Present Day
Momo sighed as she leaned her head against the window as the train sped quickly along the tracks. The scenery was little more than a blurry blob of greens and browns from the trees with the occasional structures visible for just a split second. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she pulled it out seeing a picture in the group chat sent by Renji of him and Izuru standing on the porch of the house they were renting for the new term at Kyoto University. She smiled and liked the picture before tucking it away. Last term they had all talked about maybe renting a place together closer to the main building where they all had at least two courses. But Momo had started to lose interest in college. Her grades had begun to slip and she found herself simply going through the motions rather than actually enjoying herself. It had been a hard decision, one she had talked about at length with Unohana on their weekly calls. The wonderful woman who had been her guardian and like a second mother to her had encouraged her to stick it out for the remainder of the term and spend the summer in the city rather than coming home like she normally did. A change of routine, maybe an adventure to a new place; anything to try and find the spark that drove her. Momo had tried it. She'd signed up for one of those university sponsored trips to Barcelona and Madrid with Renji, Rukia and a few of their other friends they'd made. The trip had been amazing a major departure from what she had experienced in her twenty years of life. But it wasn't enough to capture her interest in school again.
After much debate and consideration, Momo had submitted her intent to withdraw from Kyoto University and decided to return home. Her plan was simple; return to Unohana for a few months and look into her finances and the inheritance left to her from her parents, research places to relocate, and then go. Maybe after a year or two she might decide to go back to school once she found something of interest. But for the moment, it just wasn't for her. She had felt guilty at first when she had finished all the paperwork required to withdraw and she second guessed herself a few times before she handed it all in. Her friends had tried to get her to stay even if she wasn't even trying to pass, but it wasn't what she needed. Goodbyes had been tearful and full of tight hugs with a large party that resulted in terrible hangovers for Renji and Izuru but it had been so much fun and a great way to end this chapter of her life.
It took about three hours for her to get home from Kyoto and evening was just setting in. Disembarking from the car with her things, she walked through the terminal until she got outside. Unohana stood waiting for her, her hands folded in front of her as she smiled warmly upon seeing her. The scene was reminiscent of the first time she'd met the woman. Momo had felt lost then as well, uncertain of the future and uncertain about her new caretaker. But now, at least she was certain about one thing; Unohana. Momo closed the distance between them and hugged her, finding comfort in her embrace. "Lets go home, my dear."
The town remained almost exactly the same as it had always been since she moved here. With the exception of a few building remodels or expansions, everything remained virtually untouched. Arriving back home, Momo made her way upstairs to her bedroom. It was still exactly the same as it had been since she left for college. Posters of bands she liked, and movies she watched at least a thousand times were pinned to the walls. Bulletin boards full of photos from trips and things she'd done with friends were by her bed and desk. Momo sat on her bed and looked at the framed photos she had on her nightstand. There were three 4x6 photos taken at various points in her life. One was the last picture she had of herself with her parents taken of the three of them sitting on the couch in the living room. She remembered it had taken four attempts to get everyone in the frame before the timer took the picture. The other two were from after she had moved in with Unohana. An image of a young Momo with her arms wrapped tightly around Toshiro's neck why he scowled up at her. The last image was her favorite. It was from the summer six years ago on the day a bunch of them had taken a trip to the beach. Momo had squished herself right up against Toshiro while they were taking a small snack break to eat watermelon. Both of them held a triangular piece of the fruit while she smiled brightly at the camera and he looked at her with a small curling of his lips. There weren't many pictures of him smiling. She was certain that only she and his grandmother were the only ones to actually have any pictures where he didn't look like he was bored or annoyed.
Momo picked up the picture and sighed. Every once in a while she'd call his disconnected number in the hopes that maybe he'd reactivated it but it never was. She'd tried to find him on social media a few times. It shouldn't be too hard to find a white haired guy with turquoise eyes… but it seemed he either went under a fake name or he avoided social media. His house next door had new occupants so that was a dead end as well. Even after all these years she still wondered where he had gone and why he left in the first place. She had to have thought of a million scenarios and reasons but none of them made sense. Renji had once suggested that he made enemies with the Yakuza and had to go into hiding. Rukia had punched him for it but it did account for his aggressive behavior before he left. Momo thought burnout to be the most likely reason. He'd always hated being called a genius or a prodigy but that didn't stop teachers from pushing him towards advanced courses, and showering him with praise and their high expectations for his success. Maybe it all took its toll on him and he just decided to quit to get away from all the attention. Still, all these were just speculation and she didn't really know what happened to him. She wanted to think that wherever and whatever he was doing he was happy. That he found someone that was as good a friend as she thought she was with him.
Momo shook her head and returned the photo to where it belonged. She did this every time she came home. Thought about him as though she'd step outside and find him sitting on the porch as if nothing had happened. Unohana was right that she needed a change. She needed to stop dwelling on him. She needed to move on just like how she moved on after her parents. Flopping back on her bed, she stared at the ceiling as she thought about the future she wanted for herself. Maybe she'd move to Spain. The trip had been so much fun and her Spanish wasn't bad… not as good as her English though. Maybe she'd go to the United Kingdom. Or the States. Maybe she'd take some courses and an internship. Get a boyfriend. Start a hobby. But… visas, bank accounts, money, apartments, work, bills, meeting people… she groaned thinking of all the work it would take just to go to one place. And what if she doesn't like it there? What if she ends up living in a bad part of town? What if she can't find work? Her thoughts snowballed uncontrollably as she pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes.
"You're just being an idiot bedwetter again," She said to herself. Momo pulled her hands off her face for a moment, realizing she could hear Toshiro saying the exact same thing in her head. "Gah!" She slapped her hands to her face and left them there. She couldn't stay there anymore. At least not now.
Sitting up, Momo rubbed at her face and went into the bathroom to splash cool water on her face. A single glance in the mirror had her groaning again. She looked horrible. She looked travel horrible. Dressed in a pair of tight comfortable pants and a baggy shirt with no makeup and her hair tied back in a bun, she wasn't going to go out looking like she had spent all day on a train. Returning to her room, she pulled out her cosmetics bag and pulled out an outfit Rukia had given to her one time when they went out with the boys for drinks. The dark green spaghetti strap shirt was loose and paired with a pair of dark jeans, it highlighted some of the subtle curves in her figure. Momo let her hair down and fluffed it a bit, giving a small tug to the ends, debating if she should keep it shoulder length or maybe grow it out a bit. With a shrug, she pulled on a light jacket and decided to head out, letting Unohana know where she was going and a promise to call when she was on her way back.
The bus went just about everywhere stopping at all the major destinations especially the late night district on the east side of town once the clock struck five. Momo was far from a regular when it comes to these places and she certainly never stayed longer than it took for her to finish a drink or two before heading off somewhere else. For her, it wasn't the liquor that made things fun but just the simple change of scenery and routine. She was always careful whenever she went out, never venturing to the parts of town known to not be save to travel through alone and always aware of the times when things tend to get sketchy.
A small drink, then maybe a quick meal before wandering under the neon lit signs for a bit then she'd head home. At least that's what she planned on. Her favorite bar in the area happened to be the one right across the street from the bus stop. Tobiume was a small brightly lit bar popular mostly with women and known for their fruity cocktails. Standing on the sidewalk, in need of a change, Momo found herself walking farther down the street towards some of the other bars instead. From the street, some of the buildings had music blasting so loud the bass could be felt, and through the windows she could see them so tightly packed there were small groups out front waiting to enter. Others had a small handful of patrons, mostly older businessmen enjoying a drink quietly. Near the end of the street where a five-way intersection met, was a bar slightly larger than Tobiume with a decent crowd but not overwhelming. The lights were a cool blue with a light mist dusting the ground. The sign was a blue dragon over the name Ice Ring.
Momo entered and walked up to the bar where a card lay on the table listing specialty drinks and the food options. The bartender was on the other end of the bar, talking with a busty blonde who looked to have had quite a few drinks already. She was loud, audible even over the music as she laughed and leaned over the bar, trying to hug the bartender who dodged her arms while pushing her back so she stayed on her side of the bar.
"Oh come on, Captain! Just one more teeny tiny drinkie-poo," The blonde said loudly.
"You've had enough. Remember you still have to open tomorrow." The bartender said, taking away the woman's empty drink and turning to put it in a bussing bin.
"Pshhh, that's not until five!"
"Two. And you have to be in by twelve to change the hoses."
The blonde whined, "Aw! That's not fair! Hey why don't you switch shifts with me?"
"Not a chance, you idiot."
Momo froze, as the bartender turned and she got a good look at his profile. His hair was an icy blue in the lights a bit on the messy side with a section of fringe hanging down over his left eye. His piercing eyes practically glowed a distinct blue-green as he turned towards her. Her heart beat fast as she looked at him, a million questions in her head but only one word came out. "Toshiro?"