In the deserted streets of an old town, twelve year old twins, Haru and Toshiro Hitsugaya walked quickly home from school. Haru talked excitedly about the project they had started in his science class while Toshiro simply listened quietly, eyes sweeping around them alertly; something was off, he could feel it, but he couldn't see what it was. " Haru?" he interrupted his brother suddenly.

Haru blinked in surprise. " Yeah?"

" Do you ever feel like things aren't the way they seem?"

His brother frowned as he thought about it. " What do you mean?"

" Like there are things that we can't really see around us." Toshiro watched a girl walk by them, a broken chain hanging lifelessly from her chest. Haru followed his eyes unseeingly.

" Sometimes, I guess. There have been a few times that it's felt like there was someone near me but I couldn't see them. Stuff like that?"

" Yeah, like that." Toshiro said quietly, running a hand through his snowy white hair. Haru always thought it was strange that they were twins in every way appearance wise except for their hair. His was black like their father's and Toshiro's was white like their late mother's.

" Why do you ask?" Haru clasped his hands behind his head, completely at ease.

" No reason." He answered quickly, averting his eyes to the side of them. And again Haru felt that he was seeing something that he wasn't, that he couldn't. He watched his white haired twin closely, trying to understand why he felt this way, when he noticed that Toshiro tensed and went pale.

Worried, he asked, " Hey, you ok 'shiro?" Toshiro didn't answer, instead stared ahead of them, head turned slightly upward like he was staring at something much taller than he was. Terror crept onto his face as his eyes widened at the sight before him that only he could see. " Toshiro! What's wrong?" Haru stepped in front of him and grabbed his shoulder, shaking him slightly.

Terrified turquoise eyes followed the movements of the beast in front of him as it raised its talon tipped hand to strike at them. " Haru look out!" He tackled his brother to the ground, the claws just missing his head. He rolled quickly off of his stunned twin, eyes scanning rapidly to determine what to do next. The beast was lifting its hand again, a terrible howl emitting from its masked face. Toshiro's hand snapped down to grab his brother's wrist, yanking him up and forward quickly, again just missing the hit that would surely have killed them both. Toshiro began to run, dragging his confused brother with him. Haru glanced back and saw nothing but deep gouges carved into the once smooth ground where Toshiro had tackled him.

" Toshiro what's happening!?" He shouted, running along with his brother. He could feel a slight malevolent force behind them, but that was all. He didn't understand what was happening.

The white haired twin glanced back at him, eyes not understanding, before snapping up to look behind them then back again. " You can't see it, can you?"

" See what?" He glanced behind them, looking wildly for the thing causing the ground to shake under their feet, causing his brave older twin to look so terrified. Toshiro just shook his head, turning back to look for an escape, his hand that held his wrist tightly trembling in fear. He didn't know what that thing was. Didn't understand why it was chasing them, why Haru couldn't see it, or even why he could. He just knew they had to run, to escape, or it would kill them.

It let out another roar, making Toshiro jump in surprise, causing him to lose his balance and fall, his brother tripping over him and rolling a few feet away. Haru had just barely caught the noise. Toshiro jumped back to his feet as quickly as he could and raced over to Haru, once again pulling him to his feet, head whipping to look for the beast.

" Where is it?" Haru asked in fright, looking around despite the knowledge that he couldn't see it. He let out a small cry of surprise as two hands pushed him roughly aside, making him stumble back onto the ground. As he landed he heard the noise of crunching concrete and his brother scream in pain. Snapping his head up, he saw Toshiro being held by an invisible force several feet in the air. The concrete of the building cracked and crushed around his body. " Toshiro!" His brother had his eyes closed tightly in pain as the invisible hand tried to crush him. He opened his mouth to scream but only managed to choke on blood, coughing it up violently. Grabbing a sharp piece of the fallen building, Haru ran towards his brother, lashing out blindly and sinking the slab of concrete deep into something, warm blood soaking his hand. Toshiro was roughly dropped as the beast reared back in surprise and pain.

" Toshiro!" Haru yelled, running to his brother. Blood flowed from the corners of his mouth and lazily down his forehead. He was breathing roughly and had his eyes closed tightly. " Come on, 'shiro, we have to go!"

Pained, horribly dull blue eyes opened tiredly to look at him. " R-run, Haru." His voice came out weakly, ending in a cough as more blood came out of his mouth from his lungs. It felt like every bone in his body was broken. Breathing was agony and almost impossible.

Tears began to run down Haru's face. " Not without you! Get up, I-I can't just leave you." His face was desperate. He gently grabbed his brother's arm, lifting him from the ground. Toshiro cried out at the movement, agony flaring across his body. Haru managed to pull him to his feet, Toshiro leaning all of his weight on him, unable to use his legs.

" L-eave me here…and r-run." His weak voice said again. He felt more than saw his brother shake his head. He opened his eyes slightly to try to find the monster that was trying to kill them. It had just disappeared, but he could still feel it, it was near, closing in. It was close, really close, it was alm- it was back. Toshiro snapped his eyes up, ignoring the heaviness of his eyelids, locating the large, grey-brown body of the beast, hand once again posed to strike. With more strength than he thought he had left, he planted his feet under him and shoved Haru to the side, his broken bones screaming in protest. His agony filled scream pierced the air once more as he was slammed violently into the ground, the concrete cracking and splintering from the force.

Suddenly the beast's face was right in front of his, its long, snakelike tongue flicking out of its mouth to lick the side of his face. Toshiro let out a startled cry, jerking back from the touch, but the cry quickly turning into a scream as the hand suddenly applied more pressure, crushing him against the ground. " Toshiro!" Haru yelled, once again running to try to help. The air around Toshiro seemed to shimmer in front of his eyes, the shape of the moving air a large, grotesque form. " Let my brother go!"

" D-damn it, Haru…RUN!" Toshiro bellowed with all of his remaining strength. Blood forced its way painfully out of his lungs, erupting from him in violent coughs, his life being crushed out of him. He squeezed his eyes closed in as the pain only seemed to increase. Suddenly, there was another roar from the beast, one of pain and fear, and the pressure was gone, relieving him of some of the pain. He forced his eyes to open, if only a small amount, to discover what happened, what saved him. He saw Haru hovering over him, crying and shouting his name, trying to get him to respond. He shifted his gaze passed him, seeing a man in black and white robes standing in front of the disappearing form of the monster, twin swords in his hands. His hair was long and as white as Toshiro's.

The man turned around, sorrowful brown eyes catching his gaze. " You can see me, can't you." It wasn't a question. " I'm sorry I didn't arrive sooner." The man closed his eyes in guilt, turning his face away.

A strange feeling came over Toshiro and the next thing he knew, he was standing above himself and his brother, a broken chain hanging from his chest. He felt no more pain. " What's going on?" He asked the man, not taking his eyes from his brother.

" You died. You are now a soul. I am a Soul Reaper and it is my job to send you to the Soul Society."

" Was it also your job to kill that monster?"

" It's called a Hollow. And yes, it is." The man walked closer to him. " My name is Jūshirō." Toshiro casted his cold gaze upon the white haired man in front of him. Sadness, anger, loss, and pain shown clearly in them. Not saying a word, he set his eyes back down onto his brother. " I will make sure he gets home safely."

" No. I will do it myself. Stay away from him. I'll go afterwards."

" But-" Jūshirō took a step closer to him.

" I said stay away!" Toshiro shouted, turning around angrily. The temperature began to drop, cold seeping rapidly into the air. Haru looked up from his brother's dead body, tears streaming from his eyes. Faintly, he could see a man in black and his brother standing over him, shimmering like frost.

He closed his eyes to blink, but when he opened them again, he was in his room, his father sitting in a chair beside him. His eyes were red, tear tracks still visible on his face. " Dad?" his voice was rough and cracked.

" Haru!" he surged to his feet, coming closer to him and grabbing him in an embrace. His tears started again.

" Dad…Toshiro…?" His father simply shook his head, not releasing him, a sob escaping his lips. Haru's eyes drifted over to his twin's bed where it laid empty at the other end of the room. Tears flooded his eyes. " He can't be…"

" I'm sorry, son. He's… He's gone…" His father hugged him tighter as Haru began to cry again.