Summary: On a snowy night, Ichigo and his friends get lost and stumble across what they think might be an angel. It might be something else though. AU
Ok so I found this picture on Google. It's Toshiro kneeling in the snow, playing the violin. It inspired me so here's a oneshot about it. It's a very long oneshot, sorry.
The picture is originally from Devianart and it is by AJanime12 on Devianart. To find the picture on Google, just type in Toshiro playing the violin. The story might expand if anyone wants it to.
Disclaimer: I can't draw and I'm not Japanese. I'm also not a boy. I bet you can all see where this is going.
The angel in the snow (My title sucks. Sorry)
"It was all your stupid idea to stay out in the woods until it got dark!" 10 year old Rukia shouted at her friend Ichigo who was 1 year older then her, making him 11. "And now you've got us all lost!"
"You're such a baka" 10 year olds Uryū and Renji chimed. Renji stuck his tongue out but Uryū considered himself too grownup to do such a thing.
11 year old Chad sighed whilst 8 year old Orihime started to cry.
"I want Ms Unohana" She sobbed, referring to the orphanage owner where all the kids but Ichigo and Rukia were situated. Rukia had been adopted last year but Ichigo had lived with his dad and his younger sisters his whole life.
"Cry to Ichigo, this was all his fault" Growled Rukia.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry ok?" Ichigo made pushing movements with his hands. "It jus seemed like a good idea at the time"
'Well it wasn't baka!" Uryū shouted angrily.
"You're the baka!" Ichigo retorted.
'You're the one who got us into this mess in the fist place" Renji joined in.
"We're all gonna freeze thanks to you!" Rukia pointed a finger at Ichigo who backed away a little bit. Rukia was vicious when she was angry.
"Waaaaaaaaa" Orihime started to cry. Chad knelt down to comfort her and let her climb onto his back. Chad was big for his age so having Orihime who was small for her age on his back was no big deal.
"We should focus on getting home" Chad said in his deep and gentle voice.
"Fine" Snapped Ichigo, turning away from Rukia.
"Yeah, whatever" Rukia agreed, mimicking Ichigo and turning hr back on him.
"I think we came this way" Uryū gestured to a vaguely familiar path.
"Yeah" Renji agreed with the smart boy for one. 'Let's go"
The 6 children began to walk down the path except for Orihime who was safe on Chad's back. Just then, it started to snow.
"Great" Ichigo threw his hands up in exasperation. "Just whose stupid idea was it to stay out in the forest until it got dark?"
There was silence and then Rukia and Renji jumped on Ichigo and tackled him to the snow covered ground, shouting and screaming insults as they went. Uryū stayed out of the fight as he was far too well mannered to do anything beyond arguing with people. Chad also stayed out of the fight because he was gentle despite his size and he also had a distraught Orihime on his back.
Just as the fight began to get worse, the sweet sound of a violin playing echoed through the trees. The music was deep, played on the fast side and contained a rather dramatic tone to it.
(AN, if you want to know the music, go to Youtube and type in Spirited Away, the Films of Studio Ghibli. There are 2 versions so go onto the one made by tiff. The violin music playing is what music is currently playing in the story. If you want to, listen to the whole song. It's really good)
"Hey Uryū do you hear that?" Chad asked his bespectacled friend.
'Yeah" Uryū pushed his glasses up his nose and tilted his head to the side. 'Yeah I do" he repeated.
"I hear it too" Orihime sat up a little straighter on Chad's back and wiped her eyes.
"Hey guys!" Uryū yelled to his 3 fighting friends on the ground. "Stop that now!"
The 3 got up, grumbling and pushing each other as they did. During the fight, Renji had accidentally hit Rukia so the fight had transformed from Rukia and Renji verses Ichigo to a free for all fight. The snow where the fight had taken place was churned up and messy looking but because of the consistently falling snow, the churned up snow was slowly but surely being covered up by a new layer of snow. Soon enough, it would be as though the children had never even set foot there.
"Hey do you hear that?" Ichigo asked as he rubbed at his snow covered, ruffled hair.
"Yes we do" Uryū sighed in an almost smug way. "That's why I asked you to stop behaving like a bunch of 3 year old bakas"
"Why you" Ichigo lunged at Uryū but was blocked by Chad stepping in the way.
"Let's just go see who's playing the violin" Chad said firmly.
"Yeah I wanna see" Orihime waved merrily, her previous tears forgotten in her current excitement.
"Come on then" Rukia pointed. 'It's coming from this way"
"We're coming" Renji sighed and they all began to walk through the trees.
The snow continued to fall but softly so when snow fell on the 6 kids, it was like being brushed by a sort scarf instead of feeling like you were swimming in an ice filled ocean (AN, I've seen sow once and it wasn't really soft so I don't speak about snow from experience) Frost glimmered on tree branches, creating intricate designs. All was silent except for the crushing of snow under the walking children's boots and the constant sound of the violin playing the same song which had fist alerted the kids to its presence.
"It's like a winter wonderland" Rukia brushed a hand against a frost covered trunk.
"Too bad this winter wonderland could kill us all" Ichigo innocently commented.
"Shut up baka" Uryū hissed, looking over at a blissfully unaware Orihime who was trying to catch snowflakes. Renji said nothing though he did punch Ichigo and dart behind Chad when the orange haired boy made to grab at him.
As they drew closer, the music changed to something different. A more hopeful tune which eventually moulded into something jaunty. (AN, The song now playing is In Dreams which then moulds into Concerning Hobbits. They're Lord of the Rings songs)
"We're closer" Uryū said.
"Come on" Renji broke into a run. "Maybe this person knows a way home"
"Faster Chad faster" Orihime laughed, bouncing up and down on the giants back.
The 6 children burst into a clearing to find a strange sight indeed. The moon was shining down on the clearing making it easy to see. A boy was kneeling in the snow, his hands playing the violin that was producing the music which had lured the kids there. The boy had fluffy yet spiky hair that didn't even droop in the snow. His eyes were a teal cross turquoise colour and they seemed to glow in the night. He wore grey pants and a black jacket which hid whatever t-shirt he wore. On his feet were neat looking black shoes. The hands playing the violin stuck out from the coat and the white sleeves of a long sweater overlapped the tips of the ends of the fingers, where the joined the actual hand Wrapped around the boys neck was a green scarf, its tips covered in a few white dots. (AN, I think in the picture, the scarf is meant to represent the sash which holds Hyourinmaru) Pinned to the boys jacket was a brown flower looking broach (AN, This is probably meant to represent the broach thing on the sash) with an equally brown cord leading to the other side of the jacket which was divided by the joining of the coat. The cord probably led to another broach but the position of the violin blocked where the cord led to. Dangling from the flower broach that was visible was an emerald droplet dangling from a thin chain. The chain also led from the droplet to the hidden side of the boy's coat. The violin the boy was playing was pure white but the stem (AN, or whatever you call the place where the strings run along) was a dark blue colour. The wider end of the violin had 3 4 pointer stars painted onto it n the same dark blue as the stem. (AN, this is my best description of the picture though you might want to check it out yourself)
The boy seemed to be in a trance, his eyes were vacant and he swayed to and fro as he played his song. He finished the song, the final few notes fading away. The kids clapped, what else was there to do? The boy looked up, startled and shrunk away from the small group.
"Hey we're not going to hurt you" Rukia said comfortingly.
"Heh" The boy let out a harsh, choking laugh. "That's what he said when the came to my house. That's what they all said"
"Uh your very good at playing the violin" Rukia said warily, not exactly sure how to react to the boys comment.
The boy smiled feebly. "Master taught me though he called me his master. I played him and he was happy. We were both happy"
"Hey mister" Orihime waved wildly before anyone could stop her or say anything. 'Are you an angel?" The other kids all cringed. Sure they had been thinking it but they weren't about to go and say it out loud.
The boy laughed sadly. "No. The Angels wouldn't let me in. The dumped me here when I died"
"Died?" Uryū choked out.
"Yes" The boy said absently, running his fingers along his violin. "Died"
He held the bow up to the violin and began to lay another song. This song was beautiful yet utterly depressing and all the kids found themselves having to hold back tears. (AN, ok so to here this song, go to Youtube and type in My Neighbour Totoro trailer. Type in those exact words. It should be the first option. It's made by Sqeakingkev and the violin starts about 24 seconds in. Sill you should listen to the whole song, there's no other audio like kids talking. It really is a lovely song but it always depresses me)
The kids drew away from the boy as he entered his trance again and continued to play the sad song.
"This guy is obviously crazy" Ichigo waved his pointer finer around his ear.
"Perhaps he escaped from the Institution for Unsettled and Unwell Kids" Uryū suggested. "You know, the one where Yumichika was admitted to last month"
"Maybe" Rukia said thoughtfully. "But the have such high security, especially in winter because some of the patients have an obsession with the snow. Byakuya Neesan works there and he showed me around a few weeks ago" Rukia was referring t the man who had adopted her, a strict psychologist who had won awards for his work with kids.
"Ok so maybe we're the ones who are going crazy" Renji laughed.
"I am not crazy" Orihime protested.
"That's what they all say" Renji teased.
'Stop it baka" Rukia sighed.
The song the boy was currently playing came to an end and before he could start another one, Ichigo ran forward and lunged at the boy.
"Let's see if he is a ghost like he said" The running boy crowed.
Before he could even make contact, the violin began to glow with an eerie blue light. The light shot upwards and then began to dissipate. As the light vanished, it revealed a strange sight. Standing in front of the boy was ma with long green hair and a flowing purple kimono. He had the same badge s the boy on.
"You will not hurt master" he growled in a deep voice. Ichigo took a step back as his friends rushed forward to stand by him. The boy poked his head out from behind the man.
"This is the man who taught me. My master even though he insists I am his" the boy said almost cheerfully.
"Um who exactly are you?" Uryū asked. 'And I'm not just asking the man who just appeared"
"I'm Toshiro Hitsugaya and this is Hyourinmaru. He's the spirit of my violin. I was only 12 when I died. Back in my day, spirits of instruments were normal, common but then people without such spirits grew jealous and fearful. They decided they didn't want these spirits and that the people in possession of these spirits were to give them up immediately for execution. Many did give up their spirits but I, I didn't, couldn't, wouldn't"
Silence descended over the clearing. Toshiro moved completely out from behind Hyourinmaru and cradled his violin to his body. It was Renji who finally spoke.
"So what happened to those who resisted?" he asked.
"Renji you baka" Rukia hissed as an absolute sad look moulded itself onto Toshiro's face. "He won't want to talk about it"
Toshiro abruptly tapped his violin and it vanished. A violin charm appeared dangling on the same cord as the emerald droplet. He then held his hands up to Hyourinmaru in a completely childish way. Hyourinmaru picked the boy up and held him to his chest. Toshiro nuzzled his head into Hyourinmaru. Acting like a scared boy would to his father, seeking comfort. Then he turned to look at the 6 kids.
"Torture then public execution" he whispered, finally answering Renji's question. Then Toshiro started to sob into the violin's spirit's chest.
"Master is upset thanks to you" Hyourinmaru patted the sobbing boy's head. "To make all this suffering worse, he was the only one who actually resisted. All his friends, the ones he loved just gave up their spirits and watched as they died along with my master. My friends died. I died. Master died. Then heaven rejected him for some reason and he was cursed to haunt this clearing though he can leave and float round town. I was lucky enough to be ale to stay with master"
"They're coming back" Toshiro sobbed.
'What?" 4 of the 6 kids asked. It was Orihime and Chad who didn't speak.
"The music spirits are coming back. I've seen them. Like Hyourinmaru said, sometimes I leave the clearing and float around. I usually go to the hospital you talked about before some of the kids there are hearing voices. It calls to them" Toshiro explained.
All the kids looked at each other, all thinking tea me thing but it was Uryū who spoke out.
"Yumichika!" Their friend from the orphanage had been admitted into the hospital for talking to himself, talking to his piano and throwing fits every time he was separated from his piano. The fits were quite dangerous to him and the people around him so the piano came with Yumichika when he went into the hospital.
"Uh well Toshiro. We have to get home" Rukia said softly. 'Our parents will be worried about us. Um well Ichigo's dad will be worried about him. I suppose the orphanage will be worried about us"
"An orphanage" Toshiro spoke. "I'm sorry. I was adopted too, at a young age by a lady who I called my grandma. She had adopted another girl, my sort of sister. I thought she loved me and her music spirit. Se was the one who betrayed me when Hyourinmaru and I tried to escape" Toshiro's face contorted into an ugly scowl as he said this.
"I'm sorry" Chad said. It was all there was to say.
"Toshiro we would like to stay, we really would but we're lost and we need to get home to the town" Rukia told the boy. He nodded and tugged at Hyourinmaru who set the boy down gently. Said boy the concentrated on his hands.
"This is a trick I've been practicing for a while" Toshiro spoke as he twisted his hands. A glowing, blue light appeared in his hands. 'Follow it" Toshiro told the friends. "It will lead you home"
The light darted off and the kids began to run. The heard the violin playing in the background. It was a deep, melodic tune with a sense of longing and despair. (AN, This song Toshiro is now playing is actually a Bleach tune. If you watch Toshiro's past or Toshiro verses Hyourinmaru on YouTube, it's the violin music playing in the background in some parts. It's a little way in, the song, but it's such beautiful music)
The 6 kids followed the light and soon the music faded away as the kids gained more and more distance between them and the lonely ghost boy.
"What a sad story" Rukia said as they ran.
"It can't be true can it?" Renji puzzled.
"You never know" Chad commented and Orihime laughed.
"He was telling the truth" She giggled.
"How can you be so sure?" Ichigo asked the giggling girl as Uryū nodded in agreement to Ichigo's statement.
"His eyes" She said confidently. 'I could see it in his turquoise eyes"
Toshiro sighed as he played his farewell tune.
"Hyourinmaru, do yo think I'll see them again?" he asked sadly. 'I think I would like to"
"Then I'm sure you will master" Hyourinmaru rumbled in his dep voice.
And if anyone had bothered to look into the clearing that night, they would have seen a snowy haired child, playing a song of hope. A song that he had written himself.
What do you think? I don't really like my ending. Please no flames. Please review. Constructive criticism is ok. Let me know if you want me to write another chapter or two about this fic. Maybe one about Toshiro's past and how he died?