"I decided."
Orihime announced this while fiddling with the fabric of her sweater between her fingers. The young former pianist was in a park nearby her apartment with her closest friends. Tatsuki and Ichigo were both kind enough to come out after she'd called them even though it was late. The streetlights were the only thing dimly illuminating the swing set Orihime was sitting it.
Orhime didn't want to call them out here like this, it seemed self-important and pretentious. She'd seen many pretentious musicians even though she only competed competitively a handful of times. Orihime wasn't like that, she just didn't have anyone else to turn to. She needed to talk about this or the pressure would eat her alive.
"I'm going to do it." Orihime mumbled slowly pushing her thighs together while looking down at her lap. Tatsuki immediately cheered clapping her hands together after a moment Ichigo started lazily clapping as well. How strange...
A round of applause.
"You want to play the piano again! That is great!" Tatsuki congratulated her friend proudly. Smiling softly at the support she was receiving Orihime slowly shook her head to correct the other girl.
"I-I wouldn't say that it is because I want to play again." That was true, as it stood Orihime wasn't sure if she actually wanted to play the piano. It was hard to put into actual words. The emotions that run through a performer, that sensation. "I just want to try."
"It's all the same thing!" Tatsuki assured her with a big grin and a rough slap on the shoulder. "Now what do you need for the competition? We'll help out as best we can."
"No!" Orihime exclaimed shaking her hands in front of her to wave them off. "I don't want you to go out of your way! It isn't even the real competition just preliminary round!"
"It isn't really a problem." Ichigo assured the panicking girl with a shrug causing a light blush to color her cheeks. Orihime kept trying to tell the two of her friends she'd be all set but Tatsuki especially refused to hear it.
"Don't you need a cute dress for your performance?" Tatsuki teased with a grin putting her hands on her hips leaning over to get closer to the girl in the swing. "We'll have to find something that fits around your chest.~" Orihime yelped covered her chest with her arms like she was actually naked in front of them.
"Don't say weird things in front of Kurosaki-kun!"
"Well she sorta has a point." Ichigo admitted casually causing Orihime to whine clutching her arms tighter around her chest.
"There is something more important though!" Orihime continued to change the subject desperately. "I have to choose a piece to play. W-What do you think I should play, Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime looked up a him hopefeully. She should have expected the simple answer she got, he didn't know anything about pianos.
It was hard not having anyone to talk to about pianos and how she should be preparing for the preliminaries. It was ignorant of her to think Kurosaki-kun could give her advice on such a thing. She was just thinking idealistically, like somehow her crush could understand what she was thinking. As much as it pained her, she was on her own.
She couldn't talk about pianos with Kurosaki-kun, she could hardly talk about classical music with Tatsuki. Though admittedly Tatsuki was a casual listener of the genre. They were about to spark up little conversations at times. Tatsuki was able to name one or two pieces she liked though they didn't really fit. Orihime assumed she'd be required to play Chopin too, Tatsuki knew nothing of that composer.
The first thing Orihime had to prepare for was a small dinner party for special guests of the committee this year. Orihime was one of them, luckily she'd be able to bring one friend. Tatsuki already agreed to escort her. The preliminaries were only in a few weeks, the dinner was next week. She'd be expected to have a piece selected by then right?
Orihime could already feel the mounting pressure weighting down on her. As the night wore on Tatsuki and Ichigo started to head home. Orihime opted to stay outside in that nice autumn breeze for a bit to cool her head. The girl swung in her swing while trying to decide on a piece. Her mind just wouldn't work like it used to, music was so foreign to her now. It had been so long...
Orihime's grey eyes caught a stranger then, she turned her head in his direction. They couldn't have been more than a few feet apart as he passed the park and the girl on the swing. Streetlights illuminated him each time he walked under one. Under the dim lights Orihime was able to make out vague features.
He looked to be her age though she couldn't be sure since a black hoodie hid most of his face. Semi-long black hair poured out the sides of the hood, white earphones were in there as well stemming from a concealed I-pod. Her heart skipped a beat seeing what he was doing.
His skin hardly had any pigment evident by the pale hands poking out of his jacket's sleeves. Long fingers that looked like spider's legs were moving slowly in tune with a melody. Fingertips with painted black nails continuously pressing invisible keys to play notes on his phantom piano. This boy... Suddenly Orihime felt weird.
It was strange, it kind of reminded her how she feels around Ichigo, it also reminded her of the feeling she got from music. Which one was it? Or was it something new, something inbetween? Orihime reached out toward the retreating figure, she called after him to no avail.
His earphones blocked out her voice... And so he disappeared into the night.
.oO1Oo.
Orihime's heart was still pounding, it started pounding every time she thought about the boy. And every time she got thinking about the boy she would sit in front of her old dusty piano. Still she'd never touched it, she never even cleaned it off. She wasn't ready for that just yet. Despite all of the warnings in her head she still wanted to at least practice.
She couldn't do that here. Not with this old piano, the old piano that used to belong to her brother. Orihime didn't feel she was even worthy of touching it yet. Especially not now that she'd let it get so dirty. A dusty piano is a pianist greatest sin.
Reluctantly Orihime began traveling to a coffee shop close to her apartment complex. This coffee shop had a pretty nice piano opened for any of their guests to play, the curious children that would play around with the keys made her feel nostalgic. Playing in front of people again made her extremely nervous. Which is why the first few times she went to the shop she didn't so much as touch the piano.
Eventually she worked up the courage to sit down at the piano bench, shaky fingers hovering over the keys. She repeated this a few times coming in and out of the store each day. It became a routine, she'd come in buy a coffee then sit down at the piano. Each time she couldn't bring herself to play it.
Time was running out and she hadn't made any headway on practice. Orihime hadn't even selected a piece to play for the preliminary yet. Soon she was noticed by a frequent patron of the coffee shop. Orihime had never noticed him however, it wasn't her fault as he was easy to miss.
He had slicked back light brown hair, a very handsome man that kept to himself usually in his own corner. Day after day he watched Orihime's shaky fingertips, the way she broke out into a cold sweat. This made the man curious so one day he decided to approach the girl frozen in front of the piano.
"Excuse me." He greeted her gently sliding onto the piano bench next to her. Orihime scooted over a bit to grant him some room, for a moment she thought she'd be kicked out. The friendly look on the stranger's face told her otherwise. He was intimidating though somehow at the same time comforting. "Are you trying to learn how to play the piano?"
"What...?" His question confused Orihime for a moment. Is that how she looked from an outside perspective?! "No! I was just-... Trying to get some practice done."
"I see." The man nodded as though he understood. "I once met someone in here. A young boy that would come in here day after day and pound on the piano, the sounds were horrible. But he desperately wanted to play the piano so I assisted him." Another friendly smile curved his lips looking down at the younger girl.
"I'm sorry," Orihime started weakly. "I didn't get your name." He laughed.
"I didn't, did I?" The stranger sighed before formally introducing himself. " SÅsuke Aizen."
"It's a pleasure." Orihime bowed her head respectfully. "My name is Orihime Inoue."
"Inoue, huh?" Aizen arched one of his thin brows before he turned toward the keyboard. His fingers hovered over it, they were steady. Orihime held her breath waiting for him to begin playing. While it looked like Aizen was going to play he didn't instead he looked back over at Orihime. "Why haven't you been playing? You're shaking like a leaf."
Orihime squirmed uncomfortably in her seat at that question. How was she suppose to answer that when the truth was so complicated? She couldn't meet Aizen's gaze instead she was staring off to the side trying her best to steady her breathing. "It isn't that easy for me anymore." She admitted in nearly a whisper.
"Music isn't that complicated, Orihime Inoue." Aizen replied simply like he had been reading her mind. Slowly Orihime turned back to him just in time to see his fingers hit the keys. Just like that her world turned into an array of colors and that sweet sound made her straightened up in her seat. Aizen played the keys with such a gently touch it put the nervous girl at ease.
He was incredible. To think such a talented pianist was sitting just behind her this whole time. It made Orihime slightly embarrassed for coming in here everyday to just stare at the shop's white piano. Who exactly was this guy? Orihime couldn't help but wonder, she felt motivation now. She had a resolve to play this piano today.
Orihime waited patiently with her hands folded in her lap allowing the man to finish his beautiful little piece. Once he finished there was a round of applause, Orihime turned to see everyone was looking at the two people sitting at the piano. Orihime gulped suddenly feeling less confident than before.
"What's wrong?" Aizen spoke again in that soft voice of his. He gently grabbed her hand forcing her fingers closer to the keys, Orihime tried to pull away out of instinct. Aizen refused to allow the young girl to move. "Can't you taste it on the tips of your fingers?"
"My fingers can't taste a-anything." Orihime tried to pull away, she was stopped once more.
"Don't be naive." Aizen's voice was sharper then more demanding. Orihime didn't like be scolded by a stranger in front of all these people though she was willing to hear him out. "These are the most vital part of any pianist." He was referring to their fingers. "They count as all your senses. Your hearing, your sight, your taste, it is all at the tip of your finger. Don't tell me you didn't already know that Orhime Inoue."
She didn't know what to say. But the way he spoke reminded her of the way Sora used to talk, that made her nervous while at the same time hurt her heart. Orihime nodded her head, her hands stopped shaking as badly as they had been. Aizen finally released his grip letting Orihime know now was the time. Orihime took a deep breath, the coffee shop was so silent. Everyone was waiting for the beautiful youth to begin playing.
Now or never.
Orihime's index finger pressed down one of the keys ever so lightly making a very sweet sound. Immediately everyone in the shop perked up at the noise completely absorbed already. Her other fingers quickly followed beginning to form a melody, each one quickly yet lightly pressing each key.
The notes flowed from her mind like a stream, for being so out of practice it looked like she hadn't missed a day. Even Aizen was taken a back by the sudden show of skill. Orihime started jittering in the bench as the music got louder. She was playing it, the piano. She was playing everything that had been in her heart, the happiness, the loneliness, the sadness.
Everything she'd been holding inside these past years, she'd let it all go right now. The people of the shop started humming and even dancing along with the tune Orihime played. For some reason the smiles on their faces... Pained Orihime. She shut her eyes to focus on the music, that was a mistake.
Behind her lids, in the darkness hid all of her fears and her guilt. How could she dare to put these smiles on other people's faces when he... The melody started to sour, that sweet noise from before was becoming one that was hard to bear. All of this was due to how violently her fingers began to shake. Her mind was no longer in tune with the music she was playing. Instead she was more focused on the images behind her lids.
Big brother!
Her fingers stopped playing all together, hovering over the keyboard before falling limply back at her sides. Slowly her eyes reopened to see most of the people in the shop had turned back to what they were doing before the music started. Aizen though was still right beside her, smiling.
"Your taste seemed to have been poisoned somewhere along the way." He informed her before getting to his feet. Orihime quickly jumped to her feet nearly shouting for him to wait a moment, he chuckled at that outburst. "Whatever it is that is holding you back I suggest you deal with it soon."
"What should I do?" Orihime was practically begging him. She wasn't sure how it got to this point she had just met this man. Yet somehow she wanted to follow him, she never met someone so charismatic. So familiar like her brother once was, at the same time he was different and strange.
"Ah..." Aizen scratched his chin as if he was thinking before answering her. "How about a Nocturne piece by Chopin?"
Just like that he turned on his heels and was out the door leaving Orihime standing there. A Chopin piece? Was it possible that he knew about her and the competition? Impossible, Orihime tried to brush the encounter with the man away but couldn't. After all she had finally found the piece she'd be playing.
.oO2Oo.
The date was approaching faster, her return to the piano looming. The date of the dinner party was set for was tomorrow. Orihime wouldn't let herself get cold feet even though she was feeling more anxious now than ever. Every time it got overwhelming she thought back to Aizen or the boy she saw by the park. That always seemed to calm her down.
Orihime had already told Tatsuki all about the man she met in the coffee shop. Tatsuki seemed convinced he was some sort of pervert at first, Orihime was luckily able to convince her best friend otherwise. This led into another conversation about why Orihime was going to play in the coffee shop in the first place when she had a perfectly fine piano in her apartment.
That was hard for Orihime to explain, the truth was simply too painful to say out loud. Orihime settled on telling Tatsuki it was because she couldn't play on a dirty piano. That explanation wasn't a lie, it just wasn't a complete truth.
The day before the dinner party Orihime had decided to go back to the coffee shop one last time. She was disappointed when Aizen didn't show up. Orihime decided to walk home before it got too late however when she got to the door she realized it was opened. Warily the young former pianist entered the apartment looking for any signs of an intruder.
It had already gotten pretty dark by then so there wasn't much light for her to use. She didn't dare turn on a light herself, if there really was an intruder in here she wouldn't want to give herself away. She inched slowly into her living room...
Then she thought she saw something move at the corner of her eye!
Then the lights magically came on blinding her momentarily!
"Surprise!"
Orihime looked at the small group of people through half shut eyes. It looked like all of her friends were there... Tatsuki, Ichigo, Chizuru, Chad, Rukia, were those Ichigo's sisters too... What was this? Her eyes widened seeing the old black piano that Sora used to own in the middle of the room.
It was shining like it was brand new. Polished thoroughly like it had actually been cared for all this time. And the carving that she had done so long ago was still engraved in the side. She hadn't seen it in a while since it was covered by such a thick coat of dust and dirt. A heart with her initials and Sora's initials in the center.
"Guys..." Orihime's knees buckled and she almost fell. The clumsy girl was able to catch herself against the wall, the others rushed over to her to check if she was alright. One of her hands rose to cover her mouth while tears were already flowing from her eyes.
"Orihime! Are you okay?!"
I'm just," She sputtered out between loud sniffles. "So happy."
.oO3Oo.
"I'm so happy!" A loud overbearing boy with light blue hair shouted.
"Don't get your hopes too high." Another boy spoke sounding apathetic and monotone.
"What?" The other retorted angrily. "She was listed on the sheet. You don't think she'll show?"
"Who knows."
"Damn you piss me off." The loud boy growled rubbing the nape of his neck. "Try to get excited for once."
"Excited?" The pale boy put a shaky hand in front of his face. "Is that why I can't stop trembling?"
.oO To Be Continued Oo.