Chapter Eight: A Tender Peach

Toshiro gulped again as he gently laid his shaking hands upon the sleeping peach's shoulders. He could already feel how tight and sore they were, how they throbbed and emitted an angry heat from under the skin. He couldn't believe he was going to do this, but what else could he do? She was in a good deal of pain and for some reason...that bothered him. But, what about Tobiume? What if she found out about this and wouldn't want to talk to him anymore?

Toshiro shook the thought away and glanced back down at the hurting girl and decided he would help her anyway. He liked her too, whether just as or even more then Tobiume he wasn't sure, but he did like her, so...

He gave a gentle squeeze, but halted as he heard the sharp intake of air coming from her. Hitsugaya could tell it was both a mixture of surprise and of pain, but other then that she made no objection. Toshiro continued to gently rub her shoulders, feeling them tighten before they slowly began to relax. He glanced out the window that let him peer into the classroom and noticed the weeping girls and glaring boys that stared back at him. He didn't care, glaring at them to prove his point, he just wanted to help her...just wanted to know if she liked him, too.

Toshiro mentally sighed to himself. Why was he trying to get her approval of him when he knew Tobiume liked him back? A girl just doesn't kiss a boy like that unless they like them back...right? Did he like Momo more then Tobiume? He had to admit that there was pieces of both that he loved. Momo's sweetness and determination and Tobiume's cleverness and confidence. With girls like that, how was he to choose?!

"Shiro-chan? Thank you, but you can stop now." Hinamori sighed as she tried to sit up, but winced in pain and buried her face again. "That was very nice of you, but I don't think it will help."

"You have to give me time to get to your neck, Bed wetter Momo." Toshiro smirked as he heard her groan. "How did you get this headache anyway?"

"I couldn't sleep." She sighed as she relaxed against his touch. His hands felt amazing and he was being so gentle to try and not hurt her further. "Where are the others? I don't hear them."

Toshiro smirked as he leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear and whispered. "They went to go get some aspirin. It's just the two of us." He felt her shiver and gave out a low chuckle. He noticed the wonderful smell her hair gave off before he pulled back and began rubbing her neck.

"How did your game go last night?" Momo asked, the silence making her feel awkward and uneasy.

"We won. They played lousy, though." He smiled as he remembered the kiss Tobiume gave him, but decided to keep the to himself. "Hey, Hinamori. Since we're partners for that literature project, I thought we could work on math at your house, but then swing by at my house to do the project. I don't want my granny to be left alone for so long, you know."

"That sounds fine." Momo sighed as she sat up and moved her neck a little. "She won't mind me being there will she?"

"I don't think so. Granny is weird like that." He smirked as he then noticed the class beginning to get to work. He wanted to ask her if she liked him too, wanted to be with him too and kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her but...something was holding him back...Tobiume was holding him back. What if they weren't the same person? What if he lost that bold, playful artist, but then, he would miss this sweet, tender peach. Damn it!

~ Biology Class~~~~~~~

"Tell me! Did you two kiss? Does she like you back? Is she Tobiume?" Rangiku asked, her hands clasped together in front of her in hope.

"No. I am no further to figuring her out then I was this morning!" Toshiro growled as he poked the dead frog in front of him in absent thought. "What if I miss my chance with one of them? How do I know which one I really like?"

"That's a tough question, Toshiro. You'll have to find out more about them." Matsumoto sighed as she looked over to the younger boy. He seemed really down and it struck a cord inside her heart. She might bug him often, but that was only because he was like a little brother to her. "I got an idea. You find out more about Tobiume and I'll find out more about Momo."

"Don't you already now a bunch about her? You guys are best friends, after all."

"Not really. She isn't from around here originally. She moved here or something...I can't remember." Rangiku tapped her chin before just shaking her head and sighed. "You just leave her to me."

~ Toshiro's House~~~~~~~

"I thought we were to be going to my house then your house?" Momo asked as she walked along side the smaller boy.

"When I called Granny, she said that she wanted to bake some cookies for us to snack on while we work." Toshiro sighed as he glanced over to the smiling girl. "You feeling better?"

"Yes, with the massage you gave me and the aspirin I had, I'm feeling much better. It still hurts from time to time, but I can deal with it." She smiled as she poked his shoulder. "Why did you give me that massage?"

"You looked to be in some real pain, so...I thought I'd step in and help. I was afraid you'd pin me like Renji, though." He smirked at her, but was surprised that she was blushing, but smirking as well.

"You wouldn't like me too?"

His eyes widened as he listened to her laugh, she now playing it off as a small joke, but his head was spinning with happiness and confusion all at the same time. Who knew she could flirt so openly like that?

Toshiro just snorted as he walked up onto his porch and opened the door. He let the girl enter before him, whispering 'Lady's first' before he himself entered. Hitsugaya watched as she looked around the house with awe in her eyes. He didn't know why she was so happy to see the place, it being a little plain and a little messy but now that he thought about it...her house was rather dull and quiet...why was that?

"Hello, Dear!" Granny smiled as she quickly walked up to the small peach. "How nice of you to come. I hope you don't mind an old woman baking you cookies, do you? Well, come sit down and relax!" Granny grabbed Momo's hand and led her further inside. Easing the young girl into a sit and looking over her hands with interest. "So you're the artist Toshiro has been talking about? Momo, was it? What a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl." She chuckled as she watched Hinamori blush.

Granny then noticed something odd about her hands...small scars on the tips of her fingertips. They were old and fading, but some still visible if one looked close enough. She smiled, knowing how the girl had earned these scars, but said nothing about them.

"Granny, Hinamori has a problem with headaches, do you have anything for her?" Toshiro asked as he sat down beside his friend. "She said she didn't sleep well last night so..."

"I have just the thing for you, Dear."

"Thank you, — !"

"You can just call me Granny. Everyone else does." The old woman chuckled as she disappeared into the kitchen.

"Your Granny seems to be a very lovely lady, Shiro-chan." Momo smiled as he grunted.

"I told you not to call me that." He sighed as she just shook her head. "Anyway, about that literature project. We have to draw something that says 'romance' or whatever. He didn't really give us a due date yet, but the sooner we get it done, the sooner we can focus on your math."

"...Draw...something? Like...art?" Momo gulped as she was now sweating bullets. How did this happen?! How could she even agree to work with him and let this happen?! He was going to find out who she was and then tell the whole school! She was going to get bullied and beaten and then she would have to move far away and-!

"Momo? You okay? You look as though you're going to have a mental breakdown." Toshiro asked as he slightly shook her shoulder.

What if he did find out? He'd take her to prom then, maybe even ask her to be his girlfriend, but...was that because he liked Tobiume? What about her? What about Momo Hinamori, the shy girl that liked him just as much as the artist side of her did? Her heart ached as she thought of that. Was this little game they were playing hurting her instead of helping?

"Hinamori? Hello? Hey, Bed wetter!"

"What?!" She called back, then hide her face in her hands. "I can't do this project, Shiro-chan! No way...not in a million years!"

"Oh, yes you will! We're in this together! What are you afraid of anyway?" Toshiro snapped back. He watched as her eyes became distant, like she was remembering a far off memory, one that she never wanted to remember but relived each day. He was about to touch her shoulder again when he heard her whisper.

"You hear them...don't you? All of them..." Her voice was shaking and soft, like a flickering candle just about to go out, but the message it held was strong.

Toshiro sighed to himself. So she did hear what they were saying in math class, but why let that bother her? She was better then that, surely she knew that...didn't she? "Why worry about that kind of thing anyway? Bullies are just cowards, stand up to them and they'll fall."

"...not all of them do, Hitsugaya-kun." Momo whispered to him again, then looked down at her feet. "I'll...I'll help, I guess. No reason for you to fail because of me."

"Here we are!" Granny smiled as she was carrying to cups of tea and a large tray of cookies. She noticed how sad Momo looked and glared at her grandson. "What did you do now? Look at the poor dear."

"Wha-?! Me?! I just asked her she let's other people's opinions bother her is all!" Toshiro defended himself, but was losing fast. "I didn't mean to hurt her feelings."

Granny sighed as she placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the two children and patted the girl's knee. "He just doesn't understand, Dear. An artists greatest wish is for people to enjoy their work just as much as they do. To hate their work is just as bad as hating the artist."

"How did you know?" Momo blinked at the smirking grandmother.

"Oh...I dated a few artists in my time." She chuckled as she turned her back on the gawking kids. "Most of them were into some freaky stuff now."

Momo gasped and covered her mouth, staring at a face palming Toshiro, both were as blood red as a human being could get.

"Granny! I don't wanna hear about your love life! Don't you have somewhere to be?!" Toshiro cried as he tried to force the blush away.

"Oh, right! Now, Momo, drink that tea slowly and smell it some too. It should help. Bye, Dears! Play nicely now!" Granny chuckled as she listened to the two of them groan before she left the house.

"...I can't believe that just happened." Toshiro growled as he looked at the still blushing girl beside him.

"...I think she shocked the headache away, Shiro-chan." Momo nervously chuckled as she fiddled with her fingers.

"Yeah, she can do that." He sighed before he began digging through his backpack and pulled out his sketchbook. "We need to think of what to do for literature. You have any ideas?"

"Well...do you wanna paint or draw? And how big is it going to be?" Momo asked as she glanced at his silly doodles. She giggled when he blushed and moved the book out of her line of sight. "Nervous?"

"I have a right to be, Miss Artist!" He ran his hand through his snow white hair before he grumbled. "I don't want to do anything, to be honest...so...what do you want to do?"

"I think painting it will be a good choice since we can invoke more of the emotion we want from the brush strokes. And I'm thinking of an average sized canvas should do the trick." Hinamori tapped her chin in thought before she finally nodded to herself.

She listened and watched as he scribbled idea after idea into his sketchbook, but none seemed to scream 'yes' to her. They seemed...to straight forward, too pushy for such a tender word. Momo began to think of how this simple word seemed to be playing such a large role in her life now, all the flirting and the secret kiss she shared with the amazing boy.

Momo started to just watch his hands now, his words just mindless noise in the background of her own thoughts. Maybe if she showed him a little more affection, or maybe...maybe she could let him in? Let him really see her, all of her, and pray that he liked her completely, but...she was hiding. Even in plain sight she was hiding from him...from all the others. If she thought he was truly worth it (and she had a good feeling he was) Then she could come out of hiding for him and herself. She wasn't just going to give herself to him, however, but maybe a few hints wouldn't hurt. Like that, a image hit her, and it was purely...perfect.

Toshiro was shocked as he felt one hand tenderly cup his cheek, then the other. He was forced ( though the word was hardly fitting) to look into her deep, golden like eyes. He could feel his heart pounding wildly as he felt her thumb lightly play with the corner of his lips. He could smell the lotion she used on her hands, could feel the beating of her own heart just beneath her fingertips. His head was swimming, from just a simple action. A touch like this should be declared a sin, but he didn't mind though, for he was in love with the sinner.

"I have the perfect idea, Shiro-chan."