Protecting Childhood

…

Autumn leaves sprinkled the ground around them. Young Toshiro grinned crazily while spinning amongst them. Katashi laughed as the brightly colored leaves lodged themselves in his younger brother's spiky black tufts of hair. The two of them were only children. Loving life and these magical moments was all they knew.

Off to the side, their mother, father, and Mr. Ukitake sat and talked about grown-up things. Occasionally, chuckles would fill the air due to the antics of the two. Peace. Harmony.

"Daddy!" Toshiro cried, running towards their father. He held a bright red leaf in his hands. He held it out towards his father, crying, "Look!"

"It's very nice," his father complimented. He rubbed his child's head. The boy ran off giggling.

"Katashi," Toshiro called, "do you see those leaves up there?"

"Yes, I see them," Katashi answered, brightly colored eyes locking onto the vibrant bunch not even a foot above his head.

"Bet you I can reach them," Toshiro challenged.

"You're too small," Katashi pointed out.

"Am not!" Toshiro huffed indignantly. With his mind set, the small boy began to jump to reach the patch. He was on his fifteenth jump when his patience began to wear down. Right before he was about to give up, the ground seemed to shake beneath his feet. Several of the bright leaves tumbled down. He picked one up and stared at it curiously. The ground moved again.

"Earthquake!" his mother cried. "Quick, children, get out into the field."

Katashi nodded and grabbed Toshiro's hand, dragging the boy along behind him. They left the adults behind them. More tremors followed. Staying upright was near impossible. Dark clouds filled the skies overhead. Katashi heard Toshiro's terrified little whimpers beside him.

"Where are Mommy and Daddy?" the small child asked.

"They will come quickly," Katashi assured.

The field opened in front of them. There was nothing around that could crush them. That did not stop the shaking from bringing them to the ground. Toshiro gripped Katashi tightly as they waited on their knees. Their parents were not here yet.

Screaming pierced the air. The darkness grew heavier. It pressed all around them. Toshiro's sobs became louder. They were helpless.

This continued for nearly an hour. Neither of them moved. Finally, in the distance, a white-haired figure appeared. The two immediately ran to Mr. Ukitake. The man laid a heavy hand on each of their shoulders. "Children," he said, "your mother has requested that I bring you to my home for a short while."

"Why?" Katashi asked.

Ukitake's brown eyes filled with remorse. "This will be a hard thing to hear. I am not sure if you are ready for it yet."

"We will find out soon enough," Katashi ordered.

"Very well," Ukitake responded mournfully. "Katashi, Toshiro, you father has just passed away. The tree fell and crushed him. I am sorry."

Tears began to well up in Toshiro's eyes again. He began to sob against Ukitake. Katashi simply looked dumb-stuck, as if he couldn't comprehend this. Ukitake bent down and wrapped his arms around both of them. They, at least, were safe.

…

Seasons changed and time passed. The boys grew older.

"Toshiro, where are you going?" Katashi asked.

"Outside," the young boy answered simply.

Katashi shook his head. "You have such a bizarre passion for the snow."

"Will you come out with me?"

Katashi paused, but his hesitation ended as soon as those big, hopeful blue-green eyes were set on him. "Yes," he agreed.

Toshiro cheered and bolted out the door. Katashi followed slowly afterward. He sat in the yard to watch the small child frolic. A strange sensation picked up. Its presence was followed by Toshiro's shouts of "Uncle Ukitake!"

The white-haired man smiled gently. "Enjoying the snow, are you, Toshiro?"

The little boy nodded gleefully. Ukitake moved to stand beside Katashi. The elder brother's eyes did not let the younger out of his sight for one instance. There was no telling how much trouble that one could get into.

"I heard that you will be turning fourteen soon," Ukitake conversed.

"My age is not of importance," Katashi answered.

"I will admit, you are particularly mature for your years," Ukitake said.

The black-haired teen's disturbingly piercing eyes glanced toward him for barely a second. He answered, "I am the oldest male in the house now. Someone must take responsibility."

"How is Toshiro?" Ukitake questioned.

"Ask him yourself," Katashi answered. "He seems to be listening to every word we have spoken."

Indeed, the little boy had stopped playing in favor of following the conversation. His small hands now hung limply over the snow. Suddenly, he stood and began to run.

"Toshiro!" Katashi called, chasing after the child.

Toshiro ran among the frosted trees, weaving through a complicated path that would be difficult to track. Strange noises trailed behind him. His feet moved faster. Finally, his young body gave out and he collapsed at the base of a tree. His head fell into his arms as he curled up. Tears soon began to fall uncontrollably.

He'd tried to push the memories away, to be strong like Katashi, but he couldn't. His father's last moments played like a broken record. At least out here, Katashi would not see him crying. His older brother wouldn't know how weak he was. After all, it was his brother who'd been crushed beneath the burdens of responsibility and maturity, him whose personality had shifted into being so solemn because of it. Yet, Toshiro was the one sobbing his eyes out. He could never be as brave as Katashi.

Two minutes of this passed before a dark feeling started to well up in his chest. Toshiro looked up fearfully only to see shadows playing amongst the trees. He backed up further against the tree as he began to hear them. They were getting closer.

"Toshiro!" Katashi's voice screamed. Suddenly, the teen broke through the clearing and the shadows fled. Toshiro ran into the older brother's arms and hugged him tightly around the waist. Carefully, Katashi scooped the younger one's feet off the ground and proceeded to carry him home. Wetness bled through the fabric on his shoulder. Katashi let Toshiro cry; let him be the child Katashi could no longer be. If there was anything Katashi would fight for, it was his brother's right to that.

…

Toshiro woke up in sweat, but he wasn't sure if it was from the nightmares or the heat. The darkness of night still permeated everything. He sat up in the guest room bed, thinking of going to get some water, when a knock on the door sounded. He was confused, of course, because of the time, but then realized that it was probably Urahara coming back and maybe he'd just bumped into the wood. The knocking came again. Did he lock himself out?

Rising to investigate, Toshiro crept down the hall. He heard the door being opened. Voices filtered over. He listened carefully.

"It's the middle of the night, Kurosaki," Ulquiorra stated. "What do you want?"

"I-"

"Keep your voice down. Toshiro is still asleep," Ulquiorra ordered.

Toshiro finally made it to the end of the hall and decided to hide around the corner. He could sense Kurosaki's irritation. Something was going on.

"Ditch the gigai and get out here quick," Ichigo hissed. "Your friends have returned."

"Friends?" Ulquiorra asked. The air suddenly became full of tension.

"If you put the gigai in your room, Toshiro will still think you're asleep in case he wakes up," Ichigo suggested. "Make sure he doesn't come along."

Toshiro had to quickly dive into the closest room available in order to avoid Ulquiorra seeing him. He stayed impeccably still, reigning in his reiatsu completely. He went unnoticed. Ulquiorra hurried back to the door.

"Come on," Ichigo said. "The Gargantua is right across town."

…

For the sole reason that he shouldn't come along, Toshiro came along.

The word "Gargantua" was warning enough. He knew this must have something to do with Hollows, but not quite sure what Kurosaki meant by "friends." It could have possibly been a derogatory term used in order to refer to the Hollow race as a whole, which would not have been a bad guess considering both the increase in Hollow activity and Ichigo's blatant distrust of Ulquiorra.

So, a mass Hollow invasion. Toshiro turned that over in his mind. It would have to be very bad for Kurosaki to request Ulquiorra's help instead of simply charging in as he always did. However, why would Kurosaki not want Toshiro there? Why go to Ulquiorra first? If this theory was true, then the only reasons could have been that either the two did not want him to get hurt (what an insane notion) or there was something there that Kurosaki knew Katashi would not want him to witness.

What was the big secret?

Toshiro began to grow aggravated. For all he knew, this tied in with Ukitake's presence as well. From his point of view, it was as if everyone was treading on glass around him. He wasn't a kid. He'd been a Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads for a while and had seen and experienced much in his time. Whatever they thought he couldn't handle, he was going to find out.

Meanwhile, Ulquiorra's mind was narrowing its focus. Familiar reiasu were spiking up in the distance. He could identify all of them. The Gargantua was in plain sight. Kurosaki was silent beside him.

"Who else have you alerted about this?" Ulquiorra questioned.

"Only Rukia," Ichigo responded. "I told her to make sure no one else gets close to this place."

"You do not want your friends to be hurt," Ulquiorra noted.

"For the same reason I know you wouldn't want Toshiro coming," Ichigo replied.

Ulquiorra fell silent after that.

The duo raced the rest of the way to the portal. Four figures stood in front of it, clearly defined. They were waiting.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo demanded.

The only answer was for Grimmjow to charge at Ulquiorra while Kaeliel, Ira, and Ari watched stoically. Ulquiorra threw up his blade in front of him, blocking Grimmjow's strike. The full force of the blue-haired former Espada pushed against him. Ulquiorra broke away and managed to free a hand. He brought it to his face as if he'd been injured, but the hard downward motion of it caused alert.

As he moved, half of a bone helmet formed.

Ulquiorra had restored his Arrancar abilities.