Fearing Goodbye

Chapter Seven

Momo sat at the lunch table, awkwardly eating her lunch. The others at the table could do nothing but stare at the reclusive girl. They had never really spoken to her, and didn't know what to say to her. They had only known her for her unusual behavior and unwillingness to socialize with others. They had no idea what to say or how to act in front of her.

Toushiro glanced nervously at Momo. He had hoped that she might begin to open up as she had before, but none of the others at the table were speaking to her. Momo was such an oddity to them, they could do little but stare at her in curiosity. Toushiro tried to think of something that might start a conversation.

"Do you like your lunch, Momo?" he asked.

"It's okay," Momo answered quietly.

Again, there was silence. The normally chatty girls at the table did nothing but stare at Momo. Even Rangiku seemed unsure what to say. It was very awkward for all individuals present. Rukia seemed to be trying to start up a conversation, but as with the others, wasn't sure what to say.

"I was hoping to go shopping downtown after school, would any of you guys like to come with me?" she said hesitantly. A few of the girls present murmured interest in the prospect, but they didn't really discuss it.

"Did you guys see those flowers they planted in front of the school yesterday? They were really nice!" Rangiku said. Again, the most she received for responses were quiet murmurs as the others stared at Momo.

"Hey Chizuru, why don't you tell us about that new erotic novel you were reading," Toushiro said, at this point desperate for any type of conversation.

"It was…okay," Chizuru said, Momo's presence apparently more interesting to her than her usual topics of discussion, quite a rarity for the rather perverted girl.

It was becoming extremely awkward. Nobody had a clue what to say. Rangiku cleared her throat and spoke again.

"Hey Rukia, didn't you say that your brother was going to buy a new house? He's a pretty successful businessman, I bet it will be nice," she said.

"Yeah, it is. He already owns two other houses, so I suspect that he intends this one to be for me one day when I have a family. He seems to be concerned with raising the property value, so maybe he's hoping to sell it one day to pay for retirement or something like that," Rukia said, "I don't really know the finer points of investing and the housing market, so I can't really say."

"He should plant a blue spruce," Momo abruptly said. The others stared at her. This was the first time she had spoken without being directly addressed.

"Excuse me?" Rukia said, unsure what she meant.

"Blue spruces are very nice trees. When full grown, they range from 60 to 120 feet in height with a spread of 20 to 30 feet. It takes about fifty years for them to reach maturity, but they're very nice trees, and can add ten thousand dollars to property values!" Momo said.

"That's really interesting," Rukia said, "I'll certainly bring that up with him. Thanks."

The corners of Toushiro's lips began to lift, making a small smile. This was it, Momo was beginning to open up. He watched eagerly as the other girls began to show more interest in talking to Momo.

"So…what things are you into?" Tatsuki asked.

"Nothing special," Momo said.

"Don't you have any hobbies or anything?"

"Well…I do like painting," Momo said.

"That's a nice hobby!" Rangiku said, "What types of things do you paint?"

"A lot of things, animals and landscapes mostly. For example, right now I'm working on two paintings, one of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and one of a lighthouse on Lake Superior. I just finished a painting of my dog a few weeks ago."

"You have a dog?" Mahana said, "I love dogs! What kind is it?"

"She's an apricot poodle. Her name is Ginger," Momo said, a bit more confidence in her voice than before.

"Do you have any paintings of cats?"

"Where do you get your source material?"

"Can I see your dog some time?"

Toushiro smiled as he watched the others take more interest in talking to Momo rather than staring at her like an oddity at a circus. He noticed that Rangiku was looking at him, and he quickly dropped the smile, but the damage had been done. She leaned over and whispered into his ear.

"You're really helping her. Who would have thought that a cold guy like you could be so sensitive?" she said.

"Oh, be quiet," he said, trying to maintain an indifferent expression.

"You're a good guy, Toushiro," she said, "Momo's lucky to have someone like you."

"Don't say it like that! You make it sound like we're boyfriend and girlfriend or something!" he hissed at her.

"Well who knows?" Rangiku chuckled softly, turning her attention back to Momo, who was now talking about her dog in greater detail.

---

The rest of the day seemed to pass far more quickly than usual for Momo. The people Toushiro had introduced her to were far kinder to her than she was used to. They talked to her throughout lunch and several walked alongside her to class afterwards. Toushiro was always present as well. Momo felt conflicted. She was trying to maintain her resolve not to form attachments, but it was hard when there were so many people being friendly to her at once. When it was just Toushiro, she could resist it, but with so many who were willing to talk to her and be kind, it was difficult for her to turn them away.

Momo could not deny that it felt nice to talk to other girls, and she enjoyed the fact that people were paying attention to her in a friendly manner, but that didn't change the cold hard facts of Momo's life. She was destined to die young. As kind as they were, forming close friendships with these people would only lead to pain. Was it really okay for her to forge friendships with people with the knowledge that doing so would put them through emotional suffering? She didn't know…

"Hey Momo!"

Momo looked up to see Toushiro standing up beside her.

"What?" she asked.

"What do you mean 'what'? The bell rang, we can go home now!" he said. Momo looked at the clock and blushed. It was indeed the end of school. She had been so focused on her thoughts that she had completely missed it!

She lifted her bag over her shoulder and began walking out, Toushiro alongside her. Momo glanced at Toushiro a few times, but didn't say anything. She wasn't sure how to feel about him. He did make her happy, but at the same time, he was making her become attached to the world, which caused her great pain now and would cause even more as she got closer to death.

"So did you like sitting with my friends and I at lunch?" Toushiro asked as they walked through the halls.

"They were…very nice. I'm surprised that they were willing to be so friendly to me," Momo admitted.

"It wasn't really them, it was you. After you began talking to them, they warmed up to you quickly. If you gave more people a chance, I'm sure that a lot of them would want to be your friend," Toushiro said.

"Maybe…" Momo said slowly.

"Look, there they are right now," he said as they walked out of the school. Rangiku, Rukia, Orihime, Mahana, and Chizuru were standing outside, apparently waiting for them.

"Hi Toushiro! Hi Momo!" Rangiku said, prancing over to them, "We're going into town, would you two like to come with us?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't right now. I have to go home and take care of some things," Toushiro explained, "I'm sure Momo would love to go though, wouldn't you?"

"Well…" Momo said hesitantly.

"Great! It's settled then!" Rangiku said, grabbing Momo's wrist, "We'll go shopping and maybe stop for a snack! By the way, I have a surprise for you later! Just wait and see, I'm sure you'll love it! Bye-bye!" Rangiku dragged Momo by the wrist, walking towards town with the others.

---

"So she's actually socializing?" Miyone said in surprise. Her and Toushiro were sitting on the couch, backs facing eachother as they leaned against one another.

"Sort of. Momo still isn't completely comfortable with people being friendly to her, but she's talking to others without immediately running off, and she seems to be less averse to contact. I think that eventually she'll be able to get over whatever has been causing her to be so depressed and reclusive," Toushiro explained.

"One can hope, though I'm still not sure I like the idea of this," Miyone said, "I can't help but wonder if she'll revert back to her old self as soon as you stop encouraging and pushing her to behave socially."

"I don't know, I hope not," Toushiro said, "She's making real progress, I'm sure of that."

"Just be careful not to get too emotionally invested in this," Miyone warned, "She may be showing encouraging signs, but the fact remains that for years she did nothing to help her situation. If she ends up reverting back to her old self after you've tried so hard to help her, it's going to be painful for you."

"I guess that means that I'll just have to make sure I help her properly then," Toushiro said with determination. Miyone gave a slight smile.

"You're a lot nicer than you appear at first Toushiro. Even if I don't agree with you about Momo, it's really nice that you're doing this for her. It was nice of you to let me stay here for the weekend too. You act cold, but you're really sweet when you want to be," Miyone said.

"Don't say it like that," Toushiro said with a blush, "I'm not the 'sweet' type of guy, so you can get that thought out of your head right now." Miyone laughed.

"You're stubborn as hell Toushiro, but you are really nice and kind. I doubt there would be many other people who would let me stay at their house for a weekend. I'm really grateful that you're doing this for me."

"Of course I'm doing it for you. I know how hard it is to deal with parents like ours. Mine will be coming here in just a little bit, though hopefully with you here they won't be as irritating as usual. Beyond that though, you're probably my best friend, so it's only natural that I let you stay here," Toushiro said.

"Really? You really think of me as your best friend?" Miyone said with surprise.

"Of course. You're the person most similar to myself and the one who I spend the most time with."

"Wow, I'm honored," Miyone chuckled, tilting her head back so it rested on Toushiro's shoulder, "You're a great guy, Toushiro."

Just then the door opened, and two people walked in.

"Oh-ho! I see you have a lady-friend over!"

Toushiro growled and turned around, both him and Miyone moving further apart.

"Hello Father, Mother," Toushiro said curtly.

"Good afternoon m'boy! It is nice to see you again," his father said boisterously. Toushiro's father had white hair like his son, complimented by a thick moustache, but unlike his son was quite large and heavyset. His mother was nearby. She was thinner and shorter, with silvery blonde hair.

"Good day Toushiro," his mother said with a nod in his direction.

"And who might this young lady be?" Toushiro's father said, taking Miyone's hand. He ignored the glare Toushiro was giving him.

"Um, Miyone…" she said uncomfortably.

"Well it's very nice to meet you Miyone," he said, leaning down to kiss her hand, earning him a harsher glare than ever from Toushiro. "I presume that you will be the one to produce heirs to the family business and fortune?"

"Father, that is highly inappropriate," Toushiro said through gritted teeth.

"My apologies m'boy, I am only joking," he chortled, "I won't interfere in any affairs you're involved in."

"There are no 'affairs'," Toushiro said icily, his voice quiet but dangerous.

"Yes, yes, whatever you say lad!" his father said, showing no sign of noticing Toushiro's anger.

"It was certainly nice seeing you Toushiro, but we must get to work," his mother abruptly said, "We still have some papers to fill out and some financial transactions to look over. We'll be in the study if you need us. Oh, and before I forget, we brought you your new maid!"

"Where is she?" Toushiro asked coldly.

"We had her wait in the car. It's not proper for a servant or maid to enter a house before their masters. I'll go and get her," his mother rushed out of the room.

"I suppose that I should go start working," his father said, "I suppose I'll see you 'round the house, Toushiro." With that his father walked away. His mother came back only moments later.

"Meet your new maid Toushiro!"

"Toushiro!" The next thing Toushiro knew, he was being hugged tightly, his face pressed into a very large pair of breasts. He managed to look up, and nearly fainted when he saw who it was.

"M-Matsumoto?!?!" he said in shock.

"That's right Toushiro, I'm your new maid! I saw the advertisements your parents put out for the job and thought that it would be a great job! Plus, this means that we get to hang out all the time! Isn't that great?"

Toushiro looked like he was about to explode. Rangiku and his mother laughed, and even Miyone couldn't help but giggle a bit. He groaned loudly, banging his head repeatedly against the couch.

---

"That was a great outing! I think those new clothes really look good on you Momo!"

"Yeah, she looks really cute in them!"

"Did you see that pigeon eating an entire loaf of bread on the street? Wasn't that weird?"

"I wish I could have bought that cool clock. I guess I'll have to wait until it goes on sale."

"Where do you suppose Rangiku ran off to all of a sudden?"

"I don't know, but look at this! Those shoes I bought sparkle in the sunlight! I didn't even notice that when I bought them!"

Momo and the others walked to their homes, talking about their experience. They had had a very nice time shopping at the various stores around town, and afterwards had eaten a meal at a small diner. It was a very enjoyable afternoon.

"This is my place. I'll see you guys later!" Chizuru said, running off from the rest of the group towards her house as the others waved goodbye to her.

"My house is just a block or two ahead," Momo said.

"Okay, we'll stop there next," Rukia said.

"Do you think we can see your dog?" Orihime asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Momo said with a small smile, "Watch out though, she likes to jump on people."

They walked with her to her house, and when they opened the door, Ginger the poodle came running up to greet them. Momo caught the small dog before she had the chance to jump, and held her in her arms for the others to see.

"Awww! She's so cute!" Orihime said.

"I used to have a poodle like her, except mine was black," Mahana said.

"I love poodles, they're really nice dogs," Rukia said.

"I, uh, guess I'll see you guys on Monday then," Momo said, "Bye!" She closed the door and set Ginger down on the ground. She went to the couch and took a deep breath.

It had been a wonderful day. She really truly enjoyed herself. Despite her personal resolve not to get attached to the world, she could not deny how happy she had been today. She had never just hung out with other girls before, nor had she had friendly conversation in such a manner. It was a new experience, and Momo liked it. She knew she owed Toushiro a great deal for his kindness and for introducing him to others that she could call friends.

Momo was still torn. She had suppressed the thoughts of her eventual thoughts earlier, but she couldn't do it forever. She would still die, and living happily alongside friends like she had today would only make it harder. Despite this, she wanted to continue being happy. It made her feel warm and nice on the inside when she was talking and interacting with her new friends. She still didn't want to get too attached to this world, but maybe being happy sometimes wasn't so bad…


Thanks for reading! Thank you to JoaNymAr12, AznVKai, MoonLightView, Momo21, FrozenIceCream, LonelyAsura, Merciless Ruby, Hinata-cutie, Sorrowxdarkness, DW64, Neverwinternightsgirl777, kRyStAlt3aRz, simplyxcomplicated, lil katie, foxyaoi123, Momo-Toshiro, Toph43, liquidprince, and naruhinax for reviewing! Please review!