13th chappy :o
The other person who shares this account with me (Inoki) is quite a fan of ByaSoi and GgioSoi, so there's a couple hints here and there~
ミ コ ト • Mikoto
Chapter 13: Behind The Mask
Previously:
"There's a school dance in two days?!" gasped Hinamori.
"…I'm sneaking in. Care to join?"
"There are dancing lessons held in the school hall every day after school. It only started last week, when the School Dance was announced, then I decided to open up a small temporary club for students who wish to learn."
When those three had left, Izuru then continued the conversation. "By the way, did you guys know that Karakura High will also be joining our dance?"
"Yeah, so we'll see the others there." nodded Izuru. "Oh, not to mention it's practically a Masked ball."
…That tears it. I can't hold it back any longer. Hitsugaya pulled onto her hand, bringing her closer, and he placed his lips onto hers.
The white-haired boy pulled away from the gentle kiss first, and looked at her in the eyes. "I'll be your dance partner, if you be my girlfriend."
•
From then on, Hinamori couldn't help but avoid her childhood friend.
Hitsugaya folded his arms. "Strange…I get the feeling she's avoiding me."
He then recalled this morning, when they were supposed to walk to school together, she quickly rushed off saying she had to be somewhere. Toshiro noticed Hinamori walking down the school corridor with Rangiku.
"Hey, Hinamor-"
"Hi, Hitsugaya-Kun! Bye!" the peach grabbed Matsumoto's arm, and fast-walked away.
Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "Did she just call me Hitsugaya-Kun?" Now that's rare.
•
"…Okay, Momo, there's obviously something up." Rangiku confronted her.
"Hm? What are you talking about, Rangiku-San?" Hinamori flashed a fake smile.
"Oh, don't you pretend you don't know! You're obviously avoiding Toshiro." She put her hands on her hips.
"Uh…what?" Hinamori tilted her head to the side.
"Hinamori!" Rangiku collapsed onto her chair.
Momo simply shrugged.
"Oh, Momo." sighed the top beauty.
"Hai?"
"Momo, Momo, Momo…"
"Nani?" she blinked.
"Could it be…Toshiro said something to you?" Rangiku looked at her cute friend in the corner of her eye.
Hinamori flinched, and shook her hair madly. "Of course not! He didn't say anything! We haven't talked at all!"
"Okay, that's an obvious lie. What'd he say?!"
"B-Betsuni…!"
Rangiku pressed on. "Could it have been involved with something like…love?"
An imaginary arrow stabbed right through Hinamori's head. "IIE! LOVE?! IMPOSSIBLE!"
"Ooh, looks like I hit a bulls-eye." grinned her mature friend. "So? Care to share?"
Hinamori's shoulders sagged, and she leaned on her desk. "I pestered him to be my dance partner yesterday. Over, and over, and over again."
"And…?"
"I was getting desperate, so I told him I'd do anything…then he…he…he…" Hinamori's face turned a deep red as she remembered the kiss. "A-Anyways, he told me that he'd be my dance partner if I…"
"If you?" Rangiku was ultra-curious now.
"If I became his…"
"His?"
Hinamori leaned down, and whispered quietly, "His girlfriend."
Matsumoto gasped. "Legit?!"
"Yes…" Hinamori tried to get her to quiet down.
"Oh em gee! What did you say?!" she nudged her.
"I…have been avoiding him."
"Well, that's a disappointment." She sighed.
"Eh?"
"I totally support you guys!" Matsumoto slapped Hinamori across the back. "Go for it! You two make a cute couple!"
"Demo…"
"Why are you hesitating?" Rangiku blinked.
"You see…I've never really thought of him in that way…"
"You're going to turn him down?!" Rangiku was taken aback.
"No, I never said that! I…" Hinamori lowered her gaze. "I'm just scared that our relationship as best friends will never be the same if we were to break up…"
"Momo…"
"Tomokaku, class is starting!" Hinamori quickly took out her books, and tried to avoid the subject for the rest of the day.
•
Hinamori fiddled around with her mechanical pencil, thinking of what she should do. I know…why don't I just not tell Toshiro my answer, so I don't have to be his girlfriend, and he doesn't have to be my dance partner? Yeah…I'll do that. But then how will I get into the dance…? She paused, and suddenly remembered what Renji said. '…I'm sneaking in. Care to join?' A smirk formed on her lips. Of course! I can just sneak in with Renji and Izuru!
Momo then quickly scribbled a note down to herself. ASK RENJI AND IZURU ABOUT MASQUERADE.
•
One day left… Toshiro put a hand to his chin in thought. Tomorrow night is the masked ball, joint together with Karakura. He observed Hinamori for a while. She seems distracted by something on her mind… He watched her for a bit longer, and laughed to himself. I bet she's thinking about the whole dance partner thing. He then saw her scribble something down. And it seems she has come to a conclusion…
•
The day seemed to pass by fast, and Hinamori ran over to Renji and Izuru after classes had finished. "Kira-Kun, Abarai-Kun!" she waved at them enthusiastically.
"What's up?" the two looked at her.
"You two are sneaking into the dance, right?" asked Hinamori.
"That's right." Izuru nodded.
"I was just wondering…if I could join too?"
Renji blinked. "Seriously?"
"Hai!" she smiled at them.
"For real?" Renji found it hard to believe for some reason.
"Hai!"
"I thought you said you'd rather have a partner?" Izuru questioned.
"Yes, but I couldn't find a 'suitable' partner, as Soi Fon puts it." She laughed.
"Well, if that's the case, then sure!" smiled Izuru.
"Really?! You two will really let me tag along?!" she asked, excitedly.
Renji chuckled. "Can't reject a friend in need!"
•
It was the day of the ball, and immediately after school, Matsumoto rushed Hinamori out to the mall with Soi Fon.
"Eh…what are we all doing?" questioned the peach.
"You'll see, just be patient!" Rangiku was texting on her phone. "Ah, here we go…"
"?"
Rukia Kuchiki tapped Hinamori on the shoulder, and smiled at her. "Good to see you again, Hinamori. It's been a while."
"Rukia-San!" Hinamori blinked. "Wait, what are you doing here?"
Soi Fon examined her long plaits. "Isn't it obvious? All four of us are going to go dress shopping."
"Honto?!" the peach blinked.
"Yes, now let's get cracking, girls!"
•
Soi Fon decided on a pale pink dress, with a white rose pin on it as decoration. She also bought a golden necklace, and started to wonder how she should do her hair.
Matsumoto bought a scarlet red long dress, which showed quite a bit of cleavage. She then bought a ruby necklace to match with her color.
Rukia was still choosing out dresses, and trying to find some for herself, and Momo. After a few more indecisive minutes, Rukia chose to go with a purple dress, that well-fitted her style. It wasn't a too light purple, or too dark. And she got a matching hair clip, to clip her hair back into a sort of ponytail.
Hinamori was the last to decide, as she finally found a dress that she wanted. She chose a light sky blue dress, which included a shawl. She looked at herself in a mirror, and put her hair into an up-do.
All the four girls looked equally beautiful in their own different ways. After purchasing the dresses and accessories, Rukia lead the girls to a mask store.
"Here, we'll buy our masks. It's recommended you try to get the same color mask as your dress, so it looks better." Rukia advised.
And with that, the girls tried their best to find a matching mask.
"Found one!" Rangiku grinned, as she pulled out a red mask, which only covered half of her face. "Ooh, it's stylish…I like it!" she immediately bought it.
Rukia smiled. "I think I'll stick with this one." She picked out a black-purple mask that covered one eye area.
Momo found it a bit difficult to find a suiting mask at first, but then she saw a unique white-blue one, and thought she must buy it. It was the perfect color, and it covered both the two eye areas.
Soi Fon was stuck. "Which mask…?" she started to puzzle over which mask would suit her best.
The other three girls tried to help Soi Fon by finding a suitable mask for her, but couldn't find one that looked good with her pink dress. Rukia then asked the shopkeeper, and he quickly scurried into the storage room, as he rummaged through boxes of masks. In a few moments, he reappeared, and opened a box, which revealed a pastel pink mask.
"It's…quite girly." Soi Fon frowned.
"Then why choose a pink dress?" questioned Rukia.
"…Never mind. I'll take that mask." She paid, and the girls left the stores.
"That was a great shopping session, ladies! Now, there's two hours left until the dance starts, so we've all got plenty of time to prep ourselves up. Ciao!" Matsumoto winked, and waved.
Everyone then went back home to their places to prepare for the party.
•
Rangiku Matsumoto sighed. "Toshiro, you don't know what you're missing out on."
Hitsugaya really didn't care. He felt like hanging up the phone, but he decided to listen. "What am I missing out on?"
"Momo in a dress…she looks gorgeous!"
"Yeah…do you think I care?"
"Um…yes?"
"Well, then, you're wrong." He replied, coldly.
"Look, Toshiro, just come to the dance! She's waiting for your arrival."
"I keep telling you, N.O."
"What?! But…can't you just imagine Hinamori holding other boys' hands?"
Hitsugaya froze, as he imagined other men holding Momo's hands.
"And they could easily take advantage of such an innocent girl like Momo…" Rangiku added.
"…Bye." Hitsugaya hung up on the phone, and opened his wardrobe. Looks like I'm going to have to go anyways…and no, it's not out of jealousy…!
•
"Wow, the food here is delicious!" Hinamori bit into some fancy cooked meat.
"I agree 100%!" Renji grabbed piles and piles of food from the buffet.
"I'm impressed with everything…" Izuru looked around. It looked more like a royal ball than a dance party. "Imagine all the funds spent on this event…"
Ichigo slapped Renji on the back, which made the redhead choke. "Haha, if I were you, I'd loosen up on the food a bit, Renji! Or else you'll get fat, ahaha!"
Renji glared at Ichigo. "Oh…I forgot you were here."
"Love you too, Renji."
The redhead cringed, and pointed at him. "ANYWAYS, who's your partner?! I bet you sneaked in here, didn't you?!"
He blinked. "No way, I'm not like you. Remember…my partner is Rukia."
Rukia stood by Ichigo's side, and Renji was immensely amazed at her beauty. "…Is that seriously you, Rukia?"
She slapped him across the face. "Who else?!"
Hinamori giggled. "You guys are so funny."
"Hey, Hinamori, where's Toshiro?" questioned Ichigo.
"Eh? Oh, he's not coming."
"I was sure he'd be your partner." Ichigo puzzled.
"No, he hates dancing." She flashed a smile, then continued eating. She noticed Rangiku quickly run away from her partner, Gin Ichimaru, to their table.
"Hinamori…I need a drink."
"?"
"He wears me out too much…" she groaned, as Hinamori gave her a glass of water.
The silver haired man approached their table. "Mind if I joined?"
Izuru looked around nervously, then nodded. "Uh…sure."
Soon, the whole group was sitting together on one large table. And by group, I mean Ichigo, Renji, Izuru, Gin, Momo, Rangiku, Rukia, Soi Fon, Orihime, and even Ikkaku & Yumichika.
"Er-hem! Ladies and Gentlemen, you may now start dancing." announced the chairman of Shino High, Yamamoto.
The music started playing, but no one dared to be the first to go onto the dance floor.
Gin smirked. "Rangiku, you know how to waltz, right?"
"Yes, why…?" she gave him a suspicious look.
He took her hand, and led her to the center of the hall. "Shall we dance?"
"Gin?!" she flustered-which was a rare sight. This is so embarrassing! Why did we have to be the first ones to dance?!
"Haha, you're so cute, Rangiku." Gin teased.
"You're a joke!" she glared at him, as he laughed.
Momo sighed. "Those two look good together…"
Izuru also sighed. "I want to dance too…" as he watched more people dance.
Renji shrugged. "I don't. I just want to eat."
"Hm…?" Ichigo grinned. "Well then, Renji…I'll just be waltzing with Rukia." He took her pale hand, and quickly walked over to the dance floor.
Renji gaped, and slammed his hands onto the table. "That guy…going off with Rukia like that…oh, it is on!" He grabbed Orihime's hand, and kept trying to swap partners with Ichigo.
Soi Fon fiddled with her mask. "I knew it. Dances really are boring after all…"
A man then bowed in front of her. "Soi Fon, may I have this dance?"
She blinked, and looked at the man. Even though he was wearing a mask, she could tell by his hair that it was Vice Chairman Byakuya Kuchiki. "Me…and you?"
He smirked under that mask, and nodded. "Of course. I don't see why not. Do you?"
The Ice Princess smiled slightly. "Fine, so be it." She put her hand in his, and the two got into position.
Ikkaku whistled. "I think Kuchiki has a thing for Soi Fon here."
Yumichika frowned. "Ew, I do not wish to touch other people's hands! You don't know where they've been!"
Ikkaku raised an eyebrow. "No one cares, Yumichika. It's just dancing."
"Oh, please! I can't let anyone touch my beautiful perfect hands!" he ran a hand through his hair.
The bald man then grabbed Yumichika's hands, and started to dance with him. "Ah, look…I just touched your hands."
"IKKAKU, YOU ARE DEAD! HOW DARE YOU!" Yumichika was furious.
Izuru and Momo laughed, because it was awkward seeing two guys waltzing together. Especially with all the weird looks they were getting.
•
Hitsugaya arrived at the dance hall just as the waltz had finished. He then heard the next announcement, "The next dance is a different dance where you…"
He ignored the announcement, and scanned the crowd, trying to search for Momo. It was a lot harder, since he could only see a lot of masked people. He saw everyone getting into position for the dance. It seemed to be one where you had to swap partners after a certain amount of dancing time.
Hinamori was about to take Kira's hand, as you are supposed to start the dance holding hands, but then someone else grabbed her petite hand, and pushed Kira to the next person.
"Am I late?" the cool voice said.
Momo blinked, as she stared at her new partner. It can't be…but that white hair is unmistakable! "S-Shiro-Chan?!"
"It was hard to recognize you at first, but wow…you look great, Momo." He smiled.
Hinamori was suddenly glad she was wearing a mask, mainly because it covered her blush. "Arigato…"
"Too bad you've got a mask on though. I'd rather like to see your face." His turquoise eyes were staring right into her chocolate ones.
She then remembered that Toshiro liked her, and avoided eye contact nervously, as he started to lead in the dance. "Ee to...Shiro-Chan?"
"Nande?" he flicked her a glance.
"Well, since you're dancing with me…does that mean I have to be your…?"
He laughed. "Nope."
"How come?" she blinked.
"Because I came here by choice."
"Actually…why are you here?"
"Change of heart, I guess." He shrugged.
She smiled. I'm glad you're here, Toshiro.
•
"Aww~!" Rangiku watched Hinamori & Hitsugaya dance together. "Aren't they just the cutest, Gin?"
"Other than you, yes." said the fox.
All of a sudden, she felt like hitting him. "That's not funny, Gin. You should stop playing with girls' hearts."
"Who ever said…I was playing around?" he pulled her closer.
"What are you-"
"What if…I said…" Gin whispered in her ear quietly, "…That I was serious?"
•
"Toshiro?" Hinamori tilted her head to the side.
"What is it now?"
"We've been dancing for quite a while now."
"Problem?"
"No, it's just that…how come we haven't been switching partners?" Momo looked around, and saw that everyone else kept switching partners except for them.
"Well…" The truth was, Hitsugaya would push the guy who was supposed to be with Momo next, to the next person, so that he could stay with Momo. "Let's just say, I never want to let go of your hand."
"Why's that?" she blinked, clueless.
Sometimes I curse her slowness... "Because I don't like seeing you with other guys…it just annoys me."
Is he…jealous? Her cheeks turned red, and she couldn't look him in the eye. "O-Oh…"
He chuckled, and caressed her. "Momo…I hope you don't forget my feelings for you."
•
"It seems I have to move on to the next partner now." Byakuya mumbled.
Soi Fon nodded. "Indeed. Well then, I'll see you later."
He gave her a quick smile, and moved onto the next. Soi Fon couldn't help but laugh a bit, when she heard the girl next to her say, "You're kidding…I'm dancing with the Vice Chairman?!"
"What's so funny?" her new partner asked.
"Oh…Nandemonai." She looked at him. It was a young male, with tanned skin, dark black hair and cunning yellow eyes.
He leaned closer to her. "Oh? I bet you look better without the mask."
She blushed slightly, and shifted her eyes to look anywhere but directly at him. "Is…Is that so?"
He smirked. "You've piqued my interest. What's your name?"
"Isn't it common courtesy to introduce yourself first?"
"Haha, I've always liked women with attitude…the name's Ggio Vega. And you?"
"…Soi Fon. I'm from Shino High School."
He lowered his voice, "Ah…you see, I'm not from Shino or Karakura."
"What? You mean you sneaked in here?" she blinked.
Ggio flicked her forehead. "Bingo! Looks like you've got brains too, even better."
She rubbed her forehead, while glaring at him. "Then, where are you from, intruder?"
"I wouldn't exactly call myself an intruder…I'm just an uninvited guest."
She rolled her eyes, and muttered, "Answer the question."
"Espada High."
"A private school?" she was a tad surprised.
"That's right. You can brag to your friends about me later." He grinned.
Even though she was blushing, she was still annoyed. Tch…this guy…
•
The circle of dance continued rotating, and Renji & Ichigo elbowed Toshiro. "Hey, what do you think you're doing man?"
Toshiro glanced at them. "Dancing."
Ichigo laughed. "C'mon, you haven't switched partners at all!"
Hitsugaya shrugged. "She doesn't mind."
Hinamori blushed more, and the two guys just accepted the fact that Toshiro obviously liked Hinamori.
The music stopped playing, and the partners bowed to each other, signifying the end of this dance. Now, it was the Viennese Waltz. And everyone went back to their original partner.
Gin strolled up to Rangiku. "I'm back, Rangiku~ Did you miss me?"
She sighed. "Yes, very…"
"I'm so happy to hear you say that." He took her hands, and got into position.
The orange haired beauty mumbled under her breath, "…It was sarcasm."
Rukia smiled at Ichigo. "I'm surprised at how well you can dance."
"Well, I'm not a complete stranger to dance." He replied, while leading her.
"Hey, don't get cocky, strawberry! I'm obviously better!" Renji glared at the main protagonist of Bleach.
"Whatever you say, Renji." Ichigo brushed it off, while Rukia laughed at the two. And Renji & Ichigo both knew they were thinking the same thing, 'Her smile…I could look at it forever.'
Ggio winked at Soi Fon. "Too bad we have to split now. I'll see you around, Soi Fon." He waved, and left.
She also waved, but only for a small amount of time. Byakuya calmly re-approached her. "Who was that?"
"Oh, just some guy called Ggio Vega." She replied.
Byakuya paused. "Ggio Vega…he's from Espada?"
She blinked. "How did you know?"
"I believe he's one of the top ten students there…" Byakuya held her hands, and started to dance. "If I were you, I wouldn't get too close to him."
"?"
"It's nothing…but for tonight…" he pulled her closer to him.
"What is it?" she looked up at him.
"Don't think of anyone else but me."
"Hah…?" she raised an eyebrow.
Byakuya smirked. "Remember those dancing lessons? Always keep your eyes on me."
Hitsugaya pulled Hinamori's wrist, as she spun into him, and he wrapped his arms around her. "Being in a position like this…makes me not want to let you go."
She could feel her heartbeat rate fasten. "T-Toshiro, we have to follow the dance moves…!"
"No, we don't. It's not like anyone actually cares." He smirked mischievously.
Momo sighed. He's right…
Toshiro pecked her on the cheek and chuckled. "You're adorable, Bed wetter Momo."
"!" She put her hand over her cheek, as she felt even more flustered than before. "Shiro-Chan!"
That night was definitely a romantic night of dance…❤
-End of Chapter 13-
Japanese Translations:
Hai-Yes
Nani-What
Iie-No
Betsuni-Not really
Honto-Really
Arigato-Thank you
Ee to-Um…/uh…
Nande-What is it
Nandemonai-Nothing/never mind
•
Hmm…I've always been torn between RenRuki and IchiRuki. *Shrugs* Oh well~
By the way, I'm thinking of ending this fanfiction by the 15th chapter :o
ミ コ ト • Mikoto
•
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