The Unexpected Chapter 7: Let The Curtains Rise, a bleach fanfic

Chapter 7 is now here!

By the way, I've set up a poll on my profile page, to see what other people's preferences on whether I should put the translations at the top or bottom. Please take a visit, and give us your vote! Thank you!

Anyhow, please enjoy~!

ミコト • Mikoto

Chapter 7: Let The Curtains Rise

Previously:

"KYAA! G-GET AWAY FROM ME, PERVERT!" She threw her slipper at the glass.

"We're going to school together from now on. Is there a problem with that?"

"Gah! You're too slow, here, I'll help you!" He picked up her uniform top, and walked up to her. "Don't just stand there, start taking off your clothes."

She froze. Take off your clothes.

He sighed. "Fine, I'll take it off for you then." He grabbed her shoulders.

Renji replied, "I'm not wondering about that. What I'm wondering about is…why wasn't Izuru on that list?"

She smacked her forehead. "Ah, how could I forget? Haha, here let me introduce myself, I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, another contestant for the Shino High Contest!"

"Fantastic!" Rangiku hugged Momo again. "We're partners from this day onwards!"

•

1. Start a new high school life successfully.

2. Meet Toshiro again.

3. Try to stay out of trouble.

4. FAIL THE BEAUTY PAGEANT!

Momo clutched her head in her hands. "THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I mean- a Beauty Pageant isn't bad, I just never wanted to join it in the first place! I was planning to just fail, no biggy, BUT THEN I MET RANGIKU-SAN! CHANCE OF FAILING THE FIRST ROUND- GONE!" she paused. "Wait…even if I DO pass the first round…I can always fail the second round!"

Two girls walked down the corridor; they were talking about the famous Beauty Pageant. "I wish I was in the competition!"

"So do I~! And if I were, I'd definitely pass the first round!"

"Yes, no doubt! Because if you pass the first round, you're practically safe!"

Momo's ear twitched. Safe? "Excuse me, could you please tell me what you mean by 'safe' after the first round?"

The two girls gasped, Momo Hinamori, the new and super popular transfer student, was talking to them! "Oh…well, um…"

"Hm?" Momo smiled, but in her mind, she was ushering them to hurry up and answer.

"That is to say…once you pass the first round, you've successfully made it into the competition."

"Eh? But, I thought if you name was on the list…"

The girls nodded. "Yes, but think of it like this- the first round is more of an entrance test. If you fail it, you can't continue to compete. However, if you pass it, you will definitely be in for the rest of the contest!"

Hinamori banged her head against the wall. It's hopeless…even if I try to fail the second round, I'd still stay in the Pageant…!

The girls smiled awkwardly at Hinamori. "W-Well, I hope you do well in the contest, good luck!" the quickly scurried away, seeing as how she was in a gloomy mood.

"BED WETTER MOMO, I'VE FINALLY FOUND YOU!" Hitsugaya ran towards his fellow best friend.

She continued to mumble to herself. "And after I pass the first round, Rangiku-San will…"

He grabbed her wrist, and dragged her through the school hallways. "C'mon, Bed wetter Momo, it's getting late, and I'm sure you don't want to end up sleeping in school grounds."

•

"…Do I have to CARRY you home?" asked an annoyed Toshiro.

Momo murmured, "Maybe. No. Yes. Kind of. Sort of. No, not really. It'd be nice. No, I can walk. Carrying doesn't hurt anybody though. Yeah, actually, can you? Wait, no, never mind, I'm in a panic state. But my brain's hurting, so carrying wouldn't be so bad, but-"

Toshiro sighed, and swooped her up like a princess.

"Ah! T-Toshiro?!" she gasped, shocked.

He muttered under his breath, "Geez…you're quite heavy for a girl. What have you been eating…?"

She felt her face heat up. "I-I haven't been eating anything! I just-"

He chuckled. "I'm just joking."

She felt dumbfounded.

After a small while, Hinamori said, "You know if I'm heavy, you can just put me down."

"I was joking about that part too."

"…Oh."

"You're really gullible, aren't you?" he looked at her.

"…"

He nodded. "Anyhow, we're here." He let her down.

She bowed slightly. "Thank you, Lil' Shiro. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Momo patted his head, and messed up his snow hair. "Oi! It's Toshiro, and stop treating me like a kid!"

She laughed, and turned to walk into the house.

"Momo?"

She stopped, and whirled around again. "Yes, Lil' shiro?"

He scratched the back of his head, and shifted his gaze. "About the Beauty Pageant…"

Those words were like taboo for her. She felt a heavy rock fall onto her head. "W-What about it…?"

"I just wanted to say, I'll always be cheering for you. Good luck." He quickly walked away.

She blinked. "Lil' Shiro…?"

•

Days had passed; Toshiro still couldn't find out why Hinamori left, but swore that he will find out eventually, and Momo was busy panicking about the Pageant. Before they both knew it, the day of the first round had arrived.

"Oh no! Rangiku-San, what do I do?!" gasped Hinamori.

The orange-haired beauty turned to her. "Hmm?"

"I didn't buy a swimsuit!"

Rangiku laughed. "Ahahaha! Silly, you're not supposed to!"

"Huh?"

"You're really not experienced with this sort of stuff, are you?"

"No…"

"They have swimsuits already provided. You just need to choose the perfect one."

"Oh…ok…"

"Feeling nervous?" she smiled.

"Erm…no. Yes…a lot." She replied.

Rangiku smirked. "Don't worry; with me here, we'll definitely get through it!"

•

"Welcome to the Flowers of Shino High School Beauty Pageant! As you all know, we have various pretty girls competing to become the 'Top Three Beauties of Shino High School' for a year! Not only that, but if you get into the top three, you'll compete against other girls from other schools in Japan too! We wish you all luck, and remember to have fun!" announced Yoruichi Shihoin. She was the Vice Chairman of the school, and she was the person who held nearly all of the school events.

"I, Yoruichi Shihoin, will be the MC for the Beauty Pageant! Now, the first round is a swimsuit contest! Where all these lovely young ladies, pick a swimsuit to their liking, and receive votes from the audience. The five teams that receive the most votes will enter the next round. The unlucky ones will be disqualified. Which means, only ten girls can pass to the second round!"

The crowd was so excited. This was all happening in the school hall. Just so happens, Renji, Izuru, and Hitsugaya got the front row seats.

"I shall now call out all of the contestant's names."

Everyone murmured enthusiastically.

"First, the Top Three Beauties from last year…"

"First Beauty, who won the contest last year, Rangiku Matsumoto!" Momo immediately snapped her head at Matsumoto. She had no idea that she was last year's winner!

Rangiku took a confident step forward, and talked cheerfully into the microphone. "Hi everyone, as you all know, I'm Rangiku Matsumoto! I hope I win again this year, so please vote for me~!" She winked, and her whole fan club fainted.

"Second Beauty, Soi Fon, the 'Ice Princess'!" Everyone had heard of Soi Fon, the Ice Princess. Perfect in studies, and perfect sports. She had a cold personality, but despite that, she had beautiful looks. Some say, that she's the Tsundere type.

Soi Fon stepped forward. "Second year, Soi Fon. I don't really care about this, so do what you want."

She also had a fan club, and they admired her. "OMG! She's so cool!" "I'd receive a death-glare from Soi Fon-Sama any day~!"

Yoruichi sweat dropped at Soi Fon's comment, but put it to the side. "And Third Beauty, Isane Kotetsu, student assistant of the School Nurse!"

Isane took a step forward. "Nice to see you're all doing well! Even though I'm a third year student, I hope to rank a high place this year!"

Some male students sighed in admiration. "Isane-San's kindness is always heart-warming~!"

"And now, for the remaining students. We have first year, Yachiru Kusajishi!"

The pink-haired girl skipped up to the microphone. "Howdy! How do you all do? I'm Yachiru! Vote for my cuteness!"

Hitsugaya mumbled to himself, "What's a kid doing up there…?"

Yoruichi continued, "Second year, Kiyone Kotetsu!"

Kiyone strolled up. "Hello, I'm Isane's sister! I hope I win!"

"Second year, Nemu Kurotsuchi!"

"Hello. Please vote for me."

Renji frowned. "Is it just me, or does Nemu sort of remind you guys of a girl in a creepy horror movie?"

The MC said a whole lot more names, and finally, Momo's name was called. "And last, but not least, Momo Hinamori, the new popular transfer student!"

Izuru smiled. "It seems that's Hinamori-San's new title."

Hinamori nervously stepped forward. "H-Hello, everyone. This is my first time entering something like this, so please wish me luck!"

Some guys in her class squealed at her cute and shyness, and Hitsugaya just smirked.

"Now, let the Swimsuit Rage begin!"

•

"Girls, you've got exactly twenty minutes! Starting from…now!"

The curtains closed, while all the girls rushed to find a good swimsuit.

Rangiku took one out, "Ooh! How about this one? Momo-Chan, what do you think?"

She looked at it. "Uh…it's unique…I suppose?"

"Hm…" she looked in a mirror. "Nope. Don't like it." She put it back. "Oh! How about this one for you, Momo-Chan?!" she pulled out a small scarlet bikini.

"Um...well…" she looked at it, and shook her head. "It's too revealing…"

Rangiku raised an eyebrow. "You think so? This type of stuff gets the guys swooning!"

"Ahaha…is that so…?"

After a few minutes, Rangiku finally picked out a few, and tried them all out. She kept asking Hinamori questions, and soon, she finally decided on which one she wanted. She had chosen a warm pink swimsuit that really showed off her curves. It was quite revealing, but that was Matsumoto's style. After Rangiku was satisfied with her swimsuit, she helped Hinamori pick out one.

"Well, first, what's your favorite color?"

"Um…I'm good with anything…"

"…What colors do you think suit you best?"

"Er…maybe pink, or blue…or just…light colors in general?" she suggested.

Matsumoto was already grabbing tons of swimsuits, and asking Hinamori to try them all on. After a long time of debating, the both finally came to an agreement.

"TIME UP!" The curtains were raised, and Yoruichi stood in the middle of the stage. "Sorry for the wait, but all of it was well worth it!"

"The first round is a team battle. Two teams will come up, and the judges will comment on which is better. Some posing may be necessary. The first team is Isane Kotetsu & Mei Sayu VS Soi Fon & Yachiru Kusajishi!"

The four girls faced each other. Isane was wearing a slender grey swimsuit, it seemed quite ordinary, but nonetheless, it suited her. Mei was wearing a pale green swimsuit, nothing special, and nothing flashy. Soi Fon was wearing a nice sunset yellow outfit. Of course, yellow is her favorite color. She also had a smooth orange thin cloth, wrapped around her waist. Yachiru wore a frilly purple swimsuit with some flowers and stars. She did look even more like a child, but that gave off the cute effect.

It was slightly obvious who the clear winner was for that match. "Winner of Match One: Soi Fon & Yachiru!"

Another three more matches were called, and then finally, it was Matsumoto and Hinamori's turn. Their opponents was Kiyone Kotetsu & Nemu Kurotsuchi.

Kiyone nodded towards Rangiku's direction. "Hinamori-San, I see that you managed to get yourself a good partner."

Hinamori merely nodded. She was quite nervous; were they going to win, or lose?

Matsumoto smirked, and put an arm around Hinamori. "Indeed she did find a good partner! So good, that you two will be thrashed down!"

"We shall see about that…" replied Nemu, emotionlessly.

Kiyone wore a bikini, with light grassy green colors. It was a good outfit, but seeing as how a bikini doesn't exactly go with a flat chest, Kiyone didn't receive too many votes. Nemu on the other hand, received tons of votes. She wore a dark black swimsuit, sort of Lolita style. The top was like a bikini, but the bottom part was more of a skirt. Rangiku had votes flying sky high. She was wearing the warm pink bikini she picked out, it showed a lot of skin, showed off her curves, and wow, tons of guys were staring. Hinamori got nearly as many votes as Rangiku! She was wearing a pure white one piece, and it had small bits of tinted pink that sort of blended in with the white. To add more effect, her dark hair was in a loose ponytail resting on her shoulder, with a pale pink-white ribbon keeping it together. Even Hitsugaya couldn't help but keep his turquoise eyes on her.

"Winner of Match Four: Rangiku & Momo!"

•

Soon, all the matches were finished, and the MC called out which participants have passed to the second round.

"The following contestants have successfully passed: Soi Fon, Yachiru Kusajishi, Momo Hinamori, Rangiku Matsumoto, and" She called out a whole bunch of other names. "Congratulations girls! Good luck on the next round!"

Everyone applauded, and started to leave the school hall.

•

Renji threw an arm around Izuru. "Hey, Izuru, did you see that smoking hot chick?!"

Izuru chuckled. "Which one are you referring to? I don't think I did, I kept my eye on some other girl."

"Hn. What's so great about the contest anyways?" muttered Hitsugaya

Renji raised an eyebrow. "Dude, just admit it. You're trying to cover up the fact that you were staring at Momo the whole time."

Toshiro felt a line of red streak across his face. He didn't dare to turn around to face the guys. "Hmph. I wasn't staring…!" he quickly walked ahead of the two.

Izuru smirked. "I bet he was."

Renji nodded. "I bet five dollars."

"Make it one dollar."

"You that poor?"

"I CAN HEAR YOU GUYS, YOU KNOW!" shouted Hitsugaya.

•

"Heehee, Momo-Chan, we did it! We managed to pass the first round!" Rangiku wrapped her arms around Momo.

Hinamori gasped for air. "Y-Yes, we did..."

Rangiku released her, "But you know; now this is where we part. For the next rounds, we're rivals!"

Momo nodded. "Hai, I understand."

She waved. "It was nice working with you, Ganbatte~!"

•

Hinamori sighed. It had been a tiring day. What am I going to do…? I passed the first round but… She frowned. How many rounds were there again? She hoped there weren't too many.

While she was in deep thought, a cold voice called out to her. "Hey you, you're Momo Hinamori, am I correct?"

She turned, and standing before her, was Soi Fon. She truly was a beauty, dark black hair, deadly yet pretty eyes, and a petite body. "C-Can I help you…?"

Soi Fon crossed her arms. "I'm surprised you made it to the second round. Satisfied?"

"Well…I guess so?" No, not really…

"Hm, why are you entering this in the first place?"

"Uh…"

"You don't really seem the type."

"Um…" You don't really seem the type either, Soi Fon.

"Well, whatever. It has no concern of me. I won't wish you good luck, because 'good luck' isn't exactly real. See you." She walked off, coolly.

"Er…okay, bye." No concern…? Then why bother asking? Momo was confused.

•

"Hinamoriiiiii! You take too long!" groaned Toshiro.

"Ok, ok, hold on! Just a minute!" came the reply.

"You said that last time!"

"Just wait, Lil' Shiro!"

Toshiro sighed, as he waited longer for his friend to get out of the changing rooms. A minute passed, and she still hadn't come out yet.

"Don't make me come in there…" he mumbled.

Momo hurriedly ran out. "Okay, there, I'm done!"

He raised an eyebrow, "What took you so long?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, you're just impatient!"

He grabbed her hand. "Whatever then, let's go."

She blushed, as she held his warm hand.

•

"Lil' Shiro, where are we going?"

"Somewhere."

"Where?"

"Not home."

"Where?"

"I told you, somewhere."

"If you're taking me somewhere, don't you think I deserve to know?"

"We're nearly there."

"WHERE?!"

"Just be patient! Sheesh, and you tell me that I'm too impatient!"

She pouted, but he ignored her.

The two of them were walking through town together, at sunset. The sky had wonderful streaks of orange painting the tanning skies. The fluffy clouds were turning a peachy pink.

"Here we are, it's on me." They sat down at a table, outside the café.

She looked around, and that's when it came to her. They were in Momo's favorite café! Then, she suddenly had a flash back.

~Flashback~

"Happy Tenth Birthday, Momo!" smiled Toshiro's grandma.

Toshiro blushed slightly. "Happy birthday, Bed wetter Momo."

She grinned at both of them. "Thank you so much, you two! And Lil' Shiro, stop calling me that!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." He scratched his head.

His grandma laughed. "C'mon you two, let's cut the cake now."

It was just the three of them, in Momo's favorite café that day. Momo loved everything there, the layout, the food, the workers, all of it. It was Momo's tenth birthday, and her parents were both busy working. Hinamori was a bit sad that they couldn't arrive until later, but as long as her childhood friend was here with her, she thought it would be fine.

"Ok, clap three times, make a wish, and blow out the candles!"

They all clapped, Hinamori made a small wish, silently. 'I hope my parents can arrive safely, so we can all be together on my birthday.' She then blew out the candles.

Toshiro's old grandma suddenly got a phone call. She nodded, and excused herself.

Momo and Toshiro had a nice chat together. They talked, joked, made fun of each other, and laughed together. They were the best of friends. They played with each other every day, and they even had nap times together.

Grandma came back, and her smile had left her face. "Momo…"

"What is it, Granny?" She smiled sweetly at her.

She kneeled down, and took Momo's hands into hers. "Momo, listen to me, you're a good girl, brought up by lovely parents. However, they won't be able to see you for your birthday."

Toshiro's face had turned grim as well.

I didn't really get it. Why had the atmosphere turned so…sour? "Hm? Granny, I don't understand."

She shook her head. "They won't be coming back."

"?"

That's when I realized…that my parents had passed away in a car accident. They had finished up their work early, and were on their way to meet me. A truck driver hadn't seen my parent's car turn the corner, and crashed right into it. The truck driver and my parents didn't survive.

I remember that was the hardest time I'd ever cried in my life. Toshiro didn't say a word to me, until I calmed down. Granny looked after me, and Toshiro stayed by my side all the time, despite all the bad rumors about him. People blamed him for my parent's death. They all said he was bad luck. But I didn't believe a word of it, he was my dear friend, and I still visited him.

Third of June, parent's death, and my birthday. I never forgot that day. I'll always remember it. I remember holding my parent's birthday card that was never delivered to me by hand. I remember the present I didn't unwrap until a week later. I remember my parent's funeral.

Even though Toshiro was still there, I remember that was the loneliness time for me.

~Flashback end~

"Momo, why are you crying?" blinked Hitsugaya.

Hinamori snapped out of her thoughts. She looked at her reflection in the polished table. Her tears were flowing out. "N-Nandemonai…" she quickly wiped her eyes.

"Is there something wrong?" he was worried about her.

"Betsuni…" she grabbed the menu. "A-Anyhow, we should order!"

"…If you say so. I'll have ice cream."

Momo nodded. "Then, I'll take the peach cake."

He smirked. "Exactly the same cake that you always get on your birthday."

She blushed a bit. I can't believe he remembers that! "It is my favorite cake."

•

After they had finished the food, they walked to a near local park. Momo skipped over to the swings, and sat on the seat. "Lil' Shiro, push me, push me!"

He shook his head. "Aren't you a bit old to play on swings?"

"I'm still young at heart!"

He sighed. "You don't really give me a choice."

He pushed her back a few times, and each time, she went higher. She laughed playfully, as the breeze whipped her hair.

When she was high enough to swing on her own, Toshiro sat on the swing next to her, and joined her swinging rhythm. Every time she went forward, he'd go backwards. Every time she went backwards, he'd go forwards.

Some time passed, and they both had tired of swinging. Momo could feel the cool chain against her palm.

"Do you want to talk?" asked Toshiro.

She shook her head.

"…" he looked at her, with concern written all over his face. "…I may be wrong, but were you crying at the café because memories of your tenth birthday came back?"

She froze. Dead on the mark. "H-How did you know…?"

"That was the last time you and I ever went to that café. We never returned there, not until today."

She slowly nodded.

He stroked her back comfortably. "It's okay, Momo. The past is the past."

She held back tears, and gripped the swing chains harder. "A-A-Arigato…Toshiro…!"

Hitsugaya smiled at her. Not because she didn't call him 'Lil' Shiro' for once, but because this was the Momo he knew. The Momo he supported. The Momo that he always stood by. "Remember, I'm here for you."

She couldn't hold back the tears any longer. She held onto him, and cried in his chest.

He patted her head gently. "Don't worry, Momo. I'll continue to support and stand by you, just like I've always done."

•

It was getting late, and the skies were darkening. Hitsugaya and Hinamori decided to take the bus back.

Hitsugaya watched Hinamori about to doze off, and then quickly sitting straight up, then dozing off again, and repeat this another five times.

"You know, if you're getting sleepy, you can lean on my shoulder." He chuckled.

She sat up straight again. "Iie, I'm okay…"

He shrugged. "Sure you are."

Moments passed, and Momo's head fell onto Hitsugaya's shoulder.

He smiled at her, "Baka. I knew you'd end up like this."

-End of Chapter 7-

Japanese Translations:

Tsundere- (Hmm…that's sort of a hard one to explain; I think it'd be easier if you searched up "Definition for Tsundere" Sorry about that D:)

Hai-Yes

Ganbatte-Good luck

Nandemonai-Nothing or Never mind

Betsuni-Not really

Arigato-Thank you

Iie-No

Baka-Idiot or stupid

•

Haha, did you guys like it? Hope you did!

When I was writing the flashback, I was aiming to get the readers, like you, to feel very sad, or start crying xD! I let Inoki read that part, and she ended up crying, so I thought it was an achievement! And if you weren't brought to tears, I suggest you listen to 'Will of the Heart' by Shiro Sagisu, also the Bleach OST, while reading that part. (It even made me teary-eyed, and I'm the one who wrote it!)

Well, thanks for reading!

ミコト • Mikoto

•

See that little button down there that says 'Review'? Much appreciated if you click it! ^_^