Prologue.
Her existence was close to that of an extra in any film someone were to watch. Another person taking up the seat in the classroom, the replacement for the main role in a play and the second child of an established family. Minato was part of the large population of the world who saw themselves as insignificant compared to the main characters.
Pessimistic as she was, Minato could not help but believe it was fate. Fate who decided everyone's role prior to their existence. Fate had decided that she was certainly not someone who would strike change in the world. Being a girl of only sixteen years, thinking like this would often be seen as a phase but Minato saw the world this way before she could even remember.
Watching her elder brother participate in family gatherings in the middle of the room from the back corner was a common reoccurrence. What is there to be of the second child and daughter of a traditional family such as her own? Nothing all too significant that was for sure. Minato not even once doubted that she was blessed to be living in such a luxury.
She attended a private school near her family's estate and had friends that were close to her. Her Japanese school life was not too extravagant or troublesome and her grades were always good. Her parents were kind, caring and dignified which Minato respected them greatly for.
Everyday, except the weekends, she attended school and followed the same path to get there. Minato's black hair was always up in a pony-tail, her uniform was always neat and her homework was always finished. Sometimes, she would bump into classmates and close friends on the way there, often discussing tv shows or classes as they made their way to their homerooms.
Minato's desk-mate, Natsuki, always greeted her with a gigantic smile on her face when she came to sit down. Natsuki loved manga and anime to the point that almost every conversation Minato ever had with her involved the subject. Other classmates discreetly mocked the girl but Natsuki never seemed to mind. Minato admired that part about her.
"Minato-chan, how does one really describe the emotion one feels once they discover they've been betrayed by a lover?!" Natsuki asked as if she were reciting some sort of poetry, shoving a finger in Minato's face as the girl unpacked her bag. Minato blinked a couple of times, eyes on her index finger before turning her attention to Natsuki and raising a brow. "Shoujo today?" She inquired.
A grin formed on Natsuki's face as she pulled back and flopped back down onto her chair. "Incorrect, my friend! Shonen, actually." She corrected and pulled out a rather thick magazine. "Weekly Jump touched my heart in ways that not even shoujo manga can!" Natsuki declared and presented the manga magazine to Minato.
After placing her bag onto the side hook, Minato carefully took the magazine out of the girl's hands and watched as a satisfied smirk appeared on Natsuki's face. She looked down at the magazine and began to flip through the soft pages. "Shoujo manga can't get me started anymore, y'know? I need something more heavy, something more angsty to really feel stuff!" Eccentric as she was, Natsuki did manage to make sense most of the time.
With time still to spare, Natsuki chatted on about 'Bleach' which Minato had been reading casually. She certainly was not obsessed with it but she did make sure to read it whenever a new chapter came out. Soon enough, the sliding door thumped against the wall and their teacher walked in, prompting Natsuki to return to her desk with a slight frown.
Minato chuckled and looked forward as their teacher began to do attendance. The whole day after that was the same, she ate with a couple of friends during break, went to her classes, attended her kendo club before getting ready to leave the school that afternoon. She respectfully bided her upperclassmen farewell before leaving the locker rooms and slowly made her way out of the school grounds.
Elementary school students were also walking home, some with their parents and some without. Minato saw a lot of her high school's students hanging around a few bookstores and arcades as she walked past. The main roads were busy with traffic and she approached the crossing, hand inside her bag trying to grab her smartphone. The crossing lights turned green as she pulled out her phone and Minato began to stride down the street. She unlocked the screen and tapped on her mother's icon to start up a call.
Minato brought the device to her ear and listened to the dial before the sound of her mother's voice rang in her ear. "Minato, are you on your way home now?" She asked.
"Yeah, but I'll be stopping by that store near the house. Did you want anything?" Minato replied calmly. Her mother's voice entered her ear once again before she noticed just how close and fast an incoming car was coming. The car didn't slow down and the beeping only grew louder, Minato's eyes widened and before she knew it everything went black.
"Minato? Minato?! What's going on?! Minato!"
.
.
.
"Suzume, I'll be off now. Kiss her goodnight for me."
"Of course, I will. Try not to get so banged up, Momotarou. I'd hate for her to see her father's face covered in bandages."
"Hahaha, I'll make sure I'm okay. No need to worry!"
"Then, we'll be waiting till you come back."
.
.
.
"Now, now, don't cry, Momo. Otou-san will be back home any minute now so don't cry baby girl."
.
.
.
"My condolences, he—"
"NO! Stop lying! He can't— Momotarou—!"
"Suzume-san, you must calm down, Momo-chan will get scared."
"Obaa-san… I…"
.
.
.
Her memories hit her hard and fast, like a sudden gush of wind to her face. In her sixth year she became aware of who she was. It just suddenly happened one day when she stared at the reflection in the mirror. Initially, nothing seemed wrong. Her mid-length black hair tied down and her large brown eyes weren't that of a shock to her until she felt something heavy in her chest pulling her down.
Something in the back of her mind screamed at her. Screamed at her that the girl in the mirror was not her. The beat of heart began to grow faster, thumping as she stared at the reflection with nothing but the screaming voices in her head urging her to remember.
Then in an instant, she was struck with pain near the back of her head and she quickly shot a hand up to clutch onto the area. She winced as waves of scenes— memories invaded her brain. Memories of her real parents, her brother, Natsuki and everyone else returned to her as fast as it left her. Her real name floated around her mind, the voices repeating it and chanting it like a mantra. Minato. Her name was Minato. She was not—
The pain quickly quelled when the memories began to settle down into her mind. She slowly raised her head to look at the mirror once again but this time only saw a stranger. A stranger with bright brown eyes and black hair wearing a dull children's yukata. A child that was six years old when Minato was sixteen. Yet the shocked expression on the girl's face matched Minato's own feelings.
Though, something else pulled on the strings in Minato's mind as she continued to scan the image of the girl. Flashes of more memories began to surface as she finally began to understand her situation. With a shaking hand, she touched the glass of the mirror and place a small palm on the image's face.
Hinamori Momo.
She was Hinamori Momo.
But how? This wasn't right. She was Minato. She wasn't some character in a story! She was—
"Momo-chan? What're you doing over there?"
Slowly, she turned to find an elderly woman with a gentle smile on her face approaching her. She recognised her as Rika-obaasan, the kind old lady who lived next door to them. "U-Uh…" She couldn't find her voice. She talked to Rika-obaasan on more then one occasion yet why was she having such a hard time?
"Now, come over here and we can eat some dango. My friend gave me some delicious ones the other day and I haven't got anyone to share them with." Rika-obaasan beckoned her over with her hand. Having already pulled away from the mirror, she carefully moved closer to the old woman who offered a wrinkly and shaking hand for her to hold. She took her hand with her own and gave the woman a shaky smile.
"Thanks a ton, Rika-obaasan."
Minato had died and there was no questioning it, yet here she was in the body of Hinamori Momo and not her own. Hinamori Momo who had suffered emotional, physical and emotional pain by the hands of the one she admired the most. Hinamori Momo who was used and thrown aside when all was done.
If this was reincarnation, Minato refused to experience what the original Momo went through. It was fate that brought her here and that meant it was fate that wanted her to change things; not as Minato but as Hinamori Momo.
Author's note: short chapter and most definitely a trial fic. i'm not sure if this will grab any attention but after noticing that momo herself actually has a lot of potential as a character to grow as an individual and in the plot, i felt inclined to try to write an si/oc fic. not my best work for a prologue, so it may get edited soon. any respectful thoughts/reviews are appreciated and i promise the next installation will be much longer and minato!momo will be explored a bit more. this was kind of my side bleach fic which i didn't think would actually be published first as i had another one with more in-depth planning that i started before this one. spontaneous i admit and rather impulsive but i'd really like to see where i go on from this.
thanks for reading! once again, please review.