Disclaimer: Now, whoever told you I own anything of Bleach is a liar. If I did, I wouldn't be trying to write anything called fanfiction on it; it would be instead canon to the story.

Frozen Mask:

Back to the Beginning

Toshiro groaned loudly. He and the bandit had been traveling together now for a week and so far the young boy had restrained himself from killing the man several times. This was an accomplishment on his part. He'd never seen someone act so rude and barbaric before in his entire life, and now that the boy had spent a good length of time with Hisato, his dislike for the sanzoku grew. He wondered how it was that he could put up with the man for so long, but figured it had something to do with the fact that he would not leave him alone. So far, that assumption had borne fruit, as any time he had asked Hisato why he was following him, the sanzoku had stated that he was a kid and needed someone to take care of him.

Today was no different. As soon as they had both awakened, Toshiro had yet again asked why the older man was following him, and Hisato had just stated that Toshiro was a kid. Now Toshiro was stuck listening to the many exploits of the sanzoku throughout the man's life, and Toshiro suspected that most of them were either exaggerations or just flat out lies. He was more inclined to believe the second, since in every single tale Hisato was successful. If he was so successful, then the man would be alive and married off to a noble woman he had wooed and living in a grand palace. Not that he was paying too close of attention to the bandit's words, mind.

"Now, th' lady was a beaut, real gentle-like and hones'. She knew righ' then an' there tha' I was there ta rescue her, 'specially since her ass of a betrothed had gone off an' beat her. Wors' part was, her pop wasn' tha' bright an' didn' know his girl was hurtin'. So there I was, 'bout ta grab her and make a run fer it, when there th' ass was, drunker than a skunk and seein' red, 'cause he knew I was better fer her than he'd ever be, an' could kick his ass 'cross the room…"

Hisato obviously was telling his latest tale to Toshiro, and the boy was only partially paying attention. It wasn't as if what he was saying was important, anyway. Toshiro just walked along, tuning the older man out until the sanzoku looked over at him, annoyance evident on his face. "Are ya even payin' attention ta wha' I'm sayin'?"

"Truthfully, no," Toshiro replied. He just continued to walk while the sanzoku gaped at the boy.

"Ya have ta be kiddin' me." The bandit groaned. "Ya could be learnin' importan' stuff here. Ya could never learn wha' I know withou' bein' on th' street fer as long as I have."

Toshiro rolled his eyes. "The most that I have learned from you is how not to talk and act. Obviously you never learned how to do either."

"Smart mouth, kid. Yer gonna eventually get inta a lotta trouble fer havin' one." Hisato sighed and swung his club onto his shoulder. "Do ya even have any idea in where yer goin'?"

Toshiro hesitated for the briefest of moments and sighed. It was probably better if he actually said where he was going, anyway. "Back to my village." When Hisato was going to comment, the boy continued. "When we got attacked by that bakemono, I can't explain it, but I felt something. I don't remember much, but it felt like something was trying to protect me. Maybe the priest back at my village could explain it. That's what I'm going back for. To find out what happened."

Hisato sighed and ran a hand through his lank hair. "Well, if yer priest can' explain wha' happened, then who ya gonna talk ta next? Yer gramps? I don' think he'd be helpful any, since ya ain't found 'im in a long time."

The boy just glared back. "You know, I never asked you to come with me and do anything."

The bandit just shrugged. "Goes agains' my better judgemen' ta let a kid wander around alone, ya know."

Toshiro walked along while Hisato grumbled behind him. They were like this for about a good ten minutes before Hisato finally cracked. "Sheesh, is it jus' me, or are ya gettin' hungry too?"

Toshiro ignored this as well. As far as the boy was concerned, getting hungry was an anomaly. He was dead. There was no getting away from that fact. Why the heck was his body suddenly betraying him by being hungry? Unless he'd been dreaming this entire time. Toshiro frowned. He could have been delirious with a fever for a long time, and this could all be a strange dream. Why, however, was he getting hungry all the time? It made no sense. Heck, even drinking water to dull the ache in his stomach was odd.

When he came out of his musings, the bandit was nowhere to be found. Frowning again (he seemed to be doing that too often nowadays), he looked about. Nope, no sign of the sanzoku around. A tic started in the boy's forehead. Why did it seem as though the fates had it in for him, first by killing him, and now by setting this man upon him?

Looking around more closely, he became more confused. Why did it seem as though this area seemed familiar? Before he could think about it more, he heard a cry erupt through the trees. No way…

He broke through the trees at a run. He couldn't have been that close, could he? Fate, it seemed, liked to prove him wrong. Just as he got through the thicker parts of the brush, he spied a woman running and crying something about evil spirits. Great, just what he needed. Someone to come and try and banish him. Instead, what he got was an older woman coming out of her house, a young boy at her heels. Toshiro stopped cold. It wasn't possible. There was no way that he'd been that close to his home. He'd been away for two years, hadn't he? The old woman stopped as well and stared. And in the middle of it all, Hisato was busy walking toward Toshiro, a rice ball in his mouth and a smirk gracing his features.

"Hey, gaki! Found a bit o' food here. Figured we could split it an' a' leas' res' fer awhile…" Hisato paused and looked over at the old woman staring at Toshiro, and then back at the young spirit. "Aw, shi', and here I though' ya were lyin' 'bout yer granny seein' ya."

Kiyoko glared from one culprit to the next. First to the man who seemed to have been caring for her wayward grandson and then to the white haired boy who was said grandson. She had told him to try and find a way to pass on, hadn't she? That didn't include finding the bandit that had been plaguing the bridge south a year ago. Though judging from the chain that hung from the chest of the man, he was just as dead as her grandson.

She sighed and took a sip of her tea. It was just as well that Toshiro and Eiji's parents were out in the field, or otherwise the whole scene would be odd. As it was, Eiji seemed to be watching the two of them with wide eyes and trying to touch the club of the sanzoku. Clearing her throat, Kiyoko shot her living grandson a look. "Eiji…"

"He got big stick." The toddler looked over at Toshiro. "Got weird hair."

She saw Toshiro stiffen, and rose an eyebrow at her youngest grandson. "I thought you'd know better than to ask why some people looked different, magomusuko. Shiro-chan is your brother."

"Shiro-chan." Evidently the new name sounded odd to the younger boy, and he made a face. Then a grin replaced it and Eiji stuck a hand into Toshiro's hair. "Shiro!"

Toshiro was caught completely unaware as the toddler ran his hand through his brother's hair. "Umm…"

Hisato instead chuckled. "Shiro-chan. An' here I though' ya hated th' name, when yer granny's been callin' ya tha' fer years, prolly."

Kiyoko chuckled. "Both me and his mother called him that for years." A sober look then clouded her face. "He shouldn't be here, you know."

"He got it inna his head ta try an' ask yer pries' 'bout somethin' tha' happen on th' road. A bakemono attacked us an' tried ta eat him. Kid had some balls, though. Hit it wit' my club an' it just dissolved righ' in fron' o' us." The bandit grinned. "Kid passed out righ' after, an' after we had somethin' ta eat, figured we should talk ta him 'bout it."

The old woman just shook her head. "I don't think he'd be able to help."

"But he's the only one that could tell me what happened." Toshiro pulled his head away from Eiji's hand and stared at his grandmother in shock. "How could he not be able to help?"

"Because he really only ministers to the living. He protects the people of the village from the spirits that plague the land." Kiyoko shook her head. "I don't think that the priest knows much about what happens to souls, only that they are supposed to cross from this world to the next."

"But what do I do now?"

"Toshiro, if I knew that, you wouldn't be in this situation now, would you?" The old woman looked down into the bottom of her cup. "I'm surprised, though. I thought you would have passed on by now."

"Yeah, 'bout that…" Hisato looked over the older woman. "Is it normal fer ghosts ta get hungry? Shiro seems ta think we're freaks or sumthin' cause of it. Hell, I don' particularly care, but he seems like th' type tha' cares 'bout wha' happened." Hisato suddenly blinked as Kiyoko leveled a glare at the sanzoku. "Err, 'scuse my language. Forgot tha' older types don' like hearin' bad language…"

"Obviously." A small smile graced her features as she sipped her tea. "So, neither of you know what to do and from the looks of things, the two of you are both looking to find out what to do now." She sighed. "Well, it wouldn't hurt anything to talk to the priest, anyway. He may not know about your particular situation, but-"

Suddenly a scream rent the air. Everyone looked out toward the sound, but could see nothing of what was going on. Kiyoko started to stand, but Hisato put a hand on her shoulder. "Ma'am, I ain't 'bout ta get inta a fight 'bout who should go check it out, but ya gotta admi' it makes more sense fer someone dead ta check it out, ne?"

Toshiro wanted to protest, wanted to say that whatever it was, it would probably kill him just as easily as the cold day had done to him two years ago, but he found he couldn't. He watched as Hisato saluted the two of them, and then headed out on his own. "Idiot," he muttered. He was suddenly glad that his obaasan hadn't heard, otherwise he'd be in a lot of trouble.

Hisato looked around as he left the household. Everything appeared to be normal, except that the village appeared to be deserted. It didn't make sense, as there should be at least be some children playing around, mothers hanging laundry, things like that. But there was nothing like that. Not even the whisper of movement.

A slight scrape of the ground was all that the sanzoku got as a warning as the bakemono lunged at him. He got his club quickly out and blocked the arm that threatened to crush him, but skidded several yards. "Ah, shit," he growled, trying to push back against the creatures strength. "Ya gotta be kiddin' me…"

Evidently whatever joke the heavens were playing on him wasn't over. As soon as he stopped moving, the creature let out a chuckle. "Now, this is interesting. Who, exactly, are you?"

"Not someone ya wanna piss off, freak." Hisato really wasn't in any mood to converse with the creature, and proved it by leaping up and bringing his club down on top of the creature's head. A satisfying crunch could be heard, but Hisato didn't have a chance to celebrate as the creature caught him around the middle and threw him.

"You're not protecting the people here, are you? Because you certainly don't look like a shinigami if you are." The creature advanced toward him and smirked. "I already happen to have a record of eating one."

"Yeah, well, too bad." Hisato coughed. "I ain't one o' yer death gods, ugly." He stood up and hefted his club. "'Sides, I already took out one o' yer pals a bit back. So ya might wanna rethink doin' anythin'."

"So which are you protecting? The boy, the woman, or the baby?" Wait, what? "Which is it? Because I have a claim on all three." The creature lunged again and speared Hisato on its claws. "Too bad, I think you just failed, shinigami wannabe."

Damn it, damn it, damn it! He couldn't believe that he was so stupid as to let the thing through his defense. He twisted around and grabbed the claws impaling him. He wasn't about to go down without a fight, damn it! He tried yanking the appendages out, but the bakemono's grip remained firm.

Just then, the creature let out a shriek. Kiyoko stood behind the creature with a katana in hand, her eyes burning with resolve. "Leave." The tone left no room for argument. "I will cut you down, monster, if you don't."

"Ordering me around, Kiyoko? And just whose sword do you think you are holding?" Kiyoko stood firm, but Hisato could tell that the she was confused. "No, I believe that you are just going to put the blade down and join me…"

Whatever idea the monster had, it obviously didn't include the older woman bringing the sword around to try and strike. The monster brought up a limb to deflect it, and grabbed at the blade. Wrenching it out of the older woman's hands, the bakemono advanced, a leer twisting its face.

Kiyoko backed away. Without the sword, there wasn't much she could do. She saw the limb in front of her snake out, poised to strike…

Hisato stared. Oh, shit. The creature looked down upon the fallen form, an odd expression on its face. No way. The older woman had a family, damn it. The claws left the sanzoku, and he crumpled to the ground. This wasn't happening. This wasn't the way stories were supposed to go. It was supposed to be him rescuing the older woman and her grandsons. Not her dead one saving him, then herself getting torn open. What made it worse was the fact that he could see exactly how a person gets forcibly separated from their body. No, he really didn't need to know how the hell he himself got evicted from his own body.

He started to stand, but suddenly felt sick as he watched the bakemono grab and swallow the older woman's soul. Oh, fuck. That's what the thing was after? For a moment, the creature was distracted as it enjoyed its meal. A feral smile found its way onto the bandit's face. Well, if it likes eating souls so much, why not give it something truly memorable…

Toshiro was frozen with shock. He knew that he had to do something, but in a way, this was worse. Things didn't just eat his grandmother. Come on! Move it! But he didn't and continued to stare. It wasn't until a roar from Hisato pulled him out of his stupor. The bandit was charging straight at the bakemono, club raised high. The creature looked up, but what looked like a smirk crossed its face. "Tanaka-san!"

The sanzoku looked over, distracted for a moment, but that was all the creature needed. Toshiro watched, horrified, as the monster grabbed Hisato around the middle and slammed him against a wall. "Time to end this, shinigami-wannabe."

Toshiro watched, helpless. No… His grandmother's body lay several yards away, broken and lifeless. Can't… The katana lay upon the ground, its star-shaped hilt glinting. Obaasan… Woodenly, the boy walked as the creature consumed the bandit.

The bakemono clicked its tongue as it turned to the house, the air around the creature turning colder. It could already smell the fear of the human left inside the structure, but it hesitated. Where was the other one? It suddenly started as it heard something that suspiciously like an inhuman shriek. It turned, only to catch the katana that descended in the face. Its face cracked, then split, leaving what lay beneath open for someone to see.

Toshiro collapsed to one knee, exhausted, the katana falling to the ground. However, his heart seized when he saw the face of the creature dissolving before him. His grandfather's face, one he had been searching for. He wanted to scream. No!

Eiji wandered out of the house, looking around, but froze when he spotted his grandmother. "'baasan," the younger boy called, and when he didn't get a response, he walked over where she lay. "'baasan!"

Suddenly Toshiro felt a tearing sensation deep in his chest. It quickly grew to mind-numbing pain, and he doubled over, gasping. What…? Suddenly, what felt like a cool substance started leaking from his eyes and mouth. All Toshiro could do was scream, and his younger brother came over to him, trying to find out what was going on…

To be continued…

Sorry it took so long for me to update, but I've been trying to get a job for the last year now, as well as taking care of a new addition to the family. For all of those aware, I had a baby girl last year at about the same time I finished school, so that was why I had a long hiatus. Hopefully, it didn't turn people away from reading, and hopefully I can get back to writing this. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated, and flames will be used for an alternative fuel source for the grill outside.

Charbonne

Translations:

magomusuko - grandson