Sorry it's taken so long to update. Having issues with my computer lately, and needed to get them resolved so that I can do schoolwork and write. Hopefully the next chapter won't be so long in coming.

Frozen Mask:

Dragon and Bandit

Toshiro glared at the spirit in front of him. It wasn't like he disrespected his elders, because if nothing else, his grandmother would seriously smack him on the head for it. No, this man was standing directly in front of the young boy and was refusing to let him pass, claiming that he was the owner of the bridge and that Toshiro had to pay a toll. Judging from the way that the man was dressed, the boy figured that he had to be some type of bandit or something, as any sort of lord over the area would be better dressed, and wouldn't be guarding his own land by himself. Besides, he looked like he was a bandit too, what with the ragged, unkempt black hair and the beady black eyes, not to mention the man looked like someone that was built like an ox.

"Now come on and pay, or else ye'll haveta take th' consequences." The man held up a club and started to tap it against his free hand, giving the youth a superior look.

"I don't have time for this," Toshiro muttered. To him it looked like the man's chain wrapped itself around the bridge, but what significance that had was beyond him. Besides, it should have been apparent that he didn't have any money.

At the boy's statement, the sanzoku glared at him. "Sheesh, not another one o' those tha' don' have money. What happened? Family so poor tha' they left ya?"

If the sanzoku was expecting Toshiro to back down and give him whatever he wanted, he was sorely mistaken. Toshiro suddenly ducked between the man's legs and raced across the bridge. The bandit howled at the boy and gave chase, swinging the club above his head like a sword. Ducking and dodging through the chains, the boy let himself grin a little as he neared the edge of the bridge.

However, that was cut short when he found himself being yanked backward by the back of his shirt. The man smirked, triumphant, as he held a struggling Toshiro about a foot off the ground. "Now tha' was a pretty sneaky trick, ya little snot, lettin' me think ya were a little slow. Too bad Tanaka Hisato was too fas' fer ya!" The sanzoku threw back his head and laughed, evidently pleased with what he had just done.

Toshiro could already feel his eyebrow twitching. This man couldn't be serious, could he? Besides, now that he had the young boy, what exactly was he going to do to him? Biting his lip, Toshiro waited for the bandit to stop laughing and level whatever punishment on him the man thought appropriate. At least I can't die twice... he thought miserably.

Toshiro waited. And waited. When the boy was at the limits of his patience with the older man, Hisato suddenly stopped and peered quizzically at the young boy. "Do I know ya?" he asked, frowning as he turned Toshiro one way and then another, sure that the boy was something to be gawked at.

"Are you crazy or something? Either go ahead and do whatever to me or put me down!" Toshiro finally snapped out. Hisato was surprised by his sudden outburst and dropped the young boy to the ground, but continued to stare at him as if he were some type of oddity. Which technically he was. How often did you run into a boy that had white hair and teal eyes?

"Now I know I had a pretty good reason ta pick ya up like that, but do ya know wha' tha' was?" Kami, he was crazy. Hisato just looked at Toshiro like he'd never seen him before. "Aw, man, This is really goin' ta bug me now. What was I doin', anyway?"

"You were going to thrash me because I didn't pay your stupid toll!" That was it. Toshiro had had enough of this crazy guy and stood up.

However, Hisato just shrugged at the boy. "If ya say so," he stated, giving Toshiro a look like he was the crazy one. "Tho' why in th' world I would thrash a kid is beyond me."

"You were just going to!"

"Ha! Jus' shows how much ya really know, midget. I don' do tha' ta women an' kids. Ya look too young ta be an adult, an' tha' makes ya a kid" Hisato roared with laughter at his own statement. "Wha' type o' creep do ya think I am?"

Toshiro just rolled his eyes and looked back at the bridge. A frown crossed his features when he realized that something about the bridge had changed. For one, the chains that covered the bridge were gone, and as he looked at Hisato he realized that the chain attached to the sanzoku's chest was much shorter, now only holding about five or six links instead of the hundreds that were there previously. The only thing that didn't change was that, like Toshiro, the plug in his chest was open a bit, though for Toshiro that fact held little meaning.

Toshiro was getting annoyed. He was trying his level best to ignore the sanzoku that, for whatever reason, had decided to follow him. Hisato had declared that since he couldn't remember why in fact he had chased Toshiro down, he would take care of the boy as if he were his own son. Frankly, Toshiro couldn't care less, as he had grown accustomed to being by himself over the last two years, but Hisato was adamant. As far as he was concerned, Toshiro was still a child, and needed to be protected from the 'unsavory' types, which the boy scoffed at. Who the heck was he to decide what was unsavory and what wasn't? Wasn't he a bandit?

Currently, the sanzoku was seemingly picking his nose and examining what he had dug out. "Yo, kid, do ya even know where th' hell yer goin'? If ya don', then why the hell are ya even goin' anywhere? Stupid idea if ya ask me."

"First off, don't call me a kid. My name is Hitsugaya Toshiro. And second, that's a disgusting habit, picking your nose." Toshiro narrowed his teal eyes at the man.

"Yare yare, an' here I thought ya weren' uptight like th' nobles." Hisato flicked the booger off his finger, making Toshiro crinkle his nose in disgust. "Lemme guess, yer family's all rich and shit, and they don' like trash peasants."

"No, my 'baasan told me it was disgusting, and threatened to slap me if I started that up. Besides, it's proper manners to address someone by their family name if you just met, Tanaka-san." Toshiro turned away from the older man just as Hisato gave him a funny look.

"Ain't nobody called me tha' before. Lots o' other things, but never tha'." Hisato scratched his head. "'Sides, ye've gotta answer my question. Where're ya goin'?"

Toshiro sighed. "My 'jiisan. He's dead, too, so I figured if I find him, I might be able to pass over."

"So yer lookin' for yer 'jiisan..." The bandit frowned for a moment, then face-faulted. "Hold it, yer dead?"

"So are you."

Hisato just stuttered, "B-but... I haven' even lived long enough ta even be dead yet. Neither have you!" He looked the boy over carefully. "Sides, if I was dead, why can I see ya?"

"Because the dead can see each other." Toshiro threw him an annoyed look. "Are you done asking stupid questions now?" He knew that if his obaasan had heard him, he would get smacked for it, but this man was giving him a migraine. Sheesh, did he even realize he was dead? Obviously not, if he still thought he was alive. Rubbing his face with his hands, he looked forward again.

The two of them walked quietly together, neither of them speaking. It was apparent to Toshiro that the older man was thinking about what he'd said. The boy felt bad, but he knew it needed to be said for the bandit to move on. An hour passed in this fashion, with neither of them speaking to the other, though Hisato really looked as though he wanted to discuss what was said.

Suddenly, when it looked as though the sanzoku couldn't stomach another moment of silence, a scream ripped through the air. Actually to Toshiro it sounded more like a roar, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was. Suddenly the young boy was thrown backward, held by a black arm. At least he thought it was an arm. It was heavily muscled, and ended in wicked-looking claws. The arm was attached to some type of monster with a bull-like white mask. A bluish tongue snaked out of its mouth and licked its large teeth. Red eyes glowed in amusement. "Well now, this looks like a tasty soul."

Toshiro struggled against the grip of the monster. It tightened its claws and leaned forward, leering at the boy, until a heavy club smashed against the extended arm. The creature let out a shriek and turned to glare at the offending perpetrator. Hisato grinned as he hefted his club in front of him. "Oi, bakemono, it ain't nice ta pick on a lil' kid. Guess your ugly mug didn't get the message, eh?"

Toshiro dropped to the ground and watched as the creature let out another howl and charged after the sanzoku. However, Hisato wasn't there, as the older man twisted around brought his club down on the back of the creature. The boy decided that now would be a good time to get out of the way, and scrambled to get behind a nearby tree.

The creature, however, snarled and lunged at the bandit, and when the man ducked out of the way, brought one of its legs around and caught him on his shoulder, making him drop the club. Hisato hissed in pain and rolled to get back. Now he knew he was in trouble, as the club had been his only weapon. However, he also knew that if he hadn't done anything against the monster, the boy would probably had been its snack. Grinning, his eye caught sight of a large enough tree branch. Good enough, he thought and grabbed up the branch just as the creature leapt at him. He managed to get the club up in time to block the incoming blow, but the creature pressed forward, causing Hisato to swear. Sheesh, how bad could his luck be? First he finds out he's dead by some punk kid, and then this thing decides to try to make a meal out of him. He snorted and noticed something falling around him. Gee, now his luck was even worse, as snow in the middle of freaking summer was falling around him.

Suddenly the creature arced its back and let out a scream. Hisato was thrown back and watched in amazement as the creature dissolved into nothingness, its mask breaking as it disappeared. His eyes widened as he saw Toshiro swaying unsteadily on his feet. In the boy's hand was his club, now smeared with blood. Realization suddenly hit as he watched the boy start toppling over. He sprinted over and managed to catch Toshiro right before he hit the ground. Shaking his head, he looked around and noticed for the first time that the snow had stopped as suddenly as it came. "Crazy crap," the sanzoku muttered.

Toshiro woke up to see trees above him and leaves under him. He felt weak, and could have sworn that he was hearing his stomach rumble. He jumped suddenly as a voice next to him said, "An' here I thought ya told me we were dead. Ya don' get hungry when ya are."

Toshiro looked over to see the sanzoku tending a fire. It looked as though his shoulder was bandaged up, and his club was tucked into his obi. What really set his stomach growling (and now he knew it wasn't his imagination) was that Hisato had somehow scrounged up a couple of bowls of rice and had caught himself two fish. The sanzoku placed one of the bowls next to Toshiro and placed one of the fish, now roasted, on top. The boy struggled to sit up, and after the first couple of attempts, managed to get himself upright.

Hisato just shook his head and took up his own bowl. He grabbed the remaining fish and swallowed it in one bite. He then looked back to the boy and snorted. The younger boy hadn't even touched his food but was instead staring at it, as though it was going to stand up and dance. "Yer hungry, right? Ya gotta eat somethin' if ya expect ta live. Sheesh, how long has it been since ya last ate, anyway?"

"Two years." The bandit blinked. He wasn't expecting that answer. Maybe a day or two, but not years. Toshiro picked up the fish and bit into it. Before he knew it, he had downed the entire thing and was halfway through the bowl of rice.

Hisato whistled. "Hell, even I wasn' that hungry. Makin' me believe tha' ya'd gone without food for that long."

All the bandit got in response was a glare. Toshiro finished off the bowl of rice and looked questioningly at the man. "What happened though, Tanaka-san? The last thing I remember was that bakemono was trying to eat you."

Hisato face-faulted. "Ya mean ya don' remember?" Toshiro shook his head. "Ya used my club and killed it. Heck, never seen such a thing in my life. Thought ya were too puny ta even fight th' thing. Then ya passed out." The older man chuckled. "I jus' made sure ya were comfortable so tha' I could get some food. Looks like ya needed it."

"I bet you stole it."

"Oi! If ya don' like th' way I got it, then ya shouldn' have ate it." The sanzoku just shook his head, knowing that the boy was just trying to find something to think about other than what just happened.

Suddenly the older man got a grin on his face as he put out his arm to give the boy a noogie. Toshiro shoved his arm away and fixed his teal eyes into a glare that could have roasted the sanzoku alive. Or frozen him. "Sheesh, ya need ta lighten up, Shiro-chan!"

"Don't call me Shiro-chan!"

To Be Continued...

I know that I've been not putting up the translations for the Japanese that I've been using. So I figured that at the end of the chapters, I would put up any new words and their translations to make it easier for those that are reading. Here's the translations for the first and second chapter.

Translations:

bakemono – monster, goblin

sanzoku – bandit

From previous chapter:

obaasan – grandmother

otosan – father

okaasan – mother

ojiisan - grandfather

Well, hope it was good! What with all of the snow and Ice we've been getting here, I figured that any flames that are directed my way are going to go to melting the mess. Also, I decided to become a beta reader. It couldn't hurt to help any up-and-coming authors improve their skills, and even for some of the older ones to sharpen their skills (or even just bounce ideas off me if they wish.) Any and all preferences for the beta-reading stuff can be found on my profile, so if you want, go ahead and check it out.

Charbonne