OMG! I'm a BADDDDD person…lol! I haven't updated this in HOW long:runs away from reviewers: hehe? Don't kill me:gets on knees and begs: Song's called "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5! Wow! I actually didn't use a Michelle Branch song again! Lol!


The Inevitable Chapter 5: Sakura

The next day got Momo got up and stretched. A soft murmuring sound came from her lips, and she rubbed her eyes. The sun was already in its shining glory, and the sunlit room seemed to be brought to life with a new spectrum of color. Taking a piece of paper she eyed near the first cabinet she saw, she scribbled a quick letter of 'thanks' and signed her name on it in large, loopy letters.

Momo brushed herself off, fixed her hair, and walked to the door, taking one last fleeting glance over this savior of a house. Sighing contentedly once she had felt she had gotten a good look, she walked out and closed the door softly behind her. Looking out in the distance of green shrubbery and tall trees, she was amazed to see a clearing through the forest! Momo started running to the ever growing light. Everything seemed to blur now that she started running so fast.

Run…run…run…run…run…

Blurry shades of green passed her by, and the white light grew stronger.

Beat…beat…beat…beat…beat…

Her heart was beating faster and faster, and she could hardly contain her excitement.

Bum…dadum….bum…dadum…bum…

She was getting closer! The white halo in the green grew so large, it seemed to eat her up, and she heard the sounds of a busy city. Soon she burst through the forest to the light and to the city. Looking around anxiously she saw what looked like a newer version of A.W.G.S. in a rather large factory-type building.

There were all sorts, and they looked so much different! Momo walked up to one that was a slight shade of pink/red with some navy attached parts. Momo felt attached to it, and touched it, but much to her surprise, a loud sound disturbed the peace, and Momo threw herself behind a large crater and boxes to her right.

The large factory was partly a factory, and the other half was a launch pad. An orange shuttle landed making a screeching noise, and two familiar people came out. The first jump out and ran, and Momo's eyes widened when she saw who it was. Jr. He had seemed to get a new wardrobe also. Gaignun was not too far behind, although still wearing about the same attire from the last time she saw him.

Jr. seemed to look over at the direction where Momo was hiding, but when Momo tried to confirm it, he was gone. Momo looked back at the empty spot where Jr. was originally standing and a look of confusion swept over her face. She felt a tap at her shoulder. She froze, and suddenly the gray/blue floor seemed very, very interesting.

She slowly turned around, eyes still to the floor, and then she noticed the shoes of the person who 'found' her. Her eyes meekly started up, and she was caught in a sea of blue. Before she could respond, she was already caught in a warm hug.

"Jr.?" Her voice was mostly muffled because he was holding her too tightly.

"How are you, Momo? How you get here?" He let go to hear her reply.

"I'm…fine!" Momo was too excited to talk, after all, she traveled all this way just to see him, and here he was! Standing right in front of her! She didn't care if her heart wasn't real. She didn't care if any of her emotions weren't 'real'. As long as Jr. would be there to save her from this, it didn't matter.

"Well, come on! You must be tired! You look like you've been traveling for days!" Jr. motioned for her to follow him, and he walked towards the shuttle. Little did he know he was pretty much right on the dot about Momo's travels.

She breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and followed, though it was getting hard to keep up with his long, quick strides. Jr. looked at Gaignun and then walked into the shuttle, and Momo gave a small smile to Gaignun, who gave a small upturn in his facial expression, and clearly, he was surprised. As quickly as it came, his expression faded away and his normal mono-tone expression came back.

Momo walked into the shuttle, and on the trip back to the hotel they were staying at, Momo had to answer all the questions Jr. seemed to be able to make up in just about 2 seconds. Momo hadn't thought she'd ever get tired from answering questions, but this just proved her wrong.

Once shown to the white ordinary bed she would be sleeping in, she fell asleep right before her head reached the pillow, and she barely remembered Jr. wishing her a good night's rest.

Momo found herself in a green field. In front of her, a beautiful white house with a pretty landscape filled her view. There was a nice picket fence and a bench at the porch of the house. Momo came closer, and saw two people sitting on the bench.

Were her eyes seeing things? It looked like Sakura and Jr. talking! Momo walked closer, and stood watching them silently. Their conversation lasted for a couple of minutes. It seemed like Sakura was asking Jr. something, and he turned away, his elbow propped up to his knee.

Soon, however, Sakura said something else, and Jr. turned to her quickly, a smile forming on his face. Sakura looked very happy, said something else, and kissed his cheek.

Momo's mouth started quivering, and had gotten very dry all of a sudden. Before she knew it, her vision was getting blurred, and wet big streams were rushing their ways down her face. She looked in horror at them, and covered her face to try and stop them, but they kept on persistently. Momo looked up to see Jr. turn to Sakura, and their faces getting closer and closer. She yelled a "NO!" and bit her lip, running in the opposite direction to the green field, while the sky, and scene before her seemed to break into a million pieces to the ground.

Still, she kept on running, not able to stop, until finally her legs gave way, and she lay panting on the soft ground. Looking up, all she saw was darkness, and she stood up, shakily.

"Jr.!" was all she could muster into saying, and after waiting, she understood that he wouldn't be coming to save her. "I'm…all alone…" Momo closed her eyes.

Momo woke up in the middle of the night, the moon and stars shining brightly through the hotel window. She was panting heavily, and remembering the dream, shook her head, taking a breath. She placed her feet on the cold floor and took light steps over to the bathroom. Switching the light on, she saw the dried trails of tears on her face, and looked down to the sink.

The rushing sound of water cleared her thoughts, and she washed her face, trying to forget about that horrible nightmare. Jr. couldn't have still loved Sakura, could he? She knew he knew her before…but still…

She shook away her thoughts, and took some toothpaste, deciding she might as well stay up since she wasn't about to attempt at sleep for the rest of the night…except now it was early morning. Changing quickly into her clothes, she eyed the clock and found it was now 5:00 a.m. Momo sat on her bed, and wondered what to do, when she heard a knock resounding on her door.

Momo opened it, and was surprised to see Jr. standing there, all ready to go. "Uh…I was hoping I wouldn't wake you! Guess I didn't!" Jr. tilted his head outside. "C'mon! I have something to show you!" Jr. ran out of the room, down the stairs, and the slamming of the door vibrated though-out the small hotel. Momo blinked, and following suit, except she closed the doors quietly behind her, and didn't run as fast.

Her eyes were greeted to the sounds of birds singing their morning songs. She glanced up at the serene sky, and starting walking around aimlessly, until she saw Jr.'s figure waiting for her to get there. She got into a run, and as soon as he saw her, he started to run in the direction of where-ever he trying to go, and Momo felt like she was running miles just to keep up with him.

They were going down old unused paths, as Momo could tell, because they hadn't met anyone so far on their 'journey' to the place Jr. planned to take her. Just about when Momo thought she was going to collapse if she were to run anymore, Jr. stopped suddenly, and Momo almost ran into him.

She walked over to the side, breathing heavily, leaning on her knees. "Where…are…we…" She took a breath and looked to the side at Jr. who seemed to be swallowed up in the scene he was looking at. She look out and gasped.

It was beautiful. It was rolling waves of blue-green rocking back and forth below them. They were standing on a cliff, and a wooden dock with boats were underneath them. The sun shone proudly and sprinkled the water with different shades of yellow and orange. Momo stood up straight and stared at the ocean in wonder. "Is it…real?"

"You betcha! Isn't it pretty?" Jr. smirked and looked at her, satisfied with the look of awe on her face. He sat down on the growing sprouts of green underneath him, and patted a spot for Momo to sit beside him. It's where I go when I need some alone time, it's a great place! Don't you think?" Jr. stared out into the sea, not really expecting an answer, and Momo didn't give him one. She didn't need to.

It seemed like they had stayed there hours on end, laughing and talking. It was now a daily routine for them everyday as weeks passed. Momo felt like she had gotten considerably closer to Jr. now, and was quite frankly, pretty happy. She loved to stay with him, and so far, he was the only one who seemed to make her feel wanted.

Not that she didn't miss her other friends, though. She still worried about Ziggy and Shion, especially, and everyone else. It was to her delight when one day, Gaignun had walked over to where Jr. and Momo were sitting during lunch, and announced that next month, Shion would be coming over for a visit!

Jr. grinned, and Momo clasped her hands in delight. She knew everyone must've been busy, so she was slightly disappointed that there was no news of anyone else, but maybe Shion would know! "Well, I can't wait for that visit, can you, Momo?" Momo grinned a reply back at Jr.'s remark. "Nope! I can't!"

Shion's visit was postponed. Again. It was the same thing that had happened over the next 2 months, and Momo had almost given up all hope of seeing her. Shion was always busy, and something new had come up. Not that Momo had blamed her. She could even see the dark circles appearing under Shion's eyes. Not enough sleep. Shion really needed a vacation soon.

What delighted Momo, however, was that Allen had finally gotten the courage to speak his mind out to Shion that one fateful day a few days after they had all landed on Second Miltia. Momo loved to hear the story over and over again when Shion e-mailed her.

Shion was sitting at her desk, while her windows flashed white from the storm. The wind howled like crazy, and the rain sounded like big rocks falling repeatedly to the ground. The television was on, reporting on the storm and rain.

It all reminded her too much of Kevin's death… Shion couldn't take it. She burst into a fit of tears, and as soon as she did, someone knocked on her door. She hurriedly wiped all the tears away, and shakily responded, "I-I'm c-coming". She felt like such a baby.

She cried to sleep every night when no one could hear her, and she just couldn't stop herself from crying right now. But now was different. Now, someone would find her crying, and she would have to explain herself.

She felt horrible. If anyone knew she was crying like this…she knew how everyone would worry, and it would only make her feel worse. She didn't want to be a burden to anyone. She just needed comfort. Shion forced a smile on her face and opened the door. It was Allen.

Shion felt even worse. He was the one who worried constantly about her, and yet she brushed him off so many times, but yet he was still there for her. The first one to be there. Ever since Kevin died…

She shook away her thoughts and opened the door to let him in. "Hello, Allen! How are you? What brings you here?" Shion mustered up the best optimistic voice she could, and forced a smile upon her face, which was harder than she expected.

"Shion…what's wrong?" Allen read her like a book, he could already tell she was torn inside.

"N-nothing! What are you talking about…I-" before she could finish, Allen put a finger to her lips.

"Shhh…Shion…you know, it's okay to cry…" Allen looked at her, then looked to the ground, considering that he might have made himself look like an even bigger fool in front of her.

She was speechless. How did he know! Allen looked back up at her with a pleading, sympathetic face, and she walked up to him, letting the tears fall. He was shocked that Shion had actually let him comfort her, and it took a second before he wrapped his arms around her.

She was so fragile in his arms. He felt if he held onto her too tightly, she would break into pieces, but yet, in battle, she was so strong. It was amazing. She was amazing. He felt her arms wrap around him tightly, and he kissed the top of her head.

When she had stopped crying, and was cutely sniffling in his arms, he pushed away, though he didn't want to, and looked at her. "Shion, listen to me."

She innocently looked up at him, and waited for him to continue.

"I…I know I'm being forward…maybe…but I need to tell you. It's been long enough already. I don't care if you don't feel the same way…okay, maybe I do care a little…but anyway, Shion…I, I want to be that person you can depend on. That person who'll be there for you when you need them. That person who'll comfort you, and be with you always. Shion, what I'm trying to say is I…I LOVE you, Shion."

Shion just looked at him. For all those years, she never noticed. How BLIND could she get! She understood now why he was always so nervous and caring for her. Here he was, now telling her he loved her.

Getting enough guts to tell it to her face. This time, however, he wouldn't be disappointed anymore. She wasn't going to brush him off. Now, she wouldn't be crying anymore at night. She had someone as wonderful as him to love her, and she was sure Kevin would approve. A smile appeared on her face. "I've been waiting for you to say that," and with that, she hugged him.

Every time Momo heard that story, her heart would melt. It was the sweetest thing that Allen could do! She was so proud of him! Momo hopped on her bed some more, then shifted under the blankets and fell asleep, with sweet dreams.

It was another regular Sunday morning, Momo opened her eyes slowly, the semi-darkened room lightened with shades of gray, and the window outside was a blur of darkened colors from the rain. It was beating down in heavy torrents, and Momo was slightly disappointed, after all, that probably meant that she wasn't going to be able to see Jr. that day.

Stretching her hands up to the ceiling, Momo let out a tiny yawn, let her feet out over the bed, and walked to the small closet to get dressed. Looking up into the organized shelves, she picked out her normal attire, but decided to forget the shoes (after all she was just going to stay in her room for the whole day) and beret (she kept the hair clips in).

There wasn't really anything for her to do, so she went back over to her bed and jumped on top of it, arms and legs sprawled out. Neatly tucking her arms under her head, she closed her eyes, deciding to take a cat nap.

There was a knock on the door, though Momo was too tired, and didn't hear it. "Momo? …Momo?" Jr. lifted an eyebrow, and opened the door slowly, then seeing no one, opened the door all the way, and looked around. His eyes scanned the dimmed room until he caught a glimpse of dark navy blue. He looked over, seeing the form of the sleeping Momo, and closed the door softly, his eyes concentrating on her.

Walking awkwardly to her back, he touched her lightly, and whispered, "Momo?" With that, Momo fidgeted after his touch, let out a tiny half-scream/choke, and jumped. Jr. watched her go up into the air, his mouth open in shock, but his eyes were dancing in amusement. He reached out and caught her in his arms, a grin forming on his face. "You okay? You practically jumped a couple of feet in the air! Literally!"

When he caught her, Momo had wrapped her arms around him to avoid crashing, and a slow blush crept onto her face. He wasn't wearing his trench this time. "U-uh, yes…" Momo looked down, staring at the position they were in. He had her legs pretty much chained there, so the only way Momo could really get down was if he let her down. "Uh…Jr.?"

"Huh?" Jr. looked at Momo for a second, then saw the problem. "Oh…right," and with that, he sat down on the bed, let her down gently beside him, and scratched the back of his head. He turned to face her again, apparently trying to explain himself.
"I just came to check on you, you know."
There was a second of a pause while Momo looked at him expectantly. Jr. then avoided her gaze and continued on.
"I figured that you'd be bored here, so I thought…well maybe-"
Jr. sighed, and looked down, getting very flushed at his inability to speak.
"Dammit."
Momo put a hand to her mouth and started to giggle at Jr. while he started getting frustrated at himself, and it showed. She looked away also, trying to stop herself from laughing, but she couldn't. Jr. tilted his head sideways to look at her, then seeing her expression, raised an eyebrow.
"Hey…what's so funny?"
He gave a puzzled look, and she giggled harder. Jr. pouted when she didn't answer, and gave a sarcastic huff. When Momo's laughter had ceased, she gave him a smile and asked, "So, what do you want to do?"
"I dunno…maybe cards?" He got up and looked at her quizzically, then went over to grab some. Momo waited patiently on her bed, and scooted over to the far North side where her pillows were so Jr. could sit on the other side, and the cards could be placed in the middle. When he returned, he started to shuffle, the looked up at her, "What do you want to play? There's War, Poker, Slap Jack, -"
"How about Speed?" Momo interrupted him, and looked up with enthusiastic eyes.

"Sure, okay…bet I could beat you!" Her said coolly, looking at the cards with a smirk.

"Nuh uh!" Momo shook her head, strands of hair falling in her face.

"Yup!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yup!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yup!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yup!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yup!"

This kept going on repeatedly, until they seemed to say it so much that it blended together, so Momo took a breath.

"Nuh uh…multiplied by googolplex to the googolplex power!"
"…"
"Teehee! I gotcha!" Momo grinned about to laugh again.
"Yeah, but we'll see who the REAL winner is after this game!" With that, Jr. smirked, and playfully poked Momo.
"Okay then!" Momo accepted, and they set up the board.

Ten minutes later

"I won!" Momo cheered and threw up her hands in delight.

"No way! That doesn't mean you won! That was only two games!" Jr. protested.

"You mean seven?"

"Whatever. Anyhow that's not enough! We need to play some more games!"

"Fine, but after 20, that's it, and we'll see who the winner is."

"Okay…I bet you I'll win!"

"Yeah right!"

Ten MORE minutes later

"I win!" Momo jumped up, flinging her arms around.

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"That's not fair!"

"Yes it is!"

"That was like…15 games!"

"No…that was 20 games!"

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah huh!"

"I don't think it's fair." Jr. protested again, suddenly becoming quiet, and looked up at Momo.
"Yes it is!" Momo said right back at him.

"No it's not." He said, coolly at her, and his eyes connected into hers sending shivers down her spine.

"What are you going to do about it?" Momo said, gulping.

"I'll make it fair." He replied calmly, and started to inch toward her on the bed.

"How…so?" Momo's voice dropped down to a whisper, and she gulped again, backing away, until she met the cold feel of the wall against her back.

Sunday morning rain is falling
Steal some covers, share some skin
Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable

He looked quite solemn when he approached her, and she closed her eyes, biting her lip, preparing for the worst. Jr. grinned, leaned over her ear, and whispered in a solemn voice, "Be afraid, be VERY afraid," then backed up and tickled her. Momo, of course not expecting this, jump up, very surprised, not to mention very vulnerable to his tickling, after all, her eyes were closed!

At her reaction, Jr. fell over to the other side of the bed, holding his side and laughing. "Y-you're s-so fun-ny, Momo!" Jr. just couldn't stop, while Momo gaped at him. She fumed, though she was about to start laughing too. "Jr.! That was mean!" Momo grabbed a pillow from behind her and hit him playfully with it, but hard. He stopped, catching his breath and looked at her. They had a major pillow fight after that, pillows and appearing all around the room, including up above them in the fan!

"Hey!" Jr. accused, then reached over to grab the pillow, jerking it from Momo's hands. He then hid it behind his back and started to tickle her again, while Momo dodged and appeared behind him, about to grab the pillow.

"Crap!" Jr. turned around just in time to hold out the pillow from her, and she reached for it, but Jr.'s other arm grabbed her waist and plopped her down beside him. Momo made a tiny squeak, and reached out her hands for the pillow, but couldn't get it because now Jr. moved the pillow to the opposite side of her, and he still had his arm around her waist to prevent her from moving from that spot. Not giving up, Momo reached over again, this time her upper body falling on top of his legs like a poor rag-doll, and she gave a kitty face, her arms outstretched uselessly, and he gave her a sympathetic smile, though his arm was still holding the pillow away.

She got back up, giving a cute kitty-blink, and rested her head on his shoulder nonchalantly. Jr. took the pillow at put it near her head, and Momo leaned into it, causing her to have to sling one of her arms around Jr.'s other shoulder to keep the pillow up.

You twist to fit the mold that I am in
But things just get so crazy,
Living life gets hard to do
And I would gladly hit the road, get up and go if I knew
That someday it would lead me back to you
That someday it would lead me back to you

Once she did so, she closed her eyes and snuggled up, breathing deeply. Then after awhile, she was aware of Jr.'s sudden change in breathing, he was breathing very quickly, and his heartbeat was fast. Mildly concerned, she looked up at his face.

That may be all I need
In darkness she is all I see
Come and rest your bones with me
Driving slow on Sunday morning
And I never want to leave

He seemed to be concentrated at a fixed point on the wall, and his eyes were a darker, deeper, richer shade of blue. Realizing that Momo was staring at him, he looked down, and gave her an apologetic smile.

Fingers trace your every outline
Paint a picture with my hands
Back and forth we sway like branches in a storm
Change the weather still together when it ends

Relieved that he was okay, she smiled back at him, and was about to turn away, but Jr. caught her face, and she looked questionably back at him. Jr. just seemed to be entranced, and he caressed her face, while Momo looked innocently up at him, then placed her hand on top of his.

You may not know
That may be all I need
In darkness she is all I see
Oh, come and rest your bones with me
Driving slow, driving slow (all I need, all I see)
Oh yeah, yeah
Oh yeah, yeah
Oh yeah, yeah (bones with me)
I'm a flower in your hair
Yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah

Just then, the fan turned on automatically, and white feathers gracefully floated down on them, they didn't notice the noise though, or really their surroundings. Momo closed her eyes, her hand still on Jr.'s, and her arm still on his shoulder, while Jr.'s hand was still on Momo's face, and his arm was still around her waist. He bent over slowly, placing a kiss on her forehead.

A flashback replayed quickly across Jr.'s mind, and he saw Sakura, earnestly asking him to please protect her sister and mother. Then himself, proclaiming an anxious and excited, "Yes!" Then of course, her kissing him quickly on the cheek, telling him she'd see him tomorrow, and Jr.'s flabbergasted reaction. He saw her playing the piano, then himself standing up beside her and playing the harmonica, both deeply in tune. Then, he saw her death, Sakura's lifeless body sprawled on the ground, and her expression-

"Ehg! Sakura…" Jr. murmured, opening his eyes quickly, pushing off of Momo and headed to the door, and opened it, and was about to head out the door, when he remembered Momo, who was staring at him with a troubled look on her face. Without turning towards her, he spoke softly, "I…I have to go, I'm sorry." with that, the door was slammed.

Momo looked at the door, her troubled expression turning into one of hurt, and she looked down at her hands, fiddling with them. The rain was pouring harder now, and she crept into her bed and pulled the blankets up, though she didn't sleep well, and continued to stare downward at the bed, all alone.


YES! Cheezy-ness at the end! Hehe! Weee….Shion had a moment with Allen! YAY! Lol! It's VERY cheesy, but right then, I was feeling cheesy, and that's how it came out. I feel like the Queen of Mushy Love Stories right now... Lol! That part is dedicated to Amy/LibraryGirl, ElvenGirlArwen, and VantheKeyofLain who I know love the Shion/Allen pairing!

Pale-Darkness: Thanks for the review! Yeah! I about died when Sakura showed up…but then I beat Xenosaga II and saw the ending…which had like, so many MOMO/Jr. ness that I was really a VERY VERY happy fangirl! Anyhow, I hope you don't kill me for updating so…slowly Keep reading for the next chappy!