Today's Tomorrow [Private, Invite Eligible]

Katherine didn't respond at first. She seemed to be struggling to come to terms with what Momo had just said. 'Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out, don't... oh no...' She didn't realize when she'd done it, but she'd surged forward and was hugging Momo tightly, clinging to her as if her life depended on it, tears once more welling up in her eyes. She buried her face in Momo's shoulder to hide her embarrassment, but couldn't bring herself to let go. "..S-sorry... I'm just... so happy that... that you want to be my friend..."

Momo blinked, shocked, before blushing as she awkwardly patted the girl hugging her on the back, "Ah..." What do you say in this situation? "don't worry about it?" The suspicion Momo held that Katherine wasn't being treated right solidified fully into a dreadful certainty. But... what to do about it? For now, it seemed, all she could do was - as Katherine had somewhat indirectly requested - be her friend. Her expression shifted into determination. '...whatever the cost. That woman won't stop me!'


"So... you know this forest pretty well, right? Even if you're not blind, finding your way through foliage this thick is an achievement!" Momo asserted, awkwardly trying to change the subject.

Katherine pulled away, embarrassed, but was smiling softly now. "I guess so... it t-took me awhile, but I've lived here my whole life, so I've had a lot of practice... wait... you don't... think it's strange that I can't see?" The casual way Momo had referred to he blindness had almost gone right over her head; she of course had noted that her mother had mentioned the fact, but had expected more of a reaction. Her parents always made it sound like some terrible thing that had happened to her.

"Eh? Well, no. Not really. I mean, I'm an idol that became popular overnight... with a hikikomori, NEET brother who has a cybergirl as his only friend... I don't have room to say someone's 'strange'" Momo explained, laughing, "And there are plenty of blind people in the world, you know? It's not something I've never heard of. It just means you get super spidey-sense instead of color, right?" She finished with a smile and good humor in her voice.

Katherine blinked in confusion. There were so many things she didn't understand there. "H-Hikikomori? NEET? Cybergirl? Spidey-sense? I... don't know what any of those things are..." She was terribly confused, and feeling rather stupid at the moment.

"Ah, you don't?" Momo queried, "Sorry. Okay so... A hikikomori is a person who lives in their house - or, even their room specifically, and never leaves. Ever. For anything. My brother hasn't left his room for anything other than using the restroom in two years. A cybergirl - or his, specifically - is... basically a girl that lives inside of his computer. She only exists inside that virtual space. She's extremely human-like and energetic, though. And... spidey-senses is a reference to an American comic series about a guy who calls himself 'Spider-Man.' They allow him to sense danger coming for him and react before it actually arrives. It's a kind of preperception." She took a breath, realizing how much she just said, "Did I go too fast, or did you understand?"

Katherine looked a bit confused still, but nodded. "I don't know m-much about computers... or comics... though I know it's s-strange for a girl to live in a computer... but what is so strange about your b-brother never leaving his room?"

Momo paused, instinctively keeping her face neutral even though Katherine was blind, "Because... most people do. It's... not healthy. If you were in your room at this very instant, for example, you would have never met me, right? You can't make friends by staying inside forever. That's the biggest reason, really. It's possible to have things delivered to you and even hold a job from inside your room, but if you never leave you'll never meet anyone new. You'll barely meet anyone at all and just be... alone."

Katherine paused then. "So... he's like me... but he's allowed to leave, and he just... chooses not to?" That... made no sense to her. Why would he willingly do something so.... horrible to himself? It... actually upset her. He was perfectly capable of doing something she could not, but chose not to. It was... infuriating, in a way...

"Yeah..." Momo affirmed, placing her hands behind her head and leaning back, "it's stupid, I know, but... He just doesn't see the point anymore. 'I can't do anything, anyway, so I'll just stay here,' he says. Well, he's my brother. I can't get too mad at him." Straightening, Momo forced some cheer back into her demeanor, "So, you mentioned you play the piano and violin, right? Do you have your own?"

Katherine waited a moment, thinking about what was said about Momo's brother, then nodded. "I do, yes... oh! S-sorry, I should have invited you in already... do you want a drink? You s-said you were running from a crowd earlier... ah... your fans?"

"You put that together, then?" Momo questioned, somewhat ruefully, "Yeah... the part about the sale was true, though. I just didn't expect everyone to be so... zealous." She paused, "And a drink would be nice, yes, thank you. Though we should probably be in the house before that. While we're there maybe we can see what you can play on your instruments, and then I could sing you something like I promised."

Katherine perked up considerably for a moment, then faltered immediately after. "Ah... oh... okay... um, just d-don't expect much... I'm not very good, as I said..." True, the servants said she was, but they were just being nice. Her parents never seemed impressed in the slightest, so she couldn't be very good, right? "A-anyway, please, follow me..."

"It can't be any worse than what my brother puts together on his computer," Momo said lightly, following, "and certainly not worse than what happens when I pick up a violin."

Katherine couldn't help but giggle a bit at that, and led the way back to the mansion, and inside. It was, naturally, quite large, but Katherine navigated it expertly. Momo would get a few strange, curious glances from the servants, but was otherwise left alone. Once they reached one of the main lounges, there Momo would see the rather beautiful piano, with a violin propped up to the side nearby. Katherine politely asked one of the servants to get some water for them, before coming to a stop next to the piano. "W-well... here they are..."

Letting out a whistle, Momo bent down to examine the instruments. She was no expert by any means, but even she could tell that - at the very least - they were both well-cared for. Given who they belonged to, as well, it went without saying that they were extremely expensive - probably the best that could have been afforded, "They're really nice - or, should I say, as expected?" Straightening, Momo turned back to Katherine, "I'll get out of the way then. Go ahead and play whatever you like - I won't mind."

Katherine was clearly nervous, but Momo had offered to sing for her, the least she could do would be to play a song for her. She opted for the piano, since she felt she was better at that than violin, and took a seat, carefully running her fingers over the keys as she always did, doing a mental check to make sure she had the position of each key firmly in her mind. Then she tried to think of what to play. It took a moment, as most of the songs she knew... they were quite sad, something she didn't feel Momo would appreciate. After a moment however, she realized she did have one. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, a small smile tugging at her lips, Katherine began to play...

Listening attentively, Momo applauded Katherine when she was done, "That was pretty good," she complimented, an earnest smile on her face, "Really, I wish I could play piano that well." Not that she'd get the chance to often. Because she was a 'solo' idol - it was a guitar or nothing, because she had to be able to 'dance' while she performed.

Katherine blushed deeply, not expecting the praise; if someone who made a living through musical ability was saying it, then maybe she wasn't as bad as she thought? But then why did her parents always act like it was nothing special? She shook her head to clear it of such thoughts, and smiled at Momo. "T-thank you... that means... a lot... so... um, you're going to sing now, right?" The hopeful and excited look on her face showed just how eager she was to hear Momo sing.

"Ah, of course!" Pulling out her cellphone, Momo flipped through the various songs stored there before pulling one up, "I didn't come up with this," She admitted bashfully, "but it's one of my favorite songs. Ah, and please forgive my English" That said, she started the song and - after a brief instrumental intro - began to sing: 

By the time Momo finished, Katherine was 'looking' at her with wide eyes and a slight blush, clearly surprised. "Oh... wow, Momo-san... I thought you'd have a good singing voice, but I didn't think it'd be that p-pretty... you're amazing..." And to Katherine, she truly was. From Katherine's perspective, Momo was almost like an angel; she'd almost literally fallen into her life, was kind to her, stood up to her mother, was confident, and now revealed to be a truly talented singer. "I wish I could sing that well..." She hadn't meant to say it; hadn't meant to even imply she sang at all. She certainly didn't want her meager abilities compared to those of Momo.

"It only takes practice," Momo assured, "my talent isn't really that great in the first place. If it was one of my own songs, it wouldn't be half as interesting."

"I somehow d-doubt that..." Katherine shook her head, still smiling. "Thank you for s-singing for me, Momo-san. I really appreciate it..." She was... happier than she'd been in a long time, really. She vaguely recalled that girl from long ago, touching her hair-clip subconsciously again. Yes... that was probably the last time she could recall ever truly being happy... had it truly been so long.

"You're welcome," Momo returned, before doing a stretch and noticing a pair of cups on a tray nearby. Taking one, Momo wondered briefly when the servant had returned, "honestly, it was fun to just... sing... for once, without a crowd." Something occurred to her, then, "Say, you said that my brother was 'like you' didn't you? You really don't go outside at all?"

Katherine shook her head, biting her lip. "N-no... I haven't left the estate since my grandmother passed when I was five... so... not for eleven years, no... and my parents don't like when I even go outside without supervision. They don't want me to get hurt... but they usually don't give permission, and I want to spend time with the horses, so... sometimes I sneak out... I know that's bad, but I... the horses are all I had." She was clearly embarrassed, but smiled shyly at Momo. "Though... now you'll come and visit me, right? So... so it won't be so lonely..."