Chapter 846 The Elaborated Lie part 3

Instead of replying to her introduction, she muttered in a low voice, "...U-Urahara?"

Benihime immediately took notice of her abnormal condition and stared straight into her eyes and saw them having a small tinge of red, 'This... Could it be...'

Benihime approached Aika and patted her shoulder, "Student, are you alright? You don't look too good."

A few seconds later, while Aika was trying to suppress the mysterious rage she was feeling, it suddenly went away as if she was just hallucinating, 'W-what was that!?'

Without her knowledge, the moment Benihime patted her shoulder, she sent her authoritative intent towards the twins raising a ruckus, and was able to 'convince' them within just that short amount of time, [What a handful. If I didn't stop you, you may have irrevocably damaged her psyche and soul. Stay put. You two can take out your resentment on Kisuke once this whole ordeal is over.]

After this, Aika's Zanpakuto Spirits ceased their activities and retreated back to the centermost part of Aika's soul.

As soon as she calmed down, Aika realized that she had been staring at Benihime strangely, "I'm sorry! I'm fine."

Benihime took a step back and feigned ignorance, "Are you sure? You look pale and you reacted strangely to my name. Do you know me?"

A massive headache crushed her which made her hold her temple tightly, "Your name... No... I don't know you... I don't know... I know I don't... But why...?"

'Curse you, Kisuke... I didn't think you'd put such a strong seal. No wonder those children are pissed.', Benihime thought as she supported her to sit down since it seemed that she was about to lose her balance, "It's fine to act tough, but you have to actually do the act or you'll just be unreasonably pushing yourself. My place is just around that corner. You can rest there for the time being and as thanks for your help last time, allow me to treat you to dinner."

Aika wanted to refuse her offer, but in her current state, she didn't want to face her parents for a moment due to that fear that slipped into her, 'Just what are they hiding? And why hide it?' She should have known that it must be for her own good since she didn't doubt their love and care of her. However, due to the unexplained emotions suddenly taking over her and disorientating her judgment, she became a little bit afraid of them, 'In any case... I might get something out of this 'Urahara'.'

That's what she thought, at least. The truth is, her emotions were so jumbled that she didn't really know where to place them. While she might really have a tingeof fear of her parents, most of it actually came from the missing memories and she just wrongfully placed it on the former.

As soon as she nodded, Benihime smiled and led Aika to the place she's currently staying at.

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"Make yourself comfortable while I make us dinner." Benihime offered her some tea and added, "This tea has a calming effect. It should help you out."

"Thank you." After taking a sip from the cup, Aika immediately felt its warmth entering her body in a good way and she could feel her hurried breath that she hadn't even noticed, relaxing, "...It's delicious."

"I'm glad you liked it. It's an original mix of mine."

"Really? I thought it was some high-class tea leaves."

"There are some mixed in, but it's mostly from common leaves. Do you want anything in particular? Or maybe some things that you don't eat?"

"Please don't mind me. I'll go with what you've already planned to make. Truthfully speaking, just drinking this tea already made my entire trip worth it."

"My~ Is that so?" Benihime adeptly chopped the vegetables while also carefully tossing the beef cubes into the hot pan, "But if the tea has that much effect on you, you must be really troubled."

Aika hesitated a little bit before asking, "How can you tell?"

"The tea may have a great calming effect but it's really only effective for those who are really tense. Your body's tension has significantly dropped while your voice has become softer. Normally, it wouldn't have that kind of effect."

Aika stared at her tea for a few moments before muttering, "I see... It's a strangely wonderful tea."

Benihime peeked at her and asked, "You won't ask if I'm telling the truth or if such a strange blend could actually have such an almost magical effect?"

"There's already a ton of things that don't make sense around me. For now, I don't want to add the 'baggage' that this tea will bring into my head if I think about it."

"...Must be tough. Turn on the TV to distract yourself with something. It's better than you blankly staring at some random space."

Aika did as Benihime instructed and from then on, the house was veiled by the TV noise and the boiling and sizzling sounds from the kitchen.

The two of them only started talking again when Benihime began setting the table. But after that, the silence between them continued. Strangely enough, however, Aika thought that things should have become awkward, but she couldn't find that kind of atmosphere at all. If anything, the current situation resembled a pleasant and relaxing place. She found solace when she needed it the most.