The Pianist
Chapter 1: Bad luck
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
A/N: Hi, this is my first Bleach fanfic, so I hope you'll enjoy it!
"Momo, we've got some good news for you!" Mrs. Hinamori looked at her fifteen year old daughter as food was set on the table.
"Hontou ni? Tell me, I don't want to be left out!" Momo pretended to pout, making her father laugh. She chewed eagerly, thanking the waiter as he poured tea for her.
"The first good thing is that your mother has won a nice baby Grand piano in a lucky draw. And the second thing is that we've arranged piano lessons with a Hitsugaya Toushirou because then we can put the baby Grand to use. Hitsugaya Toushirou is one of the best piano players in Japan," Mrs. Hinamori smiled.
"Sugoi! That's great, mom…" Momo's eyes widened as the full meaning of the overall news hit her, causing her to nearly cough up the vegetables she had recently swallowed. Taking a sip of tea to calm herself down, she looked up desperately, searching her parents' eyes for a hint of a joke, but to her dismay, found none.
"D-demo…at home…w-we don't have e-enough room for the piano! And, um…oh yeah, the new school term is tomorrow! It'll be so hectic, I can't learn piano!" the fifteen year old protested. "Why can't you donate it to a charity?" She just didn't have enough time for piano!
"The piano will fit nicely into our living room in that corner by the television, and school's no problem, your first lesson with Hitsugaya-sensei will take place three weeks after school starts, on a Friday from three to four pm. We'd like our gifted daughter to become a good piano player, and Hitsugaya-sensei seems to be the boy for the job…" Mr. Hinamori chuckled.
"Boy? He's a boy!" Momo exclaimed. She had always thought that teachers were as old as her parents, if not older.
"Hitsugaya sensei is fifteen years old. Although he is your age, you should still respect him like you would anyone else," Mr. Hinamori said. And, as the last course was finished, "Check, please." The last part was obviously directed at a waiter passing by.
Hinamori Momo inhaled deeply, absorbing the information. She was doomed. Why did her life have to change from good to bad?
The Next Day
"Hey Rukia, Inoue, Tatsuki, Isane!" Hinamori greeted her friends in the order she saw them. "Long time no see!"
Rukia stretched and yawned, showing a bit of her stomach. She opened her violet eyes and grinned. "Hey everyone, I'm really glad to see you guys again. Vacation was so boring-big brother Byakuya-"
"Momo-chan, I've missed you so much!" Inoue interrupted, hugging Hinamori tightly before proceeding to greet everyone else in an open manner.
At that moment the bell rang, signally for everyone to hurry to their classrooms. Say goodbye to Orihime and Isane, Hinamori, Rukia and Tatsuki went to their classroom at the end of the corridor.
"Welcome, class, to you first year in Seireitei High. I'm Kominara Hinata, that's Kominara-sensei to you, and I will be your class teacher this year. Before we introduce ourselves, however, we have a new student from Kyoto. His name is Hitsugaya Toushirou. Toushirou, welcome to Seireitei High." At that point, Kominara-sensei stepped away, revealing a rather short boy. His hair was snow white and spiky, and his blue-green eyes stared at everyone on the room. Hinamori shivered, and although the room was warm, she felt her body turn cold. Come to think of it, she'd heard that name somewhere before. Hitsugaya…Toushirou…
Then Hinamori heard her mother's voice in her ear, "One of the best piano players in Japan…your new piano teacher…"
"You!" Hinamori blurted out before se could stop herself. She had risen from her chair and was glaring at the boy who had ruined her life. Too late to go back now, she thought grimly.
"You know this shrimp?" Ichigo asked. He ruffled his orange hair. "That's interesting."
Toushirou's expression went cold at the word 'shrimp'. Turning to the offending boy, Toushirou said smoothly, "I am not a shrimp, you orange strawberry." There were titters. An angry look passed through the new boy's eyes before they settled on the girl who had risen from her chair. Toushirou's expression softened slightly. "Who are you?" he queried.
"Hinamori Momo," the girl replied. Her voice was barely above a whisper; her courage seemed to have deserted her. "You're supposed to be my piano teacher in three weeks." The class began to murmur, and Hinamori clenched her fists; she was all tense.
Hitsugaya's eyes cleared. He remembered now. In three weeks time, he would be teaching this Hinamori Momo. But why did she have to mention his piano teacher career? Now his fans would never stop coming.
"Ano, gomen ne…for my rudeness," Hinamori murmured, feeling herself blush.
"It's okay-"Toushirou replied. A brief smile flickered across his face, and the teacher began to talk again.
What a polite boy, Hinamori thought, smiling slightly. I've never met a boy as nice as-
Hitsugaya suddenly spoke, breaking through Hinamori's thoughts as he finished his sentence. "-bed wetter Momo."
All but Rukia, Tatsuki and the teacher laughed. Hinamori sat down, stunned. She had thought this new student would be so nice…but in the end, he was just the same as any other boy.
"Gomen nasai," the boy said, but to Hinamori, it seemed more like a leer than anything else. Feeling that she had had enough, Hinamori ran out of her homeroom, sobbing quietly. Although everyone was still in hysterics, Hitsugaya felt his insides tear up. Excusing himself from class, Toushirou ran after his classmate, wondering if there was still enough time for him to rectify his mistake.
In the meantime, Hinamori ran, her footsteps leading her to the ladies' bathroom. I'm having such bad luck lately, she thought mournfully.
A/N: This chapter was pretty short, but it looked so long on paper…never mind. Please review!
