What's this?! I'm actually on time for scheduled updates?! Yes, but most probably many readers are asleep as of this moment of update. Oh well!

Chapter 10 – Release
"The walls built to keep the sadness at bay also keep the help away." – Snowy Peach Tsubasa

A week went by, and then two. It was like walking through the sweltering desert; time seemed to pass by that slowly. For those fourteen days and inevitably the rest of her schooling days, Momo's routine was consistent to the point of breaking her. Everyday without fail she would get dropped off at school, picked up at 3 and study late into the night. She was regularly checked upon, just a peak through the door for confirmation. At one in the morning, one of her parents would come in to test her before allowing her to sleep.

No longer did she have to try so hard to ignore the others at school. She was too tired to even keep her head up, and there was too much on her mind to be concerned with anything else. She barely even remembered her own birthday had come and gone. Most of her group now only offered her a hesitant greeting before ignoring her for lack of knowing what to do next. What point was there in interacting with someone that didn't respond? Rangiku resorted back to her old tactics as it was never her style to be quiet or oppressed.

It was the last lesson of the day and Momo's free period. She was walking down the hallway to her locker. Rangiku rounded the corner – having skipped her class – and spotted Momo half way down the hall. Immediately, she ran up to her and started a random conversation.

"Momo! Hey, you know the funniest thing happened in biology today. Gin was-"

Why Rangiku? Why don't you hate me already?

"-and then Toshiro-"

...Toshiro...I miss you

Rangiku slyly looked towards the smaller girl to see if there was any sort of reaction from his name. She wasn't stupid; it was so obvious that Momo's fallen for him...and vice versa come to think of it. There they were, the slight changes: a subtly harder grip on the book in her hands, a few more blinks than necessary and a small waver in her footsteps. She turned out into the empty courtyard instead of proceeding down the hallway as originally planned.

"Anyway, you know about the masquerade formal coming up? Well, I heard all these girls fawning over Toshiro. Soon he won't even be able to walk safely down the halls!"

Instead of letting her facade fall some more, Momo quickened her pace in a hopefully haughty manner. Right now her mind urged her to keep up the act, but her heart wanted her to let loose and cry. Rangiku's eyes narrowed and she grabbed Momo's wrist tightly. She had thought she should give Momo some space, as that was what she usually needed, but no more. She would not let her best friend keep going like this, bottling up emotions and bearing the weight of the world alone. Momo tried to get free to no avail.

"Momo. Tell me what's wrong," she said in a soft but firm voice. "I want to help my best friend who's worth it and more."

Momo's eyes widened and she made a small choking noise. Even biting her lips did not stop the overflow of tears that were brought up by those words. Her legs gave way and she fell to her knees, sobbing. Rangiku immediately held her fragile body in an embrace and allowed her to cry to her heart's content. Between sobs and chokes Momo told her about everything she's been hiding and bottling up for the past sixteen years. Suddenly Momo found herself being able to see the sky again. It was overwhelming but a tremendous relief.

"There, doesn't it feel better to get everything off your chest?"

The tears had recently ceased but Momo was still clinging onto Rangiku, afraid she might lose her way again if she let go. Her eyes were red and puffy and her vision was slightly impaired by residue tears. She used the back of her hand to gently rub her eyes and sniffed.

"...thank you...Rangiku..." she whispered.

Rangiku gave her a million watt smile and placed a hand tenderly on her head. Was she ever thankful that Momo had let that wall melt, even if not entirely yet.

"Glad to hear that. Well, truth to be told, I've known since two weeks ago, but it's better if you chose to let the load off yourself, ne?"

Momo looked up in shock. "What? Rangiku, h-how did you know?"

"Lets just say a little birdie found its way to my house one day and told me."

"Rangiku..."

A new voice came from behind Momo. "C'mon Lil Peach! Have you forgotten about me already?!"

She turned around slowly and looked up. The ever cheerful expression of the pervious house maid greeted her. For a minute there was no noise as Momo stared up disbelievingly.

"Well are you going to stare up at me all day or are you going to give me a hug?!" Kikuno said in an amused voice.

Instantly she was tackled around the waist by the smaller girl. Kikuno smiled and affectionately hugged her back. Rangiku stood up and looked down at her damp shirt that had gone a bit see-through. She considered it for about a second before flippantly shrugging. It's not like she ever made a decent attempt to hide her endowed chest anyway.

"Hey Lil Peach," Kikuno said when they broke apart. "You've got a good friend over there."

"I know."

"She nearly destroyed half the apartment when I told her," Kikuno said in an overly cheerful voice.

"Hey, don't forget I was going to march over to Momo's house if you didn't hold me back."

"Yes, that's right!"

Momo watched the two talk with sweatdrops forming. Really, those two had such similar personalities and interests that they could be mistaken for close sisters. As she listened to them go on about what they wanted to do with her parents, a feeling of gratitude washed over her. She truly felt lucky to be so close with such wonderful people. She bowed her head towards them.

"Thank you for everything Kikuno, Rangiku," she said clearly. "But please don't do anything about father and mother okay? I couldn't live with myself if they directed their anger at you. I love you two so much."

One could literally see pink hearts float out from the pair as they glomped onto Momo. Her face was squished between them but she could hear repetitions of "cute" and its many synonyms. They made half serious jokes about bashing her parents up if things got too out of hand and Momo wondered if it was possible to love them even more. A light bulb went off in Rangiku's head and she pulled away.

"I almost forgot! We need to get you ready for the formal Momo! There's only two weeks left!"

"...Rangiku, I won't be able to go-"

"And that's where I'll come in," Kikuno interjected. "Now I have to see one thing."

She reached over and pulled Momo's hair out from its ponytail. Her dark tresses fell past her shoulders. Kikuno leaned in and inspected it very closely. Momo heard her mumbled something like "two-ish inches, no layers". Finally Kikuno straightened up and gave them a thumbs up.

"Right, I've got it. I'll get it done straight away."

"Get what done Kikuno?" Momo asked.

"You'll see. Don't worry, me and Rangiku will personally make sure you're going, and we won't take any ifs, ands or buts from you. Oh and before I forget, make sure to wear your hair down when you're studying okay?"

Momo was silently working at her desk when she heard a rap on her window. She nearly screamed when she saw Rangiku and Kikuno perched on the branch of the oak tree that was levelled with the window. Stumbling out of her chair, she undid the latch and let the two intruders in. Rangiku looks the same as ever but Kikuno's long purple hair was cut and dyed to resemble Momo's hair.

"Well what do you think Lil Peach?" She sat down on the chair Momo previously occupied. "Do I look like you from the back?"

"What?"

"Well it's simple. Since that new prune-of-a-maid only checks through the door every hour on the hour, she shouldn't be able to tell if someone else is in your place right?"

"So now we present Substitute Momo Hinamori!" Rangiku said, throwing her arms out in Kikuno's direction.

"And this Sunday you will go dress shopping with Rangiku okay?"

It took Momo a while to find her voice. "Thank you so much. I'm so grateful for such wonderful friends."

"It's time for you to do what you want for a change. Now according to my watch, that prude just left so let's eat!"

Rangiku suddenly pulled out a plastic bag out of nowhere containing chips, sodas, sweets and of course the queen of sugar, chocolate. It seemed like the first afternoon that Momo just slacked off like a normal teenager. When the hours were coming close, Kikuno and Rangiku would scurry into her wardrobe just barely large enough to fit them both and the snacks. There was a close incident where they accidently left a piece of incriminating evidence behind (a soda can). Momo tried not to laugh as she watched the scene unfold in the mirror, hoping the maid would not see Rangiku's arm slyly slip out and snatch the can. They left at sunset and Momo waved until they were out of sight. That night she fell asleep with a smile even after being yelled at by her parents.

For the first time, Momo Hinamori dreamed of flying through the open skies without the fear of falling.

Yes, that is all for now. I'm sure you loyal readers will quite enjoy the next few chapters. On another note, school is evil, pushing last minute assignments and tests just before holidays. But I'll have more free time to read, review and work on my upcoming stories, so that's good for all of us!

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