A/N: Hello everybody… *Promptly avoids flying tomatoes and rotten vegetables* Yes a huge apology is written at the end of this chapter but for now…
NEW FANART!!! Link is in my profile! Stardust 897 drew an awesome cover page for Frozen Secret so everybody should check out the beautiful artwork! Thanks so much Stardust!!! :D The links in my profile!
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Beep! Beep! Beep! Toshiro groaned, burrowing his head farther into his pillow before forcing his hand from beneath the comfort of his covers and out towards the annoying alarm clock. After a few moments of floundering around his fingers finally made contact with the off button, silencing the irritating beeping and allowing a peaceful quiet to once more settle over the room. Sitting up he blearily wiped the sleep from his eyes before stifling a large yawn with his hand and rolling out of bed. Glancing over at Momo he saw her slowing begin to stir, squinting her eyes against the thin streams of light issuing in through the window and groaning softly.
"Morning…" she mumbled. Toshiro snorted, heading over to his chest of drawers and pulling his rather rumpled uniform from inside, trying in vain to smooth out the wrinkles.
"Go back to bed, you shouldn't go to class today," he said to her. She frowned at him, opening her eyes and blinking sleepily.
"No, I think I'll be okay," she replied, attempting to sit up and wincing almost immediately. Toshiro rounded on her, dropping his uniform carelessly onto the floor and scowled.
"You heard what Unohana said. I don't want to see you out of that bed until I'm absolutely sure your concussion is better," he snapped. Momo blinked at him, his strict tone catching her off guard.
"But I'll fall behind…" she protested. Hitsugaya sighed, leaning down to once again pick his crumpled uniform up off the ground, draping it over his arm as he headed towards the door. Reaching for the handle he paused for a second, his hand floating just over the knob.
"Don't worry about falling behind. I'll help you with studying and everything so… just get better," he muttered before opening the door and sliding out without a backwards glance. A grin melted onto Momo's face and she snuggled happily back under her covers, unable to prevent the warm feeling rapidly bubbling up inside of her.
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Hinamori huffed in irritation, glaring around her dorm room which now felt more like a cage than anything else. It was a couple of hours after Hitsugaya had left and she had woken up about thirty minutes ago. For lack of something better to do the girl had attempted to roll over and fall back asleep yet was thwarted as her eyes stubbornly refused to close. So now here she was, sitting in her bed with absolutely nothing to do. Her textbooks sat hauntingly on the floor beside her bed and she stared at them guiltily, knowing it would probably be the best idea to do some schoolwork. The fact of the matter was however, that she was finding it rather impossible to get herself to open them.
Letting the breath whoosh from her lungs she stared unhappily at the digital clock on her roommate's bedside, the tiny numbers reading 11:37. Her stomach growled angrily and she frowned, realizing that she had yet to eat breakfast. Lunch would probably be more appropriate, noting the hour, but she didn't exactly have any food that could be considered meal worthy in the dorm. An idea slowly wormed its way into her mind and she grinned, pushing the covers off of her and slowly sliding her legs off the bed. There was no way she was going to get a decent lunch here, and she hadn't been to Urahara's in awhile…
As she stood up a small wave of dizziness halted her movement for a moment before fading, leaving behind a tiny headache in its wake. Momo frowned, remembering Toshiro telling her she should be resting. Oh well, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Rapidly changing into some warmer clothing Hinamori ran a brush through her hair before slipping on her shoes and socks, grabbing her room key from her desk, and heading towards the door. She would have to do her best to avoid people as she might get some suspicious looks for not being in class. It would be kind of a futile effort to tell any nosey faculty members that she wasn't in class due to a concussion when she was heading to Urahara's café, even if it was the truth.
Heading down the stairs and out the door onto the grounds she was immediately met with a blast of wintry wind and she shivered, clutching her coat closer to her, glad for its extra warmth. She set off slowly across campus, taking her time so as to not aggravate her head. It was strange to see the grounds so deserted though she supposed it made sense seeing how everyone else was in class. It was actually kind of peaceful and she found herself rather enjoying the walk despite the slight pang in her head and the briskness of the air.
It wasn't long before Urahara's rose welcomingly in front of her and she quickened her pace, opening the door and gladly stepping into the heated café. A bell jangled somewhere overhead, announcing her arrival to the two store owners behind the counter. Urahara glanced up, a smile warming his face as he saw her.
"Hey kid, long time no see," he commented with a slight wave of his hand. Hinamori nodded sheepishly before returning his smile.
"Yeah, things have been busy," she replied. The man stepped around the counter and made his way towards her, a small frown replacing his grin as he took in her appearance.
"I can see that," he murmured. "Looks like you've managed to get yourself into a bit of a scuffle." Hinamori laughed nervously, dropping her gaze to the ground.
"…Yeah," she replied quietly.
"Stop interrogating the kid idiot. At least let him eat before you start the twenty questions." Momo glanced up to see Yoruichi had stepped out from behind the counter as well and now stood behind Urahara, an exasperated expression on her face. Momo shook her head, winced, and stopped.
"No that's alright. I don't mind talking about it," she replied. The other woman sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head.
"Well at least sit down and let us get you something to eat. We're pretty slow right now so if you give us a couple minutes we can come join you and then you can tell us whatever you want," she said to her. Momo glanced up, her brown eyes meeting Yoruichi's warm golden ones and she nodded, glad she had decided to come here after all.
"Thank you so much, I'd like that a lot," she said to them. Urahara grinned and he placed his hands gently on her back, pushing her lightly toward a booth.
"Well then what are you waiting for? Sit down, sit down!" he demanded. Momo laughed and followed his instructions, gladly taking a seat beside the large window.
"So what can we get for you?" Yoruichi asked her. Momo hesitated, not entirely sure what she wanted after all. The pancakes she had had last time were delicious but she wondered if it might be a bit boring to get the same thing twice in a row. She needn't have worried for two seconds later Urahara was placing a menu in front of her, his eyes sparkling merrily. Hinamori picked it up, paging through the pages before she made her selection.
"May I have the turkey and cheese sandwich please?" she asked politely. Yoruichi nodded, shaking her head at Momo's formality.
"Relax kiddo, seriously," she said to her before winking and heading back behind the counter again. Hinamori was surprised when Urahara didn't follow her but instead slid himself into the seat across from her own. Momo blinked, wondering if it was normal for the café's owner to sit down with his customers as comfortably as he was doing with her. She raised her eyes slowly to meet his own, the man raising his eyebrows at her as soon as his her brown orbs reached his light ones.
"So…" he began, leaning back into the chair and swinging his arm casually along its back. Momo smiled unsurely, waiting for him to say something.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class right about now?" he asked her. Momo grinned nervously, nodding her head slowly.
"I guess I could be in class right now, but I got a concussion the other day and was told to take it easy," she responded. "The nurse told me it would probably be a good idea not to attend class today." Urahara raised an eyebrow.
"Would she be happy to know you're here right now?" he asked. Momo grinned sheepishly and shook her head.
"Probably not," she replied truthfully. Urahara laughed out loud, causing some of the customers to look over at them curiously. Hinamori flushed and dropped her gaze to her lap, wondering what in the world had been so funny about her comment. All the sudden there was a resounding crash from the kitchen, causing Momo to jump nearly a foot in the air while Urahara merely looked up, a sigh escaping his lips.
"What in the world are those two up to now?" he muttered to himself. Hinamori looked and him inquiringly and was about to ask who he was referring to when a loud voice echoing from the back cut her off.
"Look what you did now Ururu! Geez, the boss is going to fire you for sure!" Urahara immediately fixed Momo with a patient grin as he said: "Excuse me for a moment," and promptly left the table.
"O-okay," Momo replied though he had already begun to walk away. She watched his retreating back until he disappeared into the kitchen before sinking back further into the booth and letting a whoosh of air escape her lungs. Today was bound to be rather boring after all…
The jingling of the café's bell alerted her to the fact that someone had entered the small shop and she glanced up only to see Matsumoto walking in through the front doors, glancing around for somewhere to sit.
"Rangiku!" Momo called, waving her hand to get her friend's attention. The strawberry blonde looked her way, her eyes lighting up as they met Hinamori's and she promptly made her way over.
"What are you doing out of…" Matsumoto began though trailed off as she got a good look at the girl sitting across from her. "What the hell happened?" Momo sighed, having known that question was coming as soon as her friend walked in the door.
"Um there was a bit of a fight…" she began slowly.
"I'll say. With what, a bulldozer?" Rangiku interrupted. Hinamori giggled and shook her head.
"No, not quite," she responded before launching into the story of what had happened beginning with Aizen asking her to deliver the letter, to the thugs beating her up, to meeting Kenpachi, and then finally being retrieved by Hitsugaya and the others. Matsumoto listened in silence, her eyes never leaving Momo's as she told the story. When she was done the girl sighed and leaned back into the booth, a small frown on her face.
"I-is something wrong?" Momo asked cautiously. Rangiku raised an eyebrow at her.
"You mean aside from the fact that one of my friend's just got the shit kicked out of her?" she inquired slyly. Hinamori flushed, dropping her gaze to her lap again.
"Yeah…" she replied, feeling silly. Rangiku giggled softly before shaking her head.
"It's just unusual that's all. I mean the neighborhoods around her aren't one hundred percent safe but it's unusual for muggings to happen in the middle of the day," she responded.
"I guess I'm just lucky," Hinamori replied, making an attempt at a joke. Rangiku snorted though didn't respond. Right at that moment Urahara returned, Momo's sandwich in his hand, his usual smile on his face.
"Sorry about that," he told her with a grin as he set the dish in front of her. "Nice to see you Rangiku." The girl grinned at him, nodding her head.
"The usual Urahara, and step on it," she ordered. Kisuke chuckled as he stepped back and away from the table.
"Alright, alright, you don't have to be so demanding about it," he said to her. "Aren't you supposed to be polite to your host?" Rangiku rolled her eyes.
"Since when have you cared about anything like that?" she snapped. Urahara chuckled but didn't respond, instead vanishing back in the direction of the kitchen. There was a slight pause as Hinamori took a bite of her sandwich, relishing the flavor of the toasted bread, turkey, and melted cheese as it enveloped her senses and cheered her stomach. After she had swallowing she refocused her attention on Matsumoto, opening her mouth to ask the question that had been bugging her since the girl walked in the door.
"So that's my excuse for skipping class, what's yours?" she inquired knowingly. Matsumoto grinned at her, running a hand through her long locks and letting the breath whoosh from her lungs.
"I've just been having issues concentrating lately," she responded. "Today I just gave up trying." Hinamori raised an eyebrow, wondering if her friends recent case of ADD had anything to do with their run in with Gin Ichimaru in Grey's the other day. She wasn't sure if it was her place to ask but if there was anything she could do to help she wouldn't hesitate to do so.
"Does it have anything to do with seeing Ichimaru at the restaurant?" she asked quietly. Rangiku hesitated before snorting and turning her gaze to the window.
"Probably," she mumbled, massaging her temples with the tips of her fingers. Another silence followed this comment before Momo asked cautiously:
"What exactly happened? You don't have to tell me but it might make you feel better and, somehow, I might be able to help." Rangiku laughed quietly, her eyes full of warmth as she fixed Momo with a grateful smile.
"Well there isn't much anyone can do to help with the situation, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to tell you. After all, you did tell me your biggest secret," she replied with a wink. Momo giggled nervously.
"Y-yeah," she replied, wondering how the topic had been pushed to that. Rangiku sighed again and the smile slowly melted off her face.
"We grew up together, Gin and I. His parents died when he was young and our neighbors took him in though they got along terribly, Gin even told me once that he hated them. Anyway one day some bullies from our neighborhood were picking on me and he showed up out of nowhere and scared them off. After that the two of us were together all the time. I don't know maybe we both just really needed a friend and happened to find each other at the right time, maybe it was just coincidence... So the years passed and as soon as he turned eighteen he moved out of his foster parents place and got his own apartment about ten minutes away from where he used to live. Right around that time he started getting into a lot of trouble with the cops and he wasn't doing so well in school. I tried to talk to him about it but he would always shove it off like it was nothing, hiding behind that stupid fake smile of his. He kept telling me that he was fine, that he would graduate and get a decent job so I wouldn't have to worry about him anymore…
In any case about halfway through that year I started to see less and less of him and the few times I would see him he never told me what he'd been up to or who he was hanging out with. I had my suspicions that it probably wasn't the best group of people ever but I didn't want to deal with the truth so I didn't do anything about it. Looking back on it now I wonder if I had confronted him about it if things would have turned out differently. Not long after that I was home alone because my parents were gone on a business trip and had left me in charge of the house. All the sudden I smelled smoke so I got up and ran around the house looking for the source of it. Not long after that I heard sirens and the next thing I knew there was a fire truck and an ambulance in front of my neighbors, Gin's foster parents', house.
I ran outside and saw smoke billowing from the roof as the left side of the house was completely engulfed in flames. A big crowd had gathered and I joined them, trying to find out what had happened to cause the fire. Nobody knew anything and I was just about to give up on finding information when my phone rang. I left the crowd and picked it up only to hear Gin on the other end. He asked if he could crash at my place that night because for whatever reason he couldn't go back to his apartment. I said he could and immediately headed back to my house. It didn't take long for him to get there and for some reason he was sweating and really out of breath though he wouldn't tell me anything about it, only asked if he could take a shower. When he got out I was determined to drill him with questions as to what in the world was going on and to yell at him for walking around my house without his shirt on but all he told me was that he was going to bed and immediately crashed on the couch.
I guess the nights events had worn me out because I went to bed pretty shortly after he did, falling asleep almost instantly…" There was a pause as Rangiku closed her mouth for a moment, cutting off the story as her eyes took on a distant look. Momo waited patiently, knowing she would continue when she was ready to.
"He ended up coming into my bed that night and sleeping with me, not SLEEPING sleeping with me!" Rangiku quickly corrected as Momo's face had turned a brilliant shade of fuchsia. "But he had never done that before… He held me that night as I slept with his arms wrapped around my waist and his face buried in my shoulder. I didn't want him to let go, I didn't want him to leave…" she murmured and Momo bit her lip as she saw the raw pain reflected in her friends eyes.
"When I woke up the next morning he was gone. I don't know where he went, I don't know what he was planning to do, all he did was leave a stupid note that said thank you. I got up, searching the entire house for him but he was long gone. When I walked past the bathroom I saw his shirt still lying on the floor from where he'd left it and when I went to pick it up, the first thing I noticed was how strongly it smelled of smoke… They never found the cause of the fire at my neighbor's house but after that night I never saw Gin again…" A strong silence followed this comment as Momo processed the incredible depth of what Rangiku had just told her. Who would have thought that such an incredible history lay between her friend and assistant English teacher?
"So when you saw him at Grey's…" Momo began, trailing off and fixing Rangiku with a questioning look.
"It was the first time I'd seen him since that night," the other finished. "He must be doing something right in order to have the job he does now. I guess I'm thankful to Aizen for putting up with him." Momo nodded her head, wondering how in the world the other girl had reacted so calmly the other day, managing to keep herself from marching up and smacking him in the face.
"And Hisagi and Hitsugaya know about this?" Hinamori asked. Matsumoto nodded slowly.
"I've known Hisagi nearly as long as I've known Gin. He's closer to my age and I don't know if he ever really approved of the friendship I had with Gin, but he was there through it all. Ironically enough he was the one who comforted me after that idiot disappeared and he never once told me 'I told you so.' I really owe him for that as he had every right to…" she said.
"And Hitsugaya?" Momo prompted, hoping she didn't sound to nosy though her curiosity didn't allow her to say anything otherwise. Rangiku smiled, shrugging her shoulders lightly.
"I didn't know him as long as I knew Hisagi but I met him shortly after Gin left. We're complete opposites and I know I drive him crazy more than half the time, but we clicked really well. One day I just found the whole story spilling out, kind of like today," she said with a smile. "He may not look it, but Toshiro has a much bigger heart than he lets on." Momo grinned, nodding her head in agreement.
"I know," she replied, her cheeks heating up ever so slightly as she remembered the night of the thunderstorm when he had comforted her. Matsumoto raised an inquiring eyebrow though was cut off as Urahara chose that moment to come over with a steaming cup of coffee and a large cinnamon roll dripping with frosting and smelling like heaven.
"The usual," Urahara said with a smile as he placed the dish in front of the girl. Rangiku's face split into a large smile and she immediately grabbed the fork he had provided and slammed it into the pastry.
"Thank you!" she mumbled through a mouthful of roll. Urahara grinned before placing a mug of hot chocolate down in front of Momo, complete with a swirl of whipped cream on top. The girl glanced up at him, confusion reflected in her eyes.
"That one's on the house," Urahara told her with a wink. "Enjoy!"
"Thank you so much!" Momo exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. The man merely chuckled before turning and heading back towards the kitchen. Hinamori lifted the steaming mug to her lips and took a sip of the scrumptious drink, her taste buds screaming their approval as what felt like liquid chocolate made its way down her throat. Setting the glass down she looked at Matsumoto in amusement as the girl made quick work of the monstrous roll in front of her.
"How can you eat that so fast?" she asked, her eyebrows disappearing into her bangs. Rangiku grinned, winking at her as she responded:
"All the calories go to my boobs so it's no problem." Momo laughed along with her before turning back to her cocoa.
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Not too long afterwards the girls decided it would probably be a good time to leave, Momo so she could get back to the room before Hitsugaya returned and Rangiku because she figured it would probably be a good idea to catch at least one class that day. Matsumoto hesitated as the girls reached the door before leaning down and smothering Momo in a giant bear hug that only Matsumoto was capable of.
"Thank you," she said quietly before releasing her and stepping out the door. Momo grinned, following the girl back outside.
"Anytime," she replied, glad that she was able to help if even just a little bit.
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Yoruichi stared thoughtfully out the window from where she had been sitting unnoticed in the booth directly behind the one Momo and Rangiku had recently occupied, her mind swimming with everything she had just overheard. Things were definitely getting interesting around here and she couldn't help but wonder how much longer it would be until matters spun out of control entirely. Sighing she stood, exiting the booth and making her way back behind the counter. Kisuke was bound to be interested in just what it was she had to tell him.
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Alright raise your hand if you want to kill me… *All reviewers promptly raise their hands* I'm really really sorry guys. I've already got messages from some of you asking when in the world my next chapter was coming out and here it finally is. Unfortunately for me, and all of you, this is my finals week which means I have so much studying, final projects, and final papers to get accomplished during the month of November hence the HUUUGE lack of update. Well anyway I hope this chapter made you guys happy and seeing how I go home on Wednesday for a 5 WEEK AND 2 DAY LONG BREAK, the updates will be much faster! Thank you so much for all of your patience, I still love you guys even if you hate me xD. Don't forget to check out the new fan art!
~Phoenix