"Oh, you are so lucky!" I knew what was going on through little Hinamori Momo's mind. The expression that danced across her face, and the rest of her body, was obvious. Once again, she was talking about Izuru, and how 'lucky' I was, but she had no idea.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," I said while I looked at the ground. In my mind I was far from lucky, it didn't even come close.
"Oh you are!" Momo jumped and looked at her friend, who glanced up at her then back at the ground. "I see the way he looks at you."
This caught my attention. I finally looked up to see what Momo was trying to get at. "Whenever he talks to other girls he looks through them, or he looks like he's looking at someone else." Momo took a side-glance at me, I blushed. "He never sees anyone else, only you. He looks past everyone to find you."
It was true. I may have been the shining star in Izuru's life, unfortunately. Momo could see it like everyone else. The love Izuru had for me. He tried not to show it that much, but it radiated from his body when he was near me.
I nodded. "Sure," I mumbled. I didn't really feel like talking about that subject, especially after that dream I had in the middle of class. The dream told me how much I...needed Renji in my life. I dreamed about him all the time. Not being with him just teared at my soul. I did talk to him every now and then, they were still 'friends', but I had been replaced. In my mind I was shoved aside for someone who was better than me. She was funnier, stronger, wittier. She was Kuchiki Rukia. The girl who was the center of Renji's world. And really, what kind of guy wouldn't like a girl like that? Don't get me wrong, I loved Rukia like a sister. That's why I never showed how I felt towards Renji because everyone knew how he felt about Rukia.
"Tsukiko?" Momo's brown eyes were an inch from my own blue ones. "Are you in there?"
"Yeah! Does it look like I'm not here?" I tried to play off the feeling in my heart.
"Well, you are just staring out into space..." A little, playful smirk came across Momo's face. "Are you day dreaming about Izuru-kun?"
"No!" I jumped off the bed I was sitting on. "I was just thinking...about the break that is coming up!" I quickly thought of something to say and rushed through my words.
Momo tilted her head and sighed slightly. "Lately you've been looking like there has been something weighing on your mind." Momo sat beside her roommate. I glanced down at Momo. Usually I told her everything, but this, I kept a secret from everyone. Maybe I could let her in, just a little bit.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that." I sighed and sat back down beside Momo.
"Then spill." Momo scooted closer to me and waited for the juicy story.
"I'm just questioning my feelings about Izuru..."
"What?" I looked up to the pure confusion all over Momo's face. "I thought you and him, were going to, maybe, end up together, eventually."
"See! That's what everyone thinks. So I feel like I don't want to let anyone down so I'm forcing myself into the relationship." The words just started to drip from my mouth, without me even thinking about it. I put a hand over me mouth, thinking I had told to much. "I..."
"So you are just leading him on?" Momo stood up and gave me a weird look that made the guilt grow. Momo didn't want to believe that I was like that. But with this, even I couldn't deny it.
"I'm not sure. I'm just really confused at the moment." I sighed, "Our relationship isn't to serious, people just assume things!" Now that I had started, I wasn't going to stop. I was known for ranting on and on about something when I got upset enough and was triggered to. "It's just like, no one even comes to ask me about this whole thing. They see us together so they think we are a couple. Sure, we hang out all the time, and we talk all the time. But that doesn't matter! We've talked about this and we said that we wouldn't get to serious 'till maybe after the academy. But nothing was set in stone! And still..."
"Tsukiko-chan!" Momo's voice broke out through my rant. I sat up and gave her a questioning look. With a smile Momo continued on, "We don't have all day to talk about this. We have to get going soon. But when we get back we can talk all you want."
"No, I better stop talking about this before I lose my mind!" I laughed at her own comment, making Momo laugh too.
"Well then, if you're all done, shall we get going?" Momo asked and picked up her bag that carried a few things. She flung it over her shoulder and began to make her way to the door of the dorm room.
"Yes, please." I repeated the same notion as Momo. In my bag I carried only the bear necessities. I was only be gone for two days. The academy was having a little time off for some people to go visit families. I, of course, had no where to go, so Momo offered for me to come over to her house for the break. I was ecstatic, the chance to get away from the academy for a couple of days was something I would never pass up on. I would be able to get away from everything that was troubling me. I would just get to hang out with my friend. And meet the famous Shiro-chan I had heard so much about.
District 1 of Rukongai. A peaceful, lovely, colorful, safe town. This was my first time ever being there, and it was definitely a sight to see. Beautiful cherry blossom tress in every direction, smiling faces passing you by, waving. I had never seen such a place. Being in the academy had also been something that had taken me by surprise. I couldn't believe how kept up it was. It all took my breath away. If only I could have lived up here, how different my life would be. The big difference would be the fact that I would have never met Renji. Who knew what my life would be like right now if I never met Renji. Maybe I could return Izuru's feelings...
"We're almost there Tsukiko-chan!" Momo announced with a cheerful smile. "Its been a while. I haven't seen Shiro-chan in a long time. I wonder if he hates me," Momo said with a little giggle.
"From what you told me, he'll probably just make fun of you," I laughed.
"You're probably right. Oh, I can't wait for you to meet him. I'm sure you'll be friends in no time!"
"I'm sure. He sounds like a cool, little kid." I had tried to imagine him before. Short, white-headed, tough, hard-headed, a little annoying, but with a soft side kid. Those were the words Momo had used to describe him.
"And here we are!" Momo's voice rang out, bursting my mental image. My blue eyes jumped up to see a petite house in the middle of the cherry trees Tsukiko was fantasizing earlier.
"Oh my," was all I could say. This might have been small, but there was much more to it than the rickety shack I had grown up in, piled with twenty other kids.
"Its not much, but it is my home."
"You should have seen the place that I grew up in." I smiled at Momo; I didn't want her to feel any pity for me.
My eyes were soon drawn a little figure standing in the doorway. Arms crossed, white hair spiked up, and a scowl across his face.
"This must be..." My finger went up to point at the little boy, but was cut off.
"Where have you been, Bed-Wetter Momo?!" The boy yelled towards Momo.
Momo's bright smile dropped to a frown. "I've been studying at the academy, Shiro-chan. And I came to visit you..."
"Who is that?" He said angrily and nodded his head towards me, who was still wondering why he called her 'Bed-Wetter Momo.'
"This is my friend from the academy."
"Hello, my name is Senta Tsukiko." I bowed formally. It didn't matter where I came from, I always had good manners.
"Eh." The boy turned his head towards the trees and stuck his finger in his ear. "She's probably just another bed-wetter."
I blinked, once, twice, three times before I finally took those words in. "Excuse me?!" I took a step toward the boy, till I was in front of Momo. "You don't know anything about me so why -"
"Would you shut up?" The boy yelled back. How could someone from the 1st district be so rude? I wondered. I had never taken lightly to people making fun of her. I got enough of that from Renji who was always putting me down.
"Shiro-chan, you could be a little nicer," Momo spoke up and stepped to my side.
"Would you stop calling me that?!" The boy jumped off the porch of the house and made his way over towards the girls.
"Man, you are short!" I announced and watched in enjoyment as scowl came back to the boy's face.
"I am not short!" The boy walked up to me and stared up at her as if to size me up, I stood at about Momo's height, "I'm just young."
"Yeah, a short boy for your age." I giggled at the little boy's annoyance.
"And don't call me a boy! You stupid, freak-show."
"Thats original. I think you should take some time, and put some more input into my nickname. Or you can just call me by my name. Little boy." I pulled up a bright smile. Now I was just toying with him.
"Pfft. Why would I do that?" He turned his head and began to walk back towards the house.
I shrugged and grabbed my hands behind my back and began to rock back and forth on my heels. "I'll call you by your name?"
He looked at the blonde from over his shoulder. "Fine. I'm Hitsugaya Toushiro." He turned his head back around and entered the house.
"Well, its nice to meet you Hitsugaya Toushiro." I bowed her head and looked at Momo.
"He is usually like this, but he grows on you, and you get use to it," Momo said reassuringly.
"I bet." I giggled and stared towards the house. That was one little interesting boy. There was something about him that I just couldn't put my finger on yet.
"Lets go and have fun!" Momo announced and sprinted towards the house.
"Don't try and race me Momo-chan! You can never win!" I laughed and ran after Momo, not going my full speed. I was the fastest person at the academy. They had races all the time, though, it never made the guys feel happy when they got beat by a girl. Especially a girl that looked and acted like Tsukiko.
In all of my life I could never remember a day like that: Running around, worrying about nothing but having fun. Here and there Toushiro and I would crack jokes at each other, and tried to outsmart the other. For a little kid he sure knew a lot, or at least he could come up with something smart sounding.
Momo had known we would get along, but not this well. It reminded of how she and her Shiro-chan used to be, or still were. Just better. After one day of knowing each other, Toushiro and I were closer then others could imagine, though we would never say that. I would just say that he got annoying. Toushiro would agree, saying that he couldn't stand me. Momo could see how close we were, just like she could tell how Izuru felt about me.
People were just drawn to my own special brand of charm. I didn't try to hard, they just came. From the moment you first talked to me, you couldn't stop; it was always like an endless conversation. With Toushiro and I it was an endless argument, but one that would definitely end in a friendship, that Momo could tell. When she met me in class, we became instant best friends. I was one friend she would never forget, but who could? I was the poster child of sweet and innocent, just like Momo herself.