He, Karin, and his father had only gotten home about an hour ago - still intact, but just barely - but Yuzu was no doubt blissfully unaware of that fact.
Ichigo didn't like keeping things from Yuzu - she was always so genuine and concerned about everyone, it seemed wrong. But Karin said that it would be unfair to make her worry. Why drag her into things? And Ichigo agreed, because he wanted to keep Yuzu as far away from danger as possible. Karin didn't let him protect her anymore, but he still clung to his big brother role with Yuzu, and she didn't seem to mind. And he was going to do everything in his power to keep her uninvolved for as long as he could.
"You look tired, Ichi-nii," she said, shoving a glass of orange juice into his hands. "A good breakfast is the foundation of a good day!" So Ichigo ate, while Yuzu watched to make sure he finished it all. She watched him leave, too, staring at his back as he left again.
Yuzu's smile faltered once she was sure he was gone. That family of hers, they thought they were so clever and secretive. The way they acted, you'd think she didn't have eyes and ears of her own. She might not see things as clearly as the others, but she could tell they were there. And she didn't miss the way medical supplies were always disappearing from the clinic.
But she let them keep their secret, because it seemed to give them some sense of satisfaction - no, perhaps it was more like comfort. And she did her best to act normally, because she knew that's what they needed.
So she smiled and pretended not to hear when they whispered words like 'shinigami' and 'hollow' and 'arrancar.' She pretended to believe Karin when she said that she hurt herself falling from her bike, even though it was obvious that she was lying.
When they came home, she smiled and pretended that everything was wonderful - because in her heart, she knew that's what they really needed.