Chapter 6 - Yellow Crane, He Held Her

Yellow as in the shining sun

Yellow as in the springtime aura

Yellow as in the delicate flower

Therefore yellow as in the day I held you

Momo sighed in contentment as she walked out from the building. The warm spring sunlight teased her skin; it was so pleasant. She had an armful of books in her hands. Her final exam was coming up in less than a month and if she passed she would be accepted within the Gotei 13. Unsurprisingly Toshiro would be taking the same exam along side her. She blushed as her mind wandered down a well walked path.

She stopped by a patch of growing sunflowers of varying heights; the tallest one was at least two heads taller than her. She threw her books unceremoniously to the ground and plopped down the lush grass herself. She plucked out a small sunflower and twirled it around a couple of times before tucking it behind her ear. Content with spending her break sitting down, she let her eyes wander. There wasn't a minute she didn't see a student pass by her gaze. Sometimes it was just one, sometimes it was a group. She didn't pay any attention to them.

However, what did catch her attention were the students that walked past her holding hands. She never realised that there were so many couples in the Shinigami Academy. Perhaps they were just friendly friends? Either way their expressions were always the same; happy beyond words. As she watched more and more of the interlocked students pass by, her feeling contentment faded into one of longing. Oh how she hated this feeling.

As a child Toshiro never held her hand. It was always she who held his, and every time he would complain about it in one way or another. He deemed holding hands "too girly" and acted in a way much akin to young boys acting like they'd catch the cooties off girls. Of course, Toshiro never believed in cooties. According to him, that was childish.

Momo let out a laugh when she remembered this. When you pretend to be an adult, you act even more childish Toshiro, she thought.

Well, Toshiro did eventually grow out of that phase, only to start his stubborn years where he just point blanked refused. Then Momo entered the Shinigami Academy and only saw him during her days off. Five years later when he enrolled as well, it hit Momo that she was in love with him. From then on she would blush furiously whenever their skin even brushed. She was much better at controlling it now but lately she noticed Toshiro getting red whenever they brushed past. It was harder to tell with him though.

Momo sighed and got up, thinking he would never hold her hand willingly. She weaved her way through the other students and went into the cool building. The stack of books in her arms was tottering precariously as she was walking down a flight of stairs. A person rushed by her as she was walking down the last few steps, causing her to tumble down them. She landed painfully on her front with her books scattered around her. And who should come around the corner now but Toshiro! Impeccable timing!

"Tripped again I see."

"It was an accident Shiro-chan!"

"Use my proper name Bed Wetter Momo!"

Momo started to pick up the books one by one. "Okay Shiro-chan," she said absentmindedly.

A vein popped out of Toshiro's forehead but he let it slide and crouched down, helping Momo stack the books in a pile. He was more interested in her hands however, gently picking up the books one by one, sliding her fingers over the covers. Her small, delicate hands. He shook his head to clear away those thoughts. Lately he was wondering what it would feel like to hold her, even just her hand. It was annoying to say the least; how was he meant to concentrate on anything?!

"Why do you have so many books anyway?"

"I have to study for my final exams."

He placed the last one on the pile and stood up. Momo was still on the ground, straightening out the pile so it wouldn't be prone to tipping over. He debated on whether to just grab her hand. Would he never want to let go? Would it help clear his mind for even a little while? Or would it just make him even more distracted?

Momo was about to stand up when a hand came into her vision. She looked up and saw Toshiro smirking down at her, his hand outstretched.

"Need some help?"

A light blush rose to her cheeks and she timidly placed her hand in his. He effortlessly pulled her up but even after she was up again, she didn't let go of his hand. Instead she placed her other hand over the conjoined ones. So absorbed at staring at their interlocking hands, she failed to notice his blush. He shook his hand, trying to get it out of her grip.

"H-hey, you're up already."

"Oh…right, sorry."

She let go and bent down to pick up the stack of books. Alright, if Toshiro never felt regret before he sure as hell felt it now. Her hands were so warm and they fit perfectly into his. He mentally kicked himself and his stubborn pride for making her let go.

Momo tottered back unexpectedly and then felt a reduction of the weight in her arms. Toshiro had grabbed half of her stack. He steadied them in one hand and used his free one to encircle Momo's wrist. She let out a small gasp.

"C'mon. Tell me where you were planning to go. I don't want you tripping all over the place."

"I was just going to the library."

He nodded his head in registration and slid his hand down, placing it gently but firmly over her hand. She looked down and smiled. Twice in one day.

"Thank you Hitsugaya-kun."

He smiled but didn't look back at her. His grip tightened ever so slightly as he tried to commit this feeling to his memory.

No, thank you Momo.

--

That was the day he discovered what it felt like to hold the hand an angel. That was the day he experienced the feeling of never wanting to let go of someone even if the cost was his very life. That was the day Toshiro Hitsugaya first held the hand of Momo Hinamori.

Thank you to my reviewers! Awesome! That's what you all are :D There's only a couple more chapters to go! Please leave a review, thank you!