Chapter 1

A ten-year-old boy with snowy hair ran across a patch of thin grass, quickly pulling himself onto the lowest branch of the nearest tree. His eyes were bright with excitement as he used his thin, wiry arms to pull himself higher into the branches. It wasn’t long before only his hair left him easily found within the leaves. The sun was slowly setting, leaving a pink tinge in the sky.

 

“Shiro-chan, it’s getting late. Come inside,” I called from the front door of our home.

 

“But Mina-chan,” my younger brother complained, his voice drawing out the suffix, as he climbed down from the tree.

 

“Don’t whine, Toshiro. It doesn’t suit you.”

 

It had been ten years since my brother’s birth. In those ten years, I learned more about Toshiro than most people could ever understand. When he was born, the doctors had told us he was albinistic. Over the years, though, he’d never displayed any such symptoms. He had perfect vision and eyes that were the most beautiful shade of teal I’d ever seen. I knew there was a rare case of albinism that affected only the eyes, but there wasn’t a form that only affected hair color.

 

“Mina-chan, can I have a watermelon?” Toshiro asked, opening the door to the refrigerator. I chuckled softly and ruffled his messy white hair. My brother had quite the appetite and his favorite snack was watermelon. I pulled one out of the fridge and cut a few slices for him.

 

“There you go, Shiro-chan.” I smiled softly as Toshiro ate. He was a normal little boy, if a bit mature for his age. He’d been through much as a child, including the deaths of our parents when he was four years old. I could still remember how he’d come to me every night for a month after the accident.

 

I was awoken in the middle of the night by the feeling of a small bundle pressing against my torso. The figure was trembling and I could hear soft sobs. I groggily opened my eyes to see a mass of white hair just below my line of vision.

 

“Shiro-chan?” I whispered sleepily. “What’s wrong, Nii-chan?” He sat up, rubbing his eyes and taking gasping breaths. I propped myself up on one elbow and rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

 

“I saw ‘em,” Toshiro cried. My brows furrowed in confusion as I stared at the four-year-old. Sitting up fully, I placed a hand on his tiny shoulder. It pained me to see him so upset.

 

“Saw who?”

 

“Kaa-chan and Tou-chan.” My eyes widened and I felt a piece of my heart break as tears sprang to my eyes. I pulled Toshiro close and let him cry on my shoulder while my own tears fell into his hair.

 

“It’s okay, Shiro-chan,” I whispered as I laid back down. I rubbed his back soothingly and watched as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

 

At the time, I had thought he had a nightmare. Looking back, I realized Toshiro probably did see our parents that night. He’d always been a special child, having so many imaginary friends that would leave his mind suddenly, only to be replaced by a new one. For a while, I feared for his mental health. Then, little by little, I’d been able to see his ‘friends’ as well. They had been hazy at first, but slowly became more distinct. One thing was similar with each of them, though. They all had a chain in their chest. It wasn’t long before I had come across adults with these chains. From them, I learned that my brother, Toshiro Kitamura, had been able to see spirits and that I had somehow developed the ability as well.

 

“Can we go to the playground tomorrow, Nee-chan?” Toshiro asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

 

“Sure. Tomorrow’s my day off. Now, off to bed.” My brother nodded with a grin and put his plate in the sink before running down the hallway. Minutes later, I could hear the water running as Toshiro cleaned up before going to bed.

Reviews

[Mr. Misanthrope]

I was right in saying that this is turning out to be an interesting story so far. How the young boy sees spirits with chains in them, and how his older sister might be developing the 'sight' too, I can't see how non-Bleach fans wouldn't get interested in this story, and the rest of your writing, for that matter.

No grammatical errors or spelling mistakes that I can see, and once again, a nice, smooth flow to it. I already want to find out what happens next. =P

[Skelasoldier]

Nice beginning chapter! It catches the readers attention immdediatly and keeps it there until the last word, keep up the good writing XD