Chapter 2

Shouto jumped at the sound of a stranger's voice. Left hand pulling away from his head, before his eyes, which had just been staring at nothing, focused on the surface of the water. Shouto's mouth fell open, not merely in surprise to see a beautiful young woman standing near to him at the edge of the pond.

"Huh?" he grunted, trying to remember how his mouth even worked as he looked up into warm grey eyes and a smiling face.

Her head tipped to one side, long bangs trailing away from her face. "You were staring so hard at them. I was imagining you were talking to them."

Shouto blinked. His eyes darted down to the water, seeing the koi swimming just below the surface, before he looked back up at the woman. His mouth was dry. "Uh…no…" he said.

The woman leaned a little further out towards the water, smiling down at the fish. "I bet they'd have interesting things to say," she said with a soft giggle.

Unable to take his eyes off her for long, Shouto tried not to stare uncomfortably. 'I've never seen someone so pretty.' He didn't want to chase her away, so forced himself to look back down at the fish. "What would they say?" he asked curiously.

"Well to us," she said, kneeling down onto the rock next to his, "it would sound like: blub, blub, blub…"

Laughter bubbled out of Shouto at that unexpected answer. And seeing the smile brighten on her pretty face, he let his laughter free.

"That's much better," she said, her own eyes crinkling with her smile as she looked towards him. "You looked so sad before." She blinked several times, her already rosy cheeks coloured a little deeper before she extended her right hand towards him. "I'm Momo."

Shouto stared down at her hand for a moment before mentally kicking himself to accept it. "I'm Sho—" he nearly bit his tongue to keep from speaking his name. "My friends call me Sho," he finished, hoping he hadn't given himself away.

Momo's eyes sparkled with life as she warmly shook his hand. And it was then that Shouto realized he was looking straight at this beautiful woman. Who was looking directly at him.

Her eyes flickered subtly, no doubt switching focus between his left iris and his right. But she was looking at him, her lips curved in a very attractive smile. 'The scar is visible,' the thought hit him like a punch to the gut. 'She doesn't seem repulsed by it. Maybe she's just being polite.'

"Well, Sho, I didn't mean to interrupt your plans," Momo continued to smile.

Shouto realized he was still grasping her hand. 'Idiot,' he berated himself, releasing her warm fingers with a surprised pang of regret. "Plans?" the word slipped from his lips when his brain caught up to what she'd said.

"Ah," Momo exhaled, her freed fingers tucking some hair back behind her ear. "You looked a little like you might have been waiting for someone…"

"Oh?" Shouto glanced at his surroundings and slowly shook his head. "No, I wasn't waiting for anyone," he admitted.

'Don't chase her off,' he warned himself sternly.

"I - uh…" Shouto clicked his teeth together, clearing his throat. 'Try sounding like you actually know how to speak!' he mentally growled, and turned towards Momo. "I was actually just trying to decide how to fill the rest of the day…"

Momo's lips parted as her smile grew. "You too?" she asked, her tone sounding thrilled as she shifted on her rock so she was sitting facing him. "I was too excited to remain at home, but there's still a lot of hours to fill before tonight."

Shouto nodded his head slowly, unable to take his eyes off Momo's animated, almost glowing face. He had hours yet before anyone would expect him to appear. Shouto's stomach flipped. 'Could I spend some of that time with her?'

'You've only just met? Don't even know a thing about this girl besides her name!' That nagging voice of doubt gasped at the back of his mind.

"You have plans for tonight?" Shouto asked, mentally squashing that voice, and refocusing on Momo.

"New Year's eve," she giggled, the sound captivating in Shouto's ears. "I think just about everyone has plans for tonight."

Shouto shifted, readying to stand. "How long do I have?"

"What?" Momo returned, the smile never leaving her lips. "You mean…until my plans?"

"Yeah, when do you have to go?" Shouto extended his left hand to Momo as he smoothly got to his feet. She accepted, warm fingers wrapping snuggly around his as he drew her up.

"Oh, well, it doesn't start until around 9pm," she said with a shy smile, her fingers still holding Shouto's. "I wasn't really planning on staying here until then. I just…wanted to see… Ah. But if you aren't here with someone, we could walk around for a bit? Together?" Momo's free hand jerked rather suddenly to tuck dark hair behind her ear.

Shouto smiled. "I'd like that," he said, offering Momo his right elbow.

The blush in her cheeks grew as her lashes fluttered a second before Momo released his hand in order to take his arm. They started off together, walking away from the pond in silence. Shouto glanced down several times at Momo's face and caught her grey eyes flickering up towards him.

…

They walked together along the winding paths of the garden, arm in arm. Shouto tried to sneak subtle glances at Momo, captivated by the beauty of her face. While a nervous energy settled in his stomach at having a woman on his arm.

Drawing a calming breath of the brisk air into his lungs, Shouto enjoyed the familiar scents of the pine trees. There wasn't much beyond the evergreens to see in the garden at this time of year, but that was enough for him. 'It's those ancient pines that make this feel like home,' he thought.

Shouto glanced more intently at the surrounding garden. The home he'd grown up in had had a smallish garden off the back porch. Nothing to the grandeur here, but the feel had definitely been similar.

Gnarled low hanging pine boughs shading mossy rocks among the roots. Shouto had found more than just peace among that nature. 'I wrote some of my first songs in that old garden…'

Momo's hand shifted near the crook of Shouto's elbow, and he immediately glanced down at her. He licked dry lips, eyes darting away and then back again, to see the profile of her face.

'Say something to her!' Shouto screamed internally.

"So what brought you here?" Momo asked. Those grey eyes appeared flecked with gold around the edges from this angle.

Shouto drew a breath into lungs which were begging for oxygen.

"I…wanted to feel a small piece of home again," he told her, and cast his eyes along the narrow path they walked.

Momo's fingers gripped his arm a little tighter at his elbow. "Oh? You've been…away?"

"Yeah," he nodded, casting her a quick glance, only to see her watching him curiously.

"Where? If you…don't mind my asking." Momo ducked her head a little, her smile becoming less sure. "I don't mean to, you know, pry."

"Traveling," he said, with an uncomfortable shrug. "Abroad."

"Oh. That can be hard." She said, her tone warm and sympathetic, "How long have you been gone?"

Shouto nodded his head in agreement. Enjoying the feel of having this beautiful woman on his arm as they walked. "Two years," he breathed. "But it's been longer since I felt like I was home," that admission surprised him as it slipped out.

"Hm. I never thought I'd miss home as much as I did when I left," Momo said, her lips turning in a nostalgic smile.

Shouto's pulse quickened to think he might have something in common with this woman. "You too?"

"Yeah," she smiled, her eyes crinkling with the expression. "Although I can't say I've been traveling. I went away to school."

"Oh? Did you go far…away? For school?" he asked.

Momo nodded. "I studied Chemical Engineering at M.I.T," her shoulder bumped lightly against his.

A stiff breeze cut across the path they walked, bending the low branches of the old pines towards them. Shouto turned them up another path, where the shrubs and trees provided a little protection from the wind.

"M.I.T?" he asked back, the letters sounding vaguely familiar.

"Massachusetts Institute of Technology," Momo said, "It's in Boston, in the USA."

Shouto's steps slowed as looked at Momo with surprise. "That's far," he grunted, remembering the culture shock he'd experienced the first time Antipode toured in the States. "Weren't there closer schools?"

Momo's right eyebrow arched delicately over her eye. "Why should I settle for less than the best?"

"Huh? I didn't think you should settle." Shouto quickly said, worried that he'd said the wrong thing. "I….It just, like you said, sounds difficult." He finished with a soft sigh.

"It was harder than I expected." Momo said, breathing deeply of the brisk air buffeting them. "But I still think it was worth it. The hardest things…are often the most worthwhile." She looked up at him, pulling her lower lip between her teeth. "A-at least. That's what I think. Uh, um, wh-what about you? Were you also away for school?"

"Uh…" Shouto's brain scrambled for an answer to a question he should have seen coming. "No," he admitted, with a shrug, "I was…just. On the ro— just traveling. Around."

"For fun?" Momo asked curiously. "Or was it for work?"

Shouto considered her questions, 'What should I say? Both? Yes?' He pressed his lips together for a second. 'Remember, you're trying to not chase her away.'

"A little of both," he admitted, feeling nerves jitter to life in his chest. Shouto didn't expressly want to lie to Momo. 'What would she think if she knew who I really am?'

'Idiot!' Shouto mentally scoffed. 'Not everyone cares about your music!' Refocusing himself on the beautiful woman still walking arm and arm with him, Shouto looked straight ahead down the pathway they followed.

"That must be nice," Momo said. She turned to look up at him, her eyes studying his face rather intently. "There are a lot of places I'd love to visit…"

Shouto watched her through the corner of his right eye. He kept turning his head to look at her more directly, but stopped himself, remembering he'd left the scar uncovered. "The travel gets tiring after a while."

"Oh, no doubt," she was quick to agree. "Do you have to travel a lot for work?" she asked, and her eyes darted away from him for a moment. Her free hand fussed at the hair near her ear.

He glanced down to where Momo's pale fingers rested on his forearm. Shouto couldn't explain it. The electric pulses coursing through him - began at the junction between her fingertips and his skin.

He didn't want this to end.

"Yeah…" he finally answered, the right side of his mouth lifting in a wry smile. "Sometimes it's really hectic. It can feel like you don't sleep for two nights in the same city. And the only people you actually speak to are flight attendants, and hotel staff…"

"That sounds a little exhausting," Momo said with a sympathetic smile.

"It can be," he agreed. "But, like you said. The hardest things can be the most worthwhile."

She blushed. A soft smile bloomed on her lips even as her gaze fell towards the ground. "Yeah…Th-that's true."

…

They walked in silence for a few moments. Shouto surreptitiously tried to watch Momo, his interest in the surrounding garden completely forgotten. Although he was aware enough to hope, each time they came to an intersection, that the path they took wasn't leading them straight back to the entrance.

"Do you mind if I ask what you do?" Momo spoke up, her words nearly being carried away completely by the stiff breeze.

Shouto winced. 'Dammit, I should have expected this!' "No."

"No, you don't mind or no, you won't tell me." She clarified with a light chuckle.

"I don't," Shouto began, mentally kicking himself for making this more awkward. "That is, I don't mind," he finally said.

She glanced up at him as they paced a few more steps. Then giggled. "Come on!"

"What?"

Momo rolled her eyes in an amused way. "What do you do? You know, for work?"

"Oh. I, uh, work in the music industry," he said with a shrug. He knew the number of people that were required to get Antipode from show to show. So it wasn't a lie, and hopefully wouldn't draw any conclusions.

Momo's eyes lit up at his answer, and Shouto's stomach dropped about a foot in his gut.

"How exciting," she exclaimed. "I've always loved music."

Shouto smiled. "Hm. What kind?"

"What?" Momo asked, the smile never leaving her lips.

He thought about it for a moment, taking in more than just Momo's surface looks, but her personality and how she carried herself. "You look like classical music to me." He decided.

Momo's large eyes widened. "Ah! Well, I studied it as a kid."

"Oh?" Shouto smirked, pleased that he had judged correctly. "What instrument?"

"Piano," she replied, the fingers of her left hand dancing briefly against his arm where her hand rested. "Classical music's pretty much the only thing you can study for that."

"Not true. A number of alternative rock songs have a piano track." Shouto pointed out, enjoying the ease of the conversation. "I prefer it, personally."

"That may be," Momo agreed, but was immediately raising her right hand palm upwards. "But it's not like you can find teachers that allow you to just bang out some Antipode song or something." She looked directly at him with an impish smile. "It'd just sound like a bunch of key smashing!"

"Key!" He stopped. Trying to swallow back several retorts which would only land him in hot water. Instead, he drew a breath. "Weird choice. I was more talking about Ken's Mannequin or other, less, hardcore bands. I can't see you being into a group like that. All the screaming…"

Momo tossed her head, eyes bright. "Hm, their screaming has a purpose. I think you're missing the beauty of what they do." She blinked twice, her already reddish cheeks from the cold air colouring a little more. "But, ah, ya know; I like a lot of different types of music."

"Yeah. Same. Classical, too. You have to."

"It really doesn't matter. If it's good, it doesn't matter what 'genre', I love to just lose myself in really good music. It's amazing how it can lift your mood, make you weep…" she released a breath that misted the air before her.

"It's a language that can…I don't know, just fill places in your soul." Momo halted, turning to face Shouto, and it was only then that he realized his feet had stopped walking.

"D-did I say something wrong?" she asked, looking a touch embarrassed.

"No, no," Shouto was quick to reassure. "That's exactly what I like about music too." The way music could touch people's lives, and really connect with them at any distance, was one reason Shouto had been so determined to pursue his dream.

'I just never expected my fans would connect more with my looks than what I was singing…' Shouto thought ruefully.

Momo's relieved smile at his words pulled Shouto's lips upwards as well. "Do you play any sort of instrument? Oh! Is that what you do? Play in a band of some kind?" She asked him.

That's when the panic set in. He glanced away from her face, searching for some way out. 'Why can't I think of something? Technician? Mixer? Security? Pick something!'

She shivered and pointed over his shoulder. "Would you like to grab something warm to drink? Maybe get out of the weather for a bit?"

"Yes!" He said emphatically, seeing that the exit of the park was only a few yards away. "Is what I wanted," Shouto smiled to know his time with Momo wasn't at an end.