Author's Notes: Decided to write the second chapter of this fic, after much contemplation.
Winter Death.
First Movement.
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"Do you have any… last wishes that we might be able to help you to fulfill before… your time is up?" asked Rukia, a little uncomfortably, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Being the only female on the Shinigami team meant that she would have to deal with the emotional aspect of each case, while Toushirou and Ichigo just hung around; casting spells on random threats to the fate of their charges. Rukia sighed inwardly and silently wished that Hinamori Momo's wishes would be easy to fulfill.
Well, at least easier than the little boy who'd wanted to go through Mars via a spaceship that looked strangely like a pink elephant (he had drawn his wish with pink crayons on his bedroom wall, much to the dismay of the Shinigami and the boy's parents).
"You mean you can fulfill any wish that I request?" Momo asked, her eyes widening a little, complete with sparkles of delight.
The female shinigami nodded warily, knowing that she would regret it later, as she always did. "Only one, though," she added quickly, in an attempt to salvage the current situation. Two stuffed rabbits found their way into Toushirou's and Ichigo's mouths, stifling their sniggering. Rukia shot each of them a death-glare which also meant: You're going to help me fulfill her wish as well, so shut up. The pair pulled out the bunnies after a short struggle, subsequently resuming their original positions but looking glum and a little nauseous (probably from all that cotton that had gone down their throats).
Momo sat at the edge of her bed and considered the offer. From what she could see, the shinigami didn't particularly enjoy fulfilling wishes, and she didn't want to waste her single wish. She thought hard, until her eyebrows were furrowed, thinking about what she'd wanted most in her whole life.
She closed her eyes and imagined a stage, with her on it, bowing to all the seated people. They were all dressed nicely for the occasion, for her concert, just like the audience had done for her mother. She sat at the piano, and got ready to play as the hall fell silent, just for her music.
A few moments later, she opened her eyes (the shinigami had started squabbling again and didn't notice her queer behavior) with a resolute smile on her face. This was it. Her dream since she was a little girl – she wanted more than anything else in the world to become a famous pianist.
And she told Rukia that (amidst another quarrel with stuffed rabbits popping out from thin air). Silence fell, much like what she had imagined would happen in one of her concerts. The black-haired death god was about to shake her head slowly and say that it was impossible for them to fulfill such an abstract wish, when Toushirou interrupted loudly.
"Do you really want this?" he asked, turquoise eyes blazing not with fury, but in concentration. Momo blinked at his sudden attention but remained firm, saying, "Yes, I've wanted this all my life."
"Don't regret this," the silver-haired boy remarked dryly, pointing the sword he was carrying at her chest. Her eyes widened as the sword moved closer to her body. Beside him, Rukia was trying to stop whatever he was doing with but Ichigo held her back, ignoring all the stuffed bunnies that were falling on his head furiously from above.
The sword passed through her chest, and she felt an icy cold sensation engulf her completely. Blinking once again, she wondered if she was dead rather calmly, and voiced out her question to Toushirou. He rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his ruffled hair. "You're not dead, stupid. I'm supposed to fulfill your wish. You're now free of asthma until the day we claim your life," he said matter-of-factly, sheathing his sword. Momo's eyebrows shot up as she placed a hand over her heart instinctively. The breathing difficulties were gone for the moment, and she felt free, without the constant tightening of her chest.
"And now you're supposed to be ready to become a concert pianist," the winged being went on, as though becoming a renowned pianist was as easy as snapping one's fingers. But Momo didn't care about the difficulties that were definitely going to come her way; she was already ecstatic about being healthy, and being able to do anything that she wanted, at least until two winters were over.
Rukia sighed as she stared at her cell-phone and wondered what their Taichou would say at this unusual turn of events, while Ichigo just grinned knowingly beside her. Toushirou scowled, frowning as usual.
---
Hinamori Momo was not known for being known as someone who dawdled a lot, and she was out of the house (with the help of shinigami disguise magic) just fifteen minutes later, and hailed a taxi to go the Karakura Academy of Fine Arts. When she failed to get a cab (due to her lack in skills of living a normal life), the shinigami had no choice but to bring her to the academy through flight, with Ichigo carrying her through the air, since the other two were smaller or the same size as her. It was a good thing that it was a rather cloudy day, and no one would have spotted a girl floating in the sky.
Around an hour later, they finally found the school (after circling in the air for a long, long time), and Ichigo set her down behind one of the many bushes near the entrance. Cheeks flushed from the cold air in the higher latitudes, Momo walked briskly through the front gate, trembling a little from the excitement she'd experienced in such a short time. The three shinigami trailed in behind her, leaving a distance between them and her so that they lagged behind a little.
"Why'd you do that?" Rukia asked Toushirou, after Momo was out of earshot. He shrugged. "She'll attain her goal, even without our help," he replied quietly, which was unusual for our dear Shiro-chan. The black-haired shinigami raised an eyebrow in question.
"What he meant was that Hinamori Momo is capable of becoming a concert pianist with her current skills, and could've done so a few years back, when she wasn't so hard pressed for time," Ichigo offered as a translation. Rukia shook her head and turned away. "I don't understand the frequency of men," she muttered, floating away from the other two.
What Momo didn't know, was that her father worked very hard not only to upkeep her treatment, but also to provide her with the best education that was available. Aizen-sensei had achieved the highest accomplishment there was for many subjects, even some that were alien to lecturers in University, and he taught them well, in a way no one else could. Kuchiki-sensei had learnt how to listen more than to make useless noise under the training of the most experienced pianist in Japan (he'd just passed away a few weeks ago, bless his soul) ever since he was a little boy, and was probably of a standard that was at least on par with his teacher when he'd started imparting skills to Momo. Under such training, it was inevitable that the girl had attained a certain level that was higher than most girls of her age, and it wasn't exaggerating to say that she could become a concert pianist (perhaps not a very good one at first, but still gifted) at a mere age of fifteen. After all, she had inherited most of her mother's musical talents, and her father knew it.
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Walking up the stairs (she was pleased that she could do it at ease, like everyone else), she went to the receptionist to get an auditioning form to fill up (it was fortunate that the academy was holding an audition today). The lady at the counter was a voluptuous one, with long blond locks hanging down her chest, which she flaunted stylishly with a mostly unbuttoned shirt. Toushirou noted that her nametag read "Matsumoto Rangiku" and wondered why it seemed so familiar.
"I'm sorry dear, but you're supposed to have sent in your form a week ago," she said, looking genuinely disappointed. Forlornly, the brown-haired girl was starting to trudge down the stairs when she saw a piece of paper being dangled in front of her face. "Fill it up quickly!" Rukia ordered in an authoritative tone, but with a smile on her face. Wiping the crestfallen expression off her face, Momo got out a pen, and began to fill in her details quickly in small, neat handwriting.
Once she was done, the form was passed over to Ichigo, who sneaked into the auditioning room and placed it in between one of the many sheets of application forms in front of the examiners. Outside, there was already a long line of people waiting for their turn.
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When her name was called, Momo edged into the hall feebly. She hadn't realized how nervous she'd become after listening to all the experienced people before her. "You've got nothing to lose, just go in there and try your best!" Rukia murmured into her ear before pushing her through the doors.
The room was empty except for a grand piano, and the judges, who sat behind a panel. There were three of them – a laidback man wearing a pink shirt in the middle, with a silver-haired man and a stern-looking Chinese woman sitting on each side. The girl gulped as she made her way to the piano, trying not to wobble as she did so.
"Hinamori Momo, is it?" the judge with long silver hair asked in a kindly tone as he read her application form. She nodded mutely because she knew she would squeak like a mouse if she spoke.
"Only fifteen years old?" the single lady in the panel of judges said to no one in particular. Momo hesitated a while before nodding again. Was she too young for the audition? There had been no age restriction for this audition, if she recalled correctly.
The pink-shirted man yawned and waved at the other two lazily whilst saying, "Leave the poor girl alone, Ukitake, Soi Fong." He cleared his throat. "Tell us what song you'll be playing, and begin when you're ready."
And so, Momo did (her voice did sound like a strangled mouse), and placed her fingers on the keyboard, trying to stop herself from trembling.
She began to play.
---
It was a fairly long piece, with three movements in total, but the girl had learnt it by heart since she was ten years old. Her skills at that point in time had been inadequate to learn such a complex piece of music, but she had stubbornly presented Kuchiki-sensei with the scores every lesson until he gave in and taught her to play it. It had been her mother's favorite song, and that was what made her so determined to master it.
By now, her fingers could fly across the black and white keys with ease, conquering all the long passages of running notes, and were able to stretch to reach the chords her small hands never would have achieved at ten years old, creating a beautiful and experienced melody.
The three shinigami gazed at the absorbed girl in amazement, although one tried to hide his surprise in a scowl. He had expected her to be good, but not spectacular. All the judges had also straightened their backs in their seats and were currently listening intently.
Momo ended the third movement with a loud chord, and turned to face the judges, a little breathless. There was silence for a while, until the pink-shirted man broke into applause, much to the annoyance of the female judge. The rules stated that no judge was to show any preference while the participant was still in the auditioning room. The one named Ukitake smiled at Momo apologetically, and told her that she would be contacted tomorrow, if she was chosen.
Still shaking slightly, the brown-haired girl made her way out of the room by a different door after thanking the judges. Outside, she sank down onto her knees and let out a huge sigh of relief.
"… Was it good?" she asked the three shinigami floating around her.
"I bet my prized Chappy the bunny that you'll get chosen," Rukia declared a little smugly, giving Momo a quick hug.
"Awesome," Ichigo assured her. The three of them turned to look at Toushirou expectantly. He frowned and looked away.
"Yeah, it was good," he said finally, after some inner turmoil. At this, Momo smiled a little more radiantly than usual, and murmured a soft thank you, causing the silver-haired shinigami to flush faintly and sputter that her performance could've been better, and sending his other two partners into fits of laughter.
Just one more day and Hinamori Momo would know if she was one step closer to achieving her dream.
to be continued.
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To readers: 15 year olds can be pianists too, can't they? I have no idea. And what does Shunsui (I hope you could tell that he was the pink-shirted guy) call Ukitake by? Juushirou? Hope someone can enlighten me. :) It was fun putting in random characters in Bleach. The stabbing of Momo part was taken purposely from the introduction of Bleach, in case you wanted to know. As usual, reviews will make me very happy.
Kurenoharu: Full Moon is very nice indeed – you should read the manga though, because I didn't really like the anime. XDD Glad you liked the first chapter! Hope this one's good too.
Aezirka: Hope this chapter was satisfying!
Lunair: Thanks for the encouragement – here's the continuation. :)
Ewz: Chapter fic it is! XD
Jiaxi: Indeed, Ichigo as a winged shinigami was VERY hard to imagine. XD Glad you like it!
Al: Here's my next chapter!
Dove-chan: Hmm, yes I realize Momo is a little too nice. Shall make her more evil next few chapters, mwahahaha! XD Glad you like the idea.
sakura-angel113: I love Full Moon too!
Sweet Hikaru-Chan: Here's the second chapter! Hope it's as good or better as the first chapter.
anGeL Hinaningyou: Glad you think so! Here's the continuation. :)
darkfire22: You should read Full Moon because it's so sweet. XD Thanks for your encouragement!
WaterLilly: Yay, he isn't OOC! I was afraid he was being too mean. XD
Bakageta: Really? I thought the dialogue in this chapter was wonky too, but I'm glad you don't think so! Here's the update. :)