Lost Child (Bleach Fanfic)

Winter Rose

His bright teal eyes couldn't help but notice that granny was getting thin as well as the fact he hadn't been growing like he wanted. The boy found himself moody as Momo had come home from school for the break between her fifth and sixth years and had only spoken of Aizen taicho. The girl had payed neither him or their granny any mind and he wondered if she cared.

His small stomach growled indicating that it was in need yet again of being filled which caused him to jump from the room and tell his granny that he was going to get some more of their favorite food. Seeing the old woman's face made it so that he cheered up somewhat. The old woman was the one bright spot in his life and the boy looked forward to her daily smiles.

Stepping across the ground he arrived at the stand to buy some of the coveted candy only to be mistreated yet again. Toshiro hopped a bit so he could reach up and grab the change before hurrying back to see his granny. As soon as he saw the woman he scuttled over to sit right next to her and leaned his head onto her shoulder, handing her the bag.

The old woman carefully opened the bag and with her bony old fingers she reached in and plopped a piece of candy into the boy's hand. He took the sweet to his mouth and closed his eyes, savoring the sweetness. Eating candy with granny was the best thing in the world and it chased away all the thoughts about the pain he constantly suffered. With his eyes still closed Toshiro began to hum and drum his fingers across the wooden floor.

One of the woman's hands reached up and gently combed through his shaggy hair and she began to sing a child's lullaby, causing the boy to relax and not think of anything. There was no thoughts about the villagers bullying him, there was no thought about Momo being infatuated with that particular taicho or begging him to join the academy and there was no thoughts about the fact he beloved his mother and father by blood had abandoned him.

"Toshiro... would you sing me a song."

The boy's eyes snapped open and he moved to a kneeling position facing her. His mouth opened and the words of the traditional song broke from his lips, his mind thinking the simple days would last for ever and ever. Eventually the sun set and he got up to spread his and granny's futons onto the ground before going to bed himself while his granny worked on mending or what ever project kept her up after his bed time hour.

At night the voice would call to him and he would wake up in the morning to repeat the process of day to day life, the mornings beginning with him attempting to sneak out of the room so he wouldn't wake his granny. When he was younger she used to wake before him, but lately he had noticed a strange change that he honestly didn't understand. He would then come back and start the fire for her and she would stir awake to make breakfast.

It was a couple of days later when things changed. He carefully started the fire only to notice that his granny wasn't stirring. His mouth twisted up in worry and he moved carefully over to the old woman. He carefully nudged the old woman's shoulder. "Granny?" The old woman wouldn't stir. He found himself shaking the old woman again. "Granny, please wake up."

Taking a deep breath he looked towards the door. He then stood up. "Something's wrong. I need to get help."

Stepping outside he looked around and noticed that the closest place to find help was the house where Momo's friends lived. He slipped his sandals on and hurried over, his small hand knocking on the door as he scrapped his left knee on the wooden porch area. The door opened and the male friend of Hinamori looked out, only to startle upon seeing the boy. "What..."

"Who is it?" The person the two lived with suddenly spoke then.

"It's the boy from next door."

"Tell him to go away."

"You heard our mother. You're not wanted here."

"Wait!" Toshiro's voice strained. A shuffling sound could be heard from inside of the house and the boy moved away.

There appeared a woman and the look on her face caused the small white haired child to swallow. "I told you to go away."

"Granny..."

"Would have come herself. Now go away."

The door closed and Toshiro looked at the ground. Panic set in and he hopped down from the porch and hurried to the next house, only to get the same response as he had before. It occurred a couple more times and his arms went limp at his side. He walked back to the house slowly. Upon arriving he carefully moved over to the woman and shook her again.

When she didn't move he curled up next to her. Her breath came raged and on hand reached out to brush her hair away, only to find that the woman was cold. The boy then got up and hauled his futon over and covered her in attempt to warm her up. "It's summer. I'm the one whose supposed to get sick, not granny. Do I shiver like this?"

Every so often he would try to wake her, but by the time night came around he would retreat to the wall and simply stare at her. "Why won't anyone come to help?"

What food they had remained where it was as Toshiro hadn't the heart to eat the candy or the know how to cook the rest of the food. Instead, he pulled his knees up and after a few days a smell came to his nose that he covered. It was the smell that finally brought someone from their small village to see what was the matter and their words were not at all kind.