was regaining helping you, and I knew why as well. She'd sworn to me that if I fell, she would take on protecting your family directly—currently the one most worth protecting is you—all I could do to keep her from killing herself in order to keep her oath to me, was make contact with Ichika. The reiatsu I provided her boosted her levels considerably but even that wasn't enough against the explosion she absorbed protecting the two of you. I should've been more direct. Only father has ever been good with indirectly protecting someone."

"What?"

Mamoru chuckled, "I know all of the most unfathomable gossip in soul society yet I never spoke a word of it to anyone, not even Rin. Byakuya Kuchiki has a soft spot for strong women. In particular, strong women who retain their gentle sweetness as well. While his wife, Hisana struggled greatly to survive, she did in fact survive living in the most poor conditions imaginable, and still retained her compassion. While Rin's mother endured a horrific trauma at a young age, she not only continued to love and trust those around her, but even before she picked up a sword, Tama Wantanabe would defend anyone she witnessed being wrong and at the same time would comfort and shelter anyone who was in need of it. Even going as far as being willing to adopt the son of the man who murdered her family. Rin is very much like her mother in that sense, but also quite like her father. She's stern, and unwavering when convinced she's right in her actions. She follows the laws we're governed with, yet she is not above bending them when she sees fit. She also succeeds quite well in indirectly protecting those dearest to her, a skill I, evidently lack."

Adrien sniffed the air before blinking a bit and gaining a very small smile.

Mamoru sniffed the air quizzically before his brows furrowed and glanced at Adrien as he asked, "Croissants?"

Adrien nodded and shrugged a bit, "One of the first things both Rin and Marinette learned about me is despite the strict diet my Dad put me on for modeling, I love croissants. It's probably my favourite treat, really."

Mamoru chuckled and nodded, "The night you became a soul reaper was the same night you told Rin that Croissants—"

"—Always make me feel better. It sucks you guys aren't human and a little older. I wouldn't mind having the two of you for legal guardians," Adrien finished his great-uncle's sentence as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Mamoru rubbed the back of his own neck without thinking then the two males looked at each other before sharing a light chuckle.

"Well, it's nice to know I'm not so weird in my family after all," Adrien admitted.

Mamoru shook his head 'no' as he replied, "You're a very normal boy from all I can tell."

"Uhh- thanks. I mean—"

Mamoru gave Adrien a small nod of his head and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before voicing, "as I said before; I understand."

Adrien nodded and cleared his throat before leaving the washroom, Mamoru followed and his heart debated if it should soar or fall at the sight, Marinette had been the one baking the croissants, and Rin had made his favourite.

"I-is that Sukiyaki?"

The question seemed to amuse Rin as she inquired, "What does your nose tell you? Yes, before you ask, I did make it with mochi."

Mamoru felt his mouth water as he eyed the food.

Adrien was happily munching on a croissant, one arm around Marinette who was also enjoy one of the French pastries.

"You hate meat," Mamoru observed.

"But you don't. There's tofu, I'll be fine," Rin answered as she sat down.

"fair enough," Mamoru replied.

Master Fu and Ichika served up enough sushi and grilled chicken breasts to feed the rest of the group.

Chloe's jaw never closed as she took some sushi for herself, mesmerized by the fact it was authentically crafted in the very same kitchen Ichika had just left.

"I don't know why you're so surprised, Chloe. Rin, Ichika, and Mamoru are all Japanese," Adrien stated as he reached for another croissant.

Chloe blinked a bit before looking at Adrien, "Wait a minute… if your third great-grandfather was brought here from their world, doesn't that make you Japanese, Adrikins?"

"Would you like a medal? You finally figured it out," Marinette replied as she began eating her second croissant.

The honey haired girl then looked to Mamoru, "And why did you run after him when he took off? How did you think you could help?"

"The story we told you involved twin boys, you learned of what happened to the weaker of the two, meet the stronger of the two," Rin replied as she gestured to Mamoru.

Chloe's jaw dropped and she blinked repeatedly, covering her mouth with her hands, "T-th-then y-you-you're A-Ad-Adrien's-"

"Third great-granduncle," Mamoru replied.

"I'm not old so you know. Most Soul Reapers live to be nearing their thousands or well into their thousands. I am only one-hundred and fifty years old," he added as he began to eat.