Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach in any way! All copyrights of this series goes to Tite Kubo.

Author's Note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! I'm officially one year older than I was a year ago. LOL. What better way to celebrate my special day is with you all, readers, by updating this story with the revelation of chapter nineteen. Special thanks goes to my awesome reviewers: monkeywinz, silver'ashes. butterfly, icyangel27, becomeafan, DestinedDuelist893, yumi-2121331, MoonLightView, Epoch95, lil'sayuri-chan, j cloud xD, cool!, maili-chan, Samantha, KnowledgeandImagination, chococat450, Kaye. Shirogane, tanithhh, serenity095, michiHitsugaya, athfdrizzle, King of Heroes, Neko-cheung, applestoapples, Ai Angel, HyorinmaruIce. You're going to love it and it's coming from someone who did her best to make this chapter as heart-warming as possible. You'll see why as you're reading it. Enjoy!

LEGEND

"Talking."

The Healing Heart

Part II - Hardships and Love

Chapter Nineteen: Moment

When he felt the warm sun rays shining down on his face, Hitsugaya winced and slowly turned his body to the side. Suddenly, he felt an unknown weight came down on him. Wondering what it is, he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw is the raven haired girl sleeping beside him (half under the blanket) with one of her arms over his waist. Upon realization, his cheeks felt a few degrees hotter while his heart started pounding faster than ever. Despite feeling surprised and embarrassed from being so close to her, one particular question filled his thoughts: why is she still here?

Either way, he has to create some distance between them. If she were to wake up right now, things could get complicated. The last thing he wants is for her to think of him as some horny teenager trying to get in her pants. Toshiro started by trying to remove her off him. However, she unconsciously responded by throwing her arms around him. Thinking that he's some sort of teddy bear, she pulled him close to her chest. His cheeks suddenly felt like its burning.

He has been through situations like this before by Miyuki and Rangiku, but those times are nothing compared to this. His thoughts wanted to reject her hug at all costs yet his body is not listening to his commands. As a matter of fact, it didn't mind allowing the embrace to happen. Despite the confusing feelings he's experiencing, Toshiro went let out a grunt as he tried to pull away from the sleeping sixteen year old, but it was no use. She keeps hanging onto him. He let out a defeated sigh. He has no other choice, but to wake her up. "Oi Hinamori..."

She stirred in her sleep.

"Hinamori..."

Momo groaned a bit before opening her eyes. "Hitsu...gaya-kun?"

The white haired teenager, still feeling some heat on his cheeks, asked, "Can...you let go of me? I can't get out of bed if you keep holding onto me like this."

When the position they're in finally dawned to her, it came like a speeding train. Momo let out a blush of a dark shade of red. Quickly, she let go of him and rolled her body to the other side. She apologized, "I-I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to do that to you!"

Hitsugaya sat up in bed. Facing away from her, he replied, "I-It's alright..."

There is an awkward moment of silence before Hinamori suddenly exclaimed, "W-What time is it?"

"It's morning already. You should go home."

Remembering about her grandmother at home, the peach girl picked up her notebook from the side and bolted out of bed to put on her shoes in the door entrance. Hitsugaya followed and opened the door for her. When she is done, Momo said, "I'll see you later at school."

With a short nod, he replied, "See you soon."

Once the raven haired girl left, Toshiro closed the door and turned around. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He concluded that she must have accidentally fallen asleep while she was looking after him last night. The thought makes sense or else they wouldn't have been in the position they were before. Yes, there is nothing else that was going on between them while they were asleep.

Hitsugaya picked up his cell phone which he left on the side to check the time. It is seven thirty in the morning. There is some time left until school starts. It's time for him to get cleaned up and to get ready to leave this place for the day.

Momo opened the door, entered the house, and quickly closed it behind her. Exhausted from the morning run, she took off her shoes and went deeper into the house to find her grandmother. When she came into the living room, she found the elderly woman sitting in front of the low table, drinking a cup of warm tea. "I'm sorry Obaa-san for not being at home yesterday!" she quickly apologized. "I was at Hitsugaya-kun's place, picking up my notebook. I was about to return immediately, but a few things happened an-"

"That's fine Momo," the older Hinamori replied. "There's no need to say anymore."

She stopped and blinked. "There isn't?"

The elder nodded with agreement. "You're going to be late for school if you told me the whole story."

Looking at the clock on the side, she exclaimed, "Ah, it's already seven forty-five!"

Without any time to waste, the raven haired girl ran upstairs to take a quick shower, leaving her grandmother behind. She took a sip from her tea. Even though she has only met him a few times, Obaa-san has a pretty good idea what kind of person Toshiro is like; one of them is definitely not harming her granddaughter in any way. She trusts him to look after Momo whenever they're together. "He's such a kind person..."

"I'll be back soon!" Hinamori said before closing the door and leaving the house. As she is running to school, the peach girl took a moment to check the time on her cell phone in her hand. It is eight fifteen in the morning. "Mou, there's only fifteen minutes left until the school bell rings!"

She hurried through the streets, crossed the bridge, past the riverbank, and finally into the school premises of Seireitei High. She took a moment to catch her breath.

"Thank goodness, I made it here on time."

Knowing that she is not going to be late, she regained her composure and started walking into the school building. It is when she felt a strange sensation coming from her gut. Instinctively, she looked back to find nothing there. Momo turned around and placed a finger on the bottom of her chin.

"I'm pretty sure someone was watching me..."

"If you keep standing there like that, you're going to be late for class," said a voice.

When she turned her head to the side, Hinamori jumped with surprise. "H-Hitsugaya-kun, don't scare me like that!"

"That's what you get for standing there and act all absent minded." the thirteen year old teenager took a few steps ahead of her before stopping. He looked over his shoulder and said to the sixteen year old girl, "Well, are you coming or not?"

"Ah h-hai!"

Momo caught up with the white haired teenager unaware of the fact that her gut feeling is right after all. From a safe distance, a lens from a camera is keeping a very close eye on them.

Later in the day long after school is over, Hinamori went straight home, changed out of her school uniform, and took a short nap after completing all her midterm exams. When she woke up a few hours later, the peach girl heard a knock on the door. She sat up from bed and called out, "Yes Obaa-san?"

It soon opened to reveal the elderly grandmother on the other side. She asked, "Momo, can you do me a favour and buy a few things from the grocery store?"

The raven haired girl got out of bed, walked up to her, and gave her a nod. "Okay."

With a short smile, the older Hinamori went downstairs, leaving her alone in her room. The sixteen year old teenager then ran up to her mirror to look at her reflection. Deciding to change the hairstyle, she tied up her hair into a high ponytail. Happy about her looks, she let out a smile. "Yosh, I'm all set and ready to go."

She went downstairs to the front entrance where she found her grandmother standing there waiting. After she put on a pair of brown sandals, the elderly grandmother handed her some money for her to spend. "Have a safe trip."

Momo opened the door. Looking back at her guardian, she let out a smile. "I'll be careful. See you soon, Obaa-san."

Hinamori left the house and started making her way to the grocery store by foot. Along the way, a thought came into mind. Since she is going there again, she is going to be passing by the dessert shop.

"I wonder if he's working today."

Just as she said that, the shop came into view.

"There is only one way to find out."

As she passed by it, the raven haired girl took a quick glance through the window to see if she spotted the white haired teenager anywhere. To her disappointment, he is nowhere to be found.

"I guess he didn't go to work or has already finished his work shift for today."

With that said, she continued on and went inside the grocery store. Though she didn't see him, he did. Toshiro noticed the peach girl passing by the store just as he came out from the employee's lounge room. "Hinamori..."

"Hey Koji, did you see the girl that just walked by?"

Hitsugaya turned his attention to his two co-workers, who are hanging around at the cash register. The other teenager replied, "Oh yeah, she's quite the beauty."

"That reminds me, she comes here once in a while to have some tea and dessert. Whenever that happens, Hitsugaya is always serving her."

Grins suddenly appeared on their faces before turning to the young prodigy. "So Hitsugaya, what do you know about her?"

An eye twitched. For some reason, he is not liking the way things are going now. He half turned to the side and started lying, "Well, she's a nice person and everything. However, she is already going out with someone."

"Eh, no way!" the first teenager exclaimed.

"You've got to be kidding me!" the other added. "How do you know about stuff like that?"

"One day while I was serving her tea, her cell phone rang. After taking the call, she started talking lovey-dovey," Toshiro lied. "After she finished talking, she apologized to me for putting our conversation on hold. She had to answer the phone because she was waiting for her boyfriend to call her back or so she says..."

All of a sudden, one of them snapped their fingers with disappointment. "Damn it, I thought I had a chance hooking up with her."

Upon hearing that comment, Hitsugaya let out a small smile on his face, content that they bought his story. As her friend, there is no way he's going to let a couple of guys like them date her. In his opinion, she deserves someone better. She needs a guy who is considerate of her feelings and is kind. That guy must also be able to protect her whenever needed. Most of all, she needs a guy who can always make her the happiest girl in the world.

He started shaking his head back and forth. After placing a hand over his forehead, he began wondering why he is suddenly acting this way. The last time he has done something like this is when he's with his sister, Miyuki. When they were younger, he would do whatever it takes to keep the guys away from her because they don't deserve her love. "Why should I even care about Hinamori's romantic life? Besides, it's her life. As a friend, I should be supporting her."

"Hitsugaya, you're off work now," the boss said. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

Momo came out of the grocery store with two full plastic bags of food and snacks. Though it took a while for her, she got the job done within her self time limit. "Yosh, it's time to go home."

As the raven haired girl is walking home, she took a moment to look up into the sky. During this time, the sun has already set, allowing the moon and the stars to take its place.

"The sky's so beautiful."

"I do have to agree, but it's nothing compared you," said a voice.

When she looked at eye level, she gasped and stopped in front of a group delinquents. She quickly became frozen with fear; so frozen that she didn't notice that she dropped her grocery bags. Not only they sound intimidating, but they look like it too. They're tall, muscular, and have different tough looking hairstyles. "W-Wh-What do you want?"

"What's wrong gorgeous? Shouldn't you be happy for being complimented like that?"

She took a step back. "Ju-Just leave me alone!"

"So that's where you are," said another voice. Heads turned to the side to see the white haired teenager standing in their presence with his bag draped over one side of his shoulder. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Hitsugaya-kun..." Momo thought.

"I told you before that I was going to come and pick you up."

"Oi, get your hands away from her; she's ours!" one of the delinquents said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I don't see a tag with your name on it anywhere," Hitsugaya replied to them. "On the other hand, it has mine."

"What are you talking about?" another asked. "You sound like you're implying that you're her boyfrie-"

All of a sudden, they felt chills run up their spines after taking a look at the young teenager's icy glare. Fear started to engulf them as they felt like they have turned into icicles. Toshiro raised an eyebrow and lied, "Is there something wrong being her boyfriend?"

They took a few steps back. "Ah no, there isn't wrong with that."

"Hey boss, we should get going," the third delinquent said. "Don't we have a meeting to go to?"

"Y-Yeah, yo-you're right about that. L-Let's go you guys."

With that said, the group of strangers left, leaving the two friends alone. Momo walked up to him and said, "T-Thanks for helping me..."

Hitsugaya let out a defeated sigh and gave her a stern look. "You really know how to attract unnecessary attention."

Feeling ashamed of herself, she lowered her head. "I-I'm sorry..."

"There is no need to say sorry; it can't be helped that you're who you are."

"So, um...did you mean what you said?"

He gave her another look. "Of course not I didn't mean it, idiot. I only said that we're going out with one another so that they wouldn't make a move on you."

"Oh..." There was a brief moment of silence before Hinamori spoke up again. "So, um...how did you know I was in trouble?"

"It was pretty obvious because I was walking behind you a few meters away..." Realizing what his words may have implied, he turned his away from her. "...not like I'm stalking you or anything. It was only a coincidence because I just finished work."

Momo smiled, thankful for his kindness. "Either way, thanks for protecting me."

He walked for a bit and picked up one of the grocery bags she dropped. "Anyway, let's get going."

She then took hold of the last one that was left on the ground. Hinamori gave him a nod of agreement. "Yeah."

For the next few minutes, the two friends walked through the streets of Seireitei until they have arrived at the doorstep of the Hinamori Residence. Hitsugaya handed her the groceries he was carrying. "Here."

"Thanks a lot," she replied.

"No problem..."

Just as she is about to reach for the doorknob, Momo lost balance from holding the groceries and accidentally bumped into Toshiro. Soon, the two teenagers fell down to the ground with the girl laying on top. By the time they opened their eyes, they soon realized how close they were. "I-I-I'm sorry Hitsugaya-kun, i-it was an accide-"

But her words were soon cut off by something that she didn't expect to happen in this situation. The white haired teenager placed a hand on her upper back and pulled her so close that their lips met with one another in an interlocking kiss.

Without any warning, Hinamori felt like the world is spinning too fast while trying to grasp the situation. It felt so blissful and satisfying as if she just have found her purpose for living. She never felt like this before. What exactly is going on? Why did he pull her into a kiss? Why isn't she pulling away? No...Correction: why is she putting her arms around the back of his neck and keeping him close? Everything is so confusing, but regardless of what has happened, she went along with it. It felt so good; it felt so right. She never wanted this moment to end of being together with her friend, Toshiro Hitsugaya.

When they finally pulled away, they were silent, too busy looking into each others dazzling eyes of emerald-teal and chocolate brown. It is a little later, when the special moment finally dawned to them. Immediately, Toshiro and Momo turned their heads away from one another, trying to hide the fierce blush on their faces. Hitsugaya apologized, "S-Sorry, I-I don't know what got over me."

"N-No, you don't have to be sorry," Hinamori replied. "I-It's my fault that...I-I went along with it."

"A-Anyways, um...I'll help you pick up the groceries."

"Ah...yeah."

Hinamori got off of Hitsugaya so that both of them could pick up all the dropped food and snacks that scattered on the ground. Once that is done, they got back on their feet. When he handed her a bag of groceries, he felt the touch of her hand. They looked up at one another. Remembering the image of their previous experience in their thoughts, their cheeks heated up again and caused them to change their gaze. "Here..."

"Thanks..."

They were silent.

"Well, um...I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, same here," she replied, keeping her attention away from him. "Good night."

"O-Oyasumi..."

After watching him leave, Hinamori put down one of her grocery bags and placed her free fingertips between her lips. "I can't believe it, I-I actually kissed him..."

From this point on, she knew things are going to be difficult between her and the white haired prodigy especially when her new found feelings are now getting in the way of their friendship.

"Mou, what should I do?"

Hitsugaya closed the door shut after he entered his home. He turned around, leaned against the door and slide down all the way until his bottom met with the cold floor. He raised his head a bit and started thinking back of what happen back at his friend's place. Just as he is trying to comprehend the previous events, the image of his kiss with Hinamori flashed in his thoughts.

Immediately, he clutched his hand onto a part of his shirt where he felt his heart pounding against his chest. He couldn't understand the feelings he's currently experiencing at all. Why did he kiss Hinamori when he has no intentions to do so in the first place?

Toshiro tilted his head forward and placed a hand over his forehead.

"What is wrong with me?"

Japanese Word Translations

Obaa-san - Grandmother, Hai - Yes, Oyasumi - Good Night

Author's Note: *Fangirl squeal* Kya! After nineteen long chapters and the prologue, they finally kissed! However, their relationship has become a little strained. Will either of them accept that they have fallen for one another? You just have to wait and find out in the next chapter. Now, will you please excuse me? I shall leave the safety of my computer and continue my birthday partying elsewhere. xD In the meantime, please review! Thanks.

P.S. New poll is up! Please answer the question. Thanks!