Chapter 4:
Toshiro stayed in his room for the rest of the evening. Nothing could be heard from his room, which only served to unsettle those outside, especial Hinamori since she knew that she was the cause of his current behaviour. While she had wanted to try knocking on his door to see if he was alright, she knew that there was nothing she could say to him that would make him feel any less angry. After all, she had agreed to go through with her uncle s proposal and she was a person of her word. So, she settled for shooting quick glances at his room while packed her things for the following morning.
When the morning finally arrived, Toshiro had still yet to leave his room. This left Hinamori and Mrs. Hitsugaya to be the ones to bring the few things that were packed doors stairs and in front of the main door. While they hadn't necessarily needed his help since nothing was overly heavy, his lack of presence was definitely felt, especially by Hinamori who remained silent as Mrs. Hitsugaya helped her bring her things downstairs.
"Don't worry, my dear," Mrs. Hitsugaya began as she gave Hinamori a comforting smile. "Toshiro just needs some time to adjust to things. After all, I'm sure that he, just like me, had never thought the day would come when you would leave us to be with another family."
"But you two will always be my family, Oba-san! Always!" Hinamori exclaimed as she answered the elderly Hitsugaya. "Even if I do end up staying with Ryotaro-san, nothing will ever change that!"
"I know, Momo. I know" Mrs. Hitsugaya replied with a slight smile. "And I know Toshiro knows that too. He's just being stubborn right now, is all. Just like a pouting child, he's acting as though everything will go away if he simply hides in his room. So, please, don't be too hard on the boy. With a bit of time to adjust to how things will be from now on, I'm sure he'll be back to his usual self in no time."
Hinamori merely nodded in response, still unconvinced. While the elderly Hitsugaya did noticed this, she thought it'd be best if she didn't say anymore on the subject. With a simple shake of her head, Mrs. Hitsugaya went back to silently helping Hinamori with her things.
Just as the two had finished bringing everything downstairs, the doorbell rung. With a sudden pit in her stomach, Hinamori slowly opened the door to reveal her smiling uncle.
"Well, good morning Momo, Hitsugaya-san!" Futari exclaimed as he dazzled them both with a smile. After taking a moment to survey the room, he added "Now where is that boy? I was half looking forward to seeing his scowling face this morning, you know."
"Oh, um, Hitsugaya-kun is..." Hinamori began as her gaze drifted off to the side. Noticing the uncomfortable tension forming in the room, Futari was quick to change the subject.
"Oh! You already have all your things packed! Perfect!" he suddenly exclaimed as he gestured to the bags at his feet. "I'll go get the driver to carry your things to my car." he added before leaving the two women alone once more.
"Well, it looks like this is it, my dear." Mrs. Hitsugaya began as she turned to face Hinamori. "Please, do take good care of yourself and know that I will miss you dearly."
"Oba-san..." Hinamori began as she was brought into a warm hug by her surrogate grandmother. "I'll miss you so much..." she added as she began to feel tears swell up in her eyes.
"Now, now, don't cry, dear" Mrs. Hitsugaya whispered in the young girl's ear. "Think of this as a new adventure, something to look forward to."
"I-I know, but..." Hinamori muttered into the elderly Hitsugaya's shoulder.
"And if you ever need a home to come back to, know that you are always welcomed here, Momo." Mrs. Hitsugaya stated as she held Hinamori tighter. "Now, go experience the world with a bright smile on your face."
"I-I will!" Hinamori replied as she released herself from her surrogate grandmother's embrace. Then, after giving a short nod to Mrs. Hitsugaya, she walked outside to join her uncle.
"Ah, there you are, Momo!" Futari exclaimed as he saw his niece emerge from the house. "The last of your things have just been put away, so we're ready to leave when you are."
With another nod, Hinamori began to approach the vehicle, only to be interrupted by a sudden voice shouting from the second story of the Hitsugaya household.
"Oi, Bed-wetter, you weren't actually going to leave without saying goodbye now, were you?" a voice bellowed from from up high. Turning back around towards the house, Hinamori saw her childhood smirking at her from his window on the second floor.
"Hitsugaya-kun!" Hinamori exclaimed as she looked up at her at him, too surprised to call him on his use of the nickname. "W-What are you doing?"
"I'm seeing you off, what else does it look like I m doing?" Toshiro replied as he looked down at his baffled friend. "Here, catch!" he added as he threw something down at her.
Hinamori obliged as caught what was thrown at her. Looking down at her hands, she noticed that he had thrown a small dark blue pouch at her. "What's this...?" she muttered as she continued to stare down at the object in her hands. Just as she was about to open it, Toshiro spoke again.
"O-Open it later, okay?! And when I say later, I mean when you're alone, got it?!" he yelled as a slight shade of pink made its way to his cheeks. Seeing his childhood friend nod in response, he decided to continue. "A-Anyway, um, see you at class tomorrow, I suppose..." he added as he ran one of his hands through his messy white hair.
Hinamori nodded once again. "See you at class tomorrow!" she repeated as she waved at him. After he lazily waved back, she turned around and went inside her uncle's vehicle with Toshiro's gift tightly in hand.
As soon as she was inside, the car drove off. Toshiro and his grandmother merely watched in silence as the car drove further and further away, until it was out of sight completely.
After a moment had passed, Mrs. Hitsugaya broke the silence. "So, what did you give Momo, dear?" she asked as a knowing smile made its way onto her face.
Although her grandson couldn't see her face very well, he could tell by the tone of her voice what she was implying. "I-It was nothing!" he quickly replied as he felt his inner temperature rise once again. "It was just something I bought a while back but never gave to her, okay!?"
"Hmm... If you say so." his grandmother replied with a knowing smirk still on her face. Looks like he finally decided to give it to her she thought as she recalled the time she had walked in on her grandson placing a certain object into similar looking dark blue pouch.
Noticing that his grandmother wasn't going to say anything more, Toshiro closed his window and retreated back into the house. Soon after, his grandmother did the same as she walked back inside the house and closed the front door.
Despite what her childhood friend had said, Hinamori's curiosity got the better of her as she opened the pouch he had given her. I know he said to be alone, but I'm by myself in the backseat of the car, so that's close enough, right? she thought as she tried to justify her current actions.
Once she had opened the pouch and could see what was inside of it, her lips parted slightly in surprise. Noticing that there was also a note within the pouch, she picked it up and began to read it.
So that you don't forget where you came from.
-Toshiro
Although the note was short, it still managed to make a small smile escape Hinamori's lips. Shiro-chan... she thought to herself as she looked back and forth from the note to the gift within the pouch.
So caught up in the gift her childhood friend had given her, she hadn't noticed her uncle trying to talk to her from the front passenger's seat. As he finally decided to turn around and look back at her, he caught sight of the gentle smile escaping his niece's lips as she stared down at the gift the younger Hitsugaya had given her.
This could be trouble... he thought to himself before turning his attention back towards the front of the vehicle. They were silent the rest of the drive back to the Futari mansion.
Half an hour later, they had finally arrived at the Futari mansion. Looking out of the backseat window, Hinamori stared in awe at the house in front of her. Never before had she seen a house so big and majestic. And to think, this is where I'm going to be staying for the next three weeks she thought as she continued to examine the house in front of her.
Noticing the look on his niece's face, Futari smirked. "Come, Momo dear. The inside is even more impressive than the outside" he said before exiting the vehicle.
"A-Alright!" Hinamori stuttered before following her uncle's lead and exiting the vehicle. As she was about to go the the back of the car to grab her things, she felt her uncle place a hand on her shoulder.
"Let the driver handle that" he stated as looked down at his short niece. "Now, let's begin the grand tour, shall we?" he added as he motioned her towards the front door of the mansion. Nodding, Hinamori followed her uncle inside.
Once inside, Hinamori's jaw slightly dropped. Her uncle had been right; the inside was much more impressive than the outside. The entrance lead into a giant room with an elegant chandelier hanging overhead. There was also an enormous staircase at the back of the room that lead onto the second floor of the two-story mansion.
"This place is amazing..." Hinamori muttered to herself as she stared at her surroundings in awe.
"Well, of course it is!" Futari exclaimed as watched his niece take in her surroundings. "As the head of the Futari group, I wouldn't settle for anything less! Now, let me give you the grand tour, my dear."
After getting another nod in response from his niece, Futari dragged Hinamori along for a tour of his mansion.
Throughout the tour, Hinamori couldn't help but feel even more impressed than she had been originally. The more she got to see of her new home, the more impressed she became.
"And this will be your room, Momo" Futari stated as they had concluded their tour in front of a room on the second floor. "I've already asked the maids to bring your things up, so they should already be there."
"Alright" Hinamori replied as she opened the door to her new room. Inside, was a room that worthy of a princess. With the elegant decorations and the king sized bed, Hinamori could hardly believe that this room was to be hers for the next three weeks.
Noticing the shocked expression on her face, Hinamori's uncle thought it'd be best to leave her alone to adjust to her new surroundings. "Well, I have some things I have to take care of for work tomorrow. So I'll just be leaving you to your room for now, alright? I'll be back later to pick you up for dinner."
Hinamori simply nodded in response, too mesmerized by the sight of her room to say anything. Satisfied that his niece had understood what he had said, Futari left Hinamori alone with her thoughts.
With her uncle now no longer in sight, Hinamori timidly made her way into her room. After closing the door behind her and further examining the room, she noticed her luggage at the corner of her bed. I guess I should start unpacking my things she thought as she made her way to the bed.
However, once she had reached the end of the bed, she decided to simply sit down and lie on the bed instead. She concluded that she was far too exhausted by her overwhelming day to be bothered with unpacking her clothes right now.
Then, with a sudden thought, she remember the gift her childhood friend had given her earlier. With that newly formed thought in mind, she put her hand into her pocket and took out the pouch once again. And, with a gentle smile on her face, she pulled out the gift he had given her: a small necklace with a peach ordainment hanging from it.
"Thank you, Shiro-chan..." she whispered as she continued to stare fondly at the gift he had given her.
And that concludes chapter three!
Since I now have two stories on the go, I won't be updating this one as often as I would be otherwise. However, to make up for that, I plan on making the next few chapters longer than the previous ones, so you'll all have that at least!
Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing!
~ H-Mira