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I drove down the street calmly, thinking about the same woman that I met over a month ago.

((()))

Every Saturday morning, she would to go the same grocery store and buy little things. She always wore a long skirt or long jeans and a long sleeve shirt, even if it was near a hundred degrees outside.

I recalled the first time I met her. I was driving down the same road I always drive when I go to work. At the same time, I was talking to my friend Kira about the dance competition that we were going to host this month. We were both owners of a famous weight losing gym and once every four months, we have dancing competitions for the people. As I was explaining to him my opinions of how the competition should be, I did not notice the young, brown haired woman crossing the road.

My friend noticed her though and told me halt right on time. I did, but the front bumper of my car hit her and she fell on the ground. I immediately got out of my car and rushed over to her. I thought that she was lying down on the ground, unconscious; but instead, I found her picking up her bags.

'Hey I'm sorry. Are you alright?' I asked her.

Her bangs were in front of her face, concealing it from me. She only nods and stands up. She turns around, ready to leave, but I stop her with my words.

'Her, are you sure you're alright? I can take you home if you want.'

I offered her the ride home since I felt bad for almost running her over and her bags looked heavy. But she shook her head in a 'no' and walked away. From there, I thought that I was never going to see that woman again.

But I was wrong.

((()))

After her first appearance in my life, I met her a again a few days later. It was around the morning and I was going to buy a cup of coffee. I sat down, and unknowingly, next to her. She looked at me and a small, but heard-able gasp escaped her lips. I turned my head and noticed her looking at me. She recognized me instantaneously. I saw her face, but not the whole thing, and saw bruises, major ones, on her.

'Hey, you're that woman that I-'

My sentence wasn't finished since she ran out of the coffee shop in a split second. I got up and ran after her. But when I got outside, she was no where to be found. I was still puzzled over the reason why her face looked so bruised up. I didn't notice last time since her hair was covering her face.

But my sightings over her did not stop there. The third time I saw her, she was walking by my gym while I was outside talking on my cellphone. She wore long jeans that brushed the ground every time she walked and a long, black sleeve shirt. It was burning that day. We both noticed each other and she was about to cross the road and head over to the other sidewalk. I wanted to know why things seemed weird between us when we didn't even know each other.

I quickly hung up my phone and ran over to her. She must've noticed me running to her since she began to walk faster. I reached in and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from continuing. A gasp escaped her lips as I turned her around and stared at her half shown bruised face. Her body began to tremble as she stared up at me. Her left eye, which was the only one shown because of her bangs, was widened and she looked scared. She looked like if she was seeing a ghost instead of a human being. Was she scared of me?

Most likely. I bet she thought that I was going to rape her and kill her. But I wasn't.

'Why do you look shocked every time you see me?' I asked her.

She tried to pull her wrist away, but I wasn't going to let her go so easily.

'P-Please let go of me; I m-must get home q-quickly.' she tells me, her voice shaking like a leaf.

I let go of her right there and watch her cross the street and head to her destination. I place my hands on my hips thoughtfully, wondering to myself why is she wearing such large clothings during the middle of the hot summer and why her face was so bruised. I didn't want to start going into conclusions since I didn't know her, but I am going to try to meet her.

The next following days, I kept seeing her. Her clothing styles did not change at all. She still wore her overly large slacks and long sleeve shirts, and it was bothering me. Most women were showing most of their bodies around the streets. I'm not trying to be a pervert, but how can she wear all of those clothing during hot, sweating days.

I kept on seeing her every Saturday morning. She did her groceries in the same shop. I got so curious over her that I would go every Saturday morning to that grocery shop and buy some things as well so I could see her more. I hoped that I wasn't becoming obsessed over her. She noticed me and I smiled at her, hoping that she wouldn't think that I was a peeping Tom. Surprisingly, she gave me a small smile back and she walked out of the shop.

I still couldn't see her whole face, but I did notice more bruises around her neck, hands, and on the see-able side of her face. My curiosity was increasing. I wanted to know why she had so many bruises on herself. That night, I kept on thinking about her. I knew that the next time I saw her, I should ask her for her name.

The following day when I was driving towards my fitness gym, I saw her walking out of the church. She was wearing a black scarf around her neck, but her increasing wounds were still noticeable. She was also wearing gloves as well. Each day, I noticed that she looked a bit more paler, bruised, and mysterious. I knew that she was trying to conceal those mysterious wounds, but she was failing miserably.

Since I had to get to work, I couldn't stop and ask her what her name was. But that didn't meant that I was going to give up. The following day, I saw her again. I was helping the people in my gym with some of the new machines. The brunette was walking by again and she stopped. She stared at the large window of my gym and saw the women in there working out and having fun. I turned around and spotted her. I saw her slightly flinch back and she quickly walked away. Taking my opportunity, I ran out of my gym and once I was outside, I saw that she was about to make a turn.

I jogged after her since her strides were short. Once I was right behind her, I grabbed her arm and turned her around. She jumped up and looked at me. I smiled at her before letting go of her arm.

'What's your name?' I asked her.

She hesitated at first, but she answered me lowly, too lowly. I asked her again since I didn't hear her and she repeated her answer.

'Momo... Momo Hinamori..'

'Nice to meet you Momo Hinamori. My name is Toushirou Hitsugaya.' I told her, grabbing her hand and feeling her wounds.

I saw her shiver a bit and she looked around, almost as if she was looking for someone.

'I saw you looking at the people in my gym. Would you like to come in and work out. I won't charge you since-'

'N-No.' she cut me off, taking her hand away from mine. 'I m-must g-go.'

'Alright then. But you know where my gym is so you can come any time.' I told her, hoping that she does come one day.

She just nods and walks away. I stared at her leave with a small smile on my lips. Finally, I got to know her name. Now, I want to know her for sure.

When the next day came, I was closing my gym early since Kira wasn't in and it was Fourth of July. People were going to be celebrating instead of sweating their asses off today. I walked out of the gym and closed the door, ready to lock it. But when I noticed a familiar presence, I halted and turned around. She was standing right in back of me. I smiled at her as she looked down.

'I-I'm sorry,' she apologizes, making me confused, 'I didn't know that you were closing-'

'It's alright. Don't apologize for anything Momo,' I told her, 'since you're here and I have nothing else to do, I can help you on some basic working exercises.'

She nodded and I opened the door, holding it open for her. She looks back, like if she was wondering if someone was following her, and then she walked inside.

I walked in behind her and closed the door. I saw that she was still wearing those over-sized clothes.

'Did you bring extra clothes? You won't get a good exercise if you work out with those clothes.'

'...I don't have any other clothings that could've worked...' she told me, sounding very apologetic.

'Don't worry about that then. My partner and I have a room filled with extra clothes for the people. You can borrow them and don't worry about them being dirty; they're always washed.'

She nodded and followed me. I led her to a back door and opened it. I held the door wide opened for her and let her look inside.

'Pick which ever you like.' I told her.

Hesitating, she reached for a white tank top, a pair of white sneakers, and black shorts.

'The women's changing room is right over there.' I told her, pointing at another door.

She slightly nodded and walked inside the room. I leaned against the wall with my eyes closed and my arms crossed in front of my chest. I could tell that this was her first time being doing physical exercise so I told myself that I better start her off with something basic. The door opened and I looked inside.

My eyes suddenly widened. I stared at her body as I noticed her looking down ashamedly.

'Momo, h-how did you get those wounds?' I asked her.

Her legs were all covered with small band-aids that did not help at all. Her arms, neck, and hands were also bruised up. I walked over to her and gently pulled her hair back. I stared at her shockingly as I saw more wounds on her face as well. She looks so beautiful with her hair back, but not with those wounds on her face. I touched one of them and saw that that one was fresh.

Momo looked up at me and I saw that she was about to cry.

'I...my job is just dangerous.' she answered me, looking elsewhere.

'Momo, these wounds look like if someone attacked you.' I told her opinionatedly.

I saw her look away and take in a shaky breath, as if she was about to cry.

'Please don't question me about them.' she told me.

I looked at her seriously, but then let it go. I mumbled a 'fine' to her and led her to a dancing room. First, I was just going to teach her the basic exercises.

The room we were in had a large mirror as its wall. I told her to stand still for a sec and she did. I glanced at her face and saw that she looked nervous. I walked behind her and placed my hands on her hips, causing her to jump up and get away from me.

'I'm not going to hurt you,' I told her, 'I'm just going to help you out by starting you off with the basics.'

She looked unconvincing at first, but she then sighed and walked back to me. I sighed and I placed my hands on her hips. She stiffens at first, but tries to relax at the same time.

'Now, slowly bend to the side and touch your toe.' I told her.

She nodded and did what I told her. I made sure that her knees did not bend. The tank top she was wearing lifted up a bit, revealing her back. I noticed more bruises there and it got me more curious. Her fingers touched her toes and slowly, I helped her get back up. She took a deep breath and bended to her other side, touching her toes as well. I helped her stand up then. I let her a take a few breaths before continuing.

I looked at her body and noticed, besides the bruises, that she had a nice body. She was a bit curvy and any man would love to sleep with her. The problem was her bruises. She had so many that it made her body look unattractive.

'Now what?' she asked me.

I shook my head as my perverted thoughts erased.

'We can continue stretching so your muscles can start getting used to the fitness.'

She nodded and I started teaching her different kind of stretches. Some of them looked wrong, but I told her not to pay attention at how our bodies looked like.

After half an hour of stretching, I asked her how she felt and she told me that she felt relieved for the first time. I explained to her that it was her muscles stretching, and it seemed like if she never worked out; although she has a curvaceous body.

I was going to lead her towards the machines but she grabbed my wrist and stopped me. I turned to her confusingly and she looked down. I saw her cheeks turn a slight pinkish, making me smirk inwardly.

'I'm sorry Toushirou, but I have to go.' she told me.

I sighed disappointedly and nodded. She walked back to the bathroom and while she changed back to her regular clothes, I began thinking about her. I enjoyed working with her and I didn't want her to leave. I know right now that I have developed feelings for her. She's beautiful, generous, sweet, and I know that she can smile.

The door opened and she stepped out wearing her over sized clothes.

'Thank you for everything; I'm sorry that this was cut short.'

'Don't worry about it.' I told her, walking towards her.

I stopped an inch away from her and looked down at her. Removing the hair from her face, I leaned my face closer to hers and kissed her lips. I felt her gasp and get away from me quickly.

'N-No, please don't do this.' she told me.

I looked confusingly at her.

'Momo, I'm sorry; but I just really like you-'

'I like you too, but I don't want you getting hurt.'

Tears were trickling down her face and she quickly ran pass me. I turned around and ran after her. She opened the door and ran out of the gym. I followed her outside but did not see her no more. Groaning, I punched the heavy glass door and leaned my body against it, passing my hands through my white spiky hair.

That was the last time I saw her...

((()))

The dancing competition ended. Everyone, happily, were going off to celebrate at a bar. But not me. I was tired. I got inside my car and drove home. As the traffic light turned red and I stopped my car, I began to unbutton my collar shirt as a fresh hair hit my skin, cooling me off. As soon as the traffic light switched to green, I drove my car quickly down the semi empty road.

I stepped on the gas more as I noticed that I was finally reaching my street. But I first stopped a black away from it. I halted in front of a public parking lot and find a space to park my vehicle. I saw one right by the gates and I immediately took it before anyone else did.

I stepped out of my car once parking it and then begin to walk out. But as I got near the opened gates, I see a humanly figure laying beside it. My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out why a person would be sleeping out here and on the ground. As I got closer to whoever the person was, I realized that it was a woman. I knelt down and suddenly, my eyes widened.

It was Momo. It has been nearly three months since I have last seen her. But why is she here, sleeping on the streets.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and I shake her a bit. Her eyes slowly opened and she looked up at me.

"Toushirou?" she whispered my name weakly.

"Momo, what are you doing here?" I asked her, sitting her up.

She looks at me in the eyes and then closes hers. She was obviously too weak to answer. Her face had more bruises and it looked more paler than before. I picked her up in my arms and I was shocked to see how light she was. I immediately walked across the street and headed into the apartment building I lived in. I opened the the door with my foot and then walked over to my first floor apartment.

I knelt down a bit and reached into my pocket for the key, carefully not dropping Momo. Once I felt it and got it out, I placed it inside the keyhole and turned it, unlocking the door. I turned the handle and pushed the door open. I grabbed my key out of the keyhole and the door closed. I flipped the switch on and sat Momo down on the kitchen chair. I knelt in front of her and cupped my hands on her cheeks. I looked at her fragile face for a second and her eyes opened a bit.

"I'm so hungry..." she mumbled.

I stand up and hurried over to my fridge. I opened the door and looked for something to give her. She looks like she hasn't eaten in days, no weeks. I find a piece of apple pie that I baked the previous night and decide to give it to her. I grab a spoon while I'm at it and then walk back to her. I took a piece of the pie with the spoon and then shifted it towards her mouth, touching her lips. Momo's eyes opened a bit as she slowly opened her mouth.

I gently dipped the spoon inside her mouth and she took the pie, smiling as she slowly began to chew. For the next few minutes, I continued feeding her. I wondered at the same time how she got more bruises and why she was sleeping on the streets.

After she finished eating it, I gave her a cup of orange juice. She gulped it down quickly and looked at me sadly.

"Thank you Toushirou. How can I repay you?"

"By answering these questions." I told her.

She nodded and I sat down in front of her, grabbing her hand.

"How did you get these bruises? I know that someone did them to you, and I want to know who."

She took a minute to answer me. She sighed and looked at me.

"It...it was my boyfriend. Well, my ex you can say since he kicked me out of my apartment. I met him about eight months ago, and I thought he was the best. He was, the first day. Then he started hitting me for no reason and he would go out at night. He would get drunk at night and bring at least 2 women at the same time and they all slept on my bed while I had to clean his mess up. When he wakes up every morning, his breakfast has to be ready or else he would hit me. I have to clean the apartment from top to bottom everyday and if I didn't, he would choke me..."

I couldn't believe her words. Her boyfriend abused her and slept with other women. How can a man do that to a woman? Does he have any respect for women at all? I saw tears running down Momo's eyes. I felt so terrible for her that I grabbed her hands and pulled her towards me and embraced. She continued to cry as I stroked her back.

"When did he kick you out?" I asked her.

"About a month ago... I've been eating food from the garbage, but it's not much." she replies, hiccuping.

That bastard. How can he treat Momo like that? He wasn't going to get away with it though.

"He said that if I tell the police or anyone else, he would kill me."

"No he won't." I told her, sounding angrily, "he won't touch you anymore. I'm here and I'll protect you from him."

I looked down at her and saw her smile, for the first time. She looked up at me and I pecked her lips lovingly.

"May I shower here?" she asked me.

I smiled at her and nodded. I led her to my bathroom and opened the clear door of the shower. I gave her a towel and then left. While she showered, I quickly knocked on my neighbor's door. She opened the door and smiled at me.

"Hey Toushirou."

"Hey Rukia. Do you have extra clothes my girl friend can burrow? She doesn't have any clothes with her and I'll explain to you why tomorrow."

Rukia nods and she ran inside her room to search. I waited for her for a few minutes and she came back with a large bag.

"Here! She can keep all of them though, I haven't used these for a long while."

"Alright thank you."

I head back inside my apartment and close the door. I put the bag on top of my closet and the open one of the cabinets and took out a gray boxer shorts and one of my white tank tops. I heard the door of my bathroom open and Momo's light footsteps. I turned my head and saw her standing by the door with the towel I lent her wrapped around her body.

Her face looks cleaner, obviously, and her hair was back. I noticed more bruises and it got me angrier.

"My neighbor just gave me a bag of clothes that you can keep and for sleep, you can wear this." I told her.

She nodded and walked inside. I place my towel over my shoulder and walk out of my room and towards the bathroom, ready for a relaxing shower.

((()))

I had stayed in the shower for at least twenty minutes. I had my white towel wrapped around my waist as I walked from my bathroom to my bedroom. I opened the door and saw Momo sitting on the edge of my bed. She wore the gray boxer shorts and white tank top I lent her. I could tell that she was deep in thought.

She looked up at me and I noticed her cheeks turn pink once she saw me semi naked. Most women blush when they see me shirtless.

"I'll wait out so you can get dressed." she told me and walked out my room, closing the door.

I immediately put on my sleeping shorts and then rub my deodorant on my armpits. I then open the door and walk out. I saw Momo sitting on the sofa with her head resting on the arm rest and her eyes closed. No wonder, she looked so sleepy. But sleeping on the sofa wasn't going to help her. Her neck was going to be stiff in the morning.

"Momo, come sleep on the bed." I told her as I grabbed her arms.

Her eyes opened and I dragged her to my room. I laid her down on my bed and saw her smile. It's been a long time since she slept on a comfortable bed.

"I'll sleep on the couch." I told her, but she then grabbed my hand and opened her sleepy eyes.

"No, stay with me please..." she whispered tiredly.

I blinked at her and nodded. I laid down next to her and pulled the sheet over our bodies. I wrapped my right arm around her waist as I got closer to her. I saw a smile arise to her lips as she snuggled her face against my chest.

((()))

The next day, Momo and I headed to the police station. She explained to the chief officer everything between her and her ex.

Her ex controlled her whole life. He would be having sex right in front of her with prostitutes. He told her when to eat and when not to eat. He kicked her out of her own apartment other times as well; and the only reason why Momo kept her mouth shut was because he warned her that if she told anyone, he would hunt her down and kill her.

After staying at the station for about an hour, we all headed to Momo's apartment where her abusive ex was staying. The building where she used to live was in very bad condition. Windows were broken, garbage was all around, and the door was broken so any robber could go inside and steal something with ease. Momo explained though that she and her ex were the only people living in this building, and I know why.

Her apartment was on the second floor. Three police officers were in front of us and Momo had her arm wrapped tightly around mine. I knew she was scared. I held her hand and she looked up at me. I smiled down at her reassuringly.

One of the police officers knocked harshly on the door and we waited a few seconds for a response. I felt Momo shiver frighteningly. I placed my hand on her back and shift it up and down, making her relax a bit.

The broken door opened and a semi naked man appeared. He only wore black boxer shorts with white dirty socks and a tie around his neck. He had dark brown hair and bright brown eyes. He looked at us and smiled nervously. I just glared at him as my grip on Momo tightened.

"Why hello," he said, sounding nervous.

He looked at all of us and then stopped once he noticed Momo. His eyebrows furrowed and all of the sudden he ran over to her but the police officers in front of us grabbed him by his muscular arms and threw him against the wall.

"You stupid little bitch! So you've been sleeping with this asshole while I was looking for you. You know what? I should have killed you when I had the chance to!"

Momo flinches back but I embrace her and keep her calm. The police officers handcuffed his hands and dragged him down the hall. We follow them as we hear the man yell out curses at Momo. When we all reached outside, the police men threw the man inside the car and then got inside.

Momo sighed as a tear trickled down her face. I turn to her and place my finger below her chin.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"...It's just that...I'm scared if he somehow escapes and comes after me."

"Which he won't. He'll never get his hands on you, I promise." I told her, kissing her lips.

I grabbed her hand as she smiled up at me. We walked away as we both began to plan a future for ourselves, together.

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