Secret of the Moon
Yoruichi on Byakuya
Different or the same, it doesn't really matter with Byakuya.
Set around chapter 119 (Secret of the Moon)
Short one.

When we were young, I was jealous of you. All of being a noble came easily to you: the politely interested face, the noble bearing, the authority. I didn't have that. I would fight for it, for the praise you received. Or at least, I did at first.

I don't know when I realised how ridiculous it all was. Although you had what we were both supposed to, I managed fine without it. Maybe better than you. While I had to fight to achieve that mask, you had to fight for other things. I was the one with friends, who could open up. You were the noble – cold, aloof, and friendless. I gained trust and loyalty out of love. You gained loyalty out of duty. And while your subordinates could trust you to watch their back in battle, your misguided sense of justice led you to try to execute you own sister.

Is it a surprise that we ended up so different?

Yes, when I was young I envied you. No longer. What started as a habit - a skill you were praised for - is now so ingrained it takes a conscious effort to drop the façade.

How many people know you, Byakuya-kun? Sometimes I wonder if there's anything left under that mask of the kid you were.

And all the times we played tag, and you never caught me. It was the one thing I excelled at, the one thing our elders praised me for.

All of that was years ago. These days the only tag we engage in is deadly serious, and I know you would kill me if you could. Not because you want to, but because of your orders.

Duty. That was another thing we disagreed on. You saw it as responsibility - to your superiors. I saw it as that, but more importantly as a responsibility to others - my subordinates, my friends, my family, they all came first, before my orders.

We've grown so apart through the years, and our chosen paths will not bring us back to the friendly rivalry we shared as children. We are too different. Maybe we could mend this rift - maybe. But it would take more effort than either of us would be willing to put into it. And by the time you realise you're wrong and turn around, start following your heart and not your sense of duty, I will have too much of a head start. I'm not planning on turning around, or stopping and waiting. I'm too far away.

We used to play tag, and you never could catch me. That hasn't changed.

You can't catch me now.

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I don't really think Yoruichi is the sort of person who would spend a long time angsting, so she doesn't.

I am planning for there to be about eight to ten chapters in this.

I'm going to try to post one a week, but that may be difficult.

The character selection will be the characters in each chapter, as I post it. That may or may not make sense to you.