8

Destruction of Secrets

…

Heavy, harsh breathing. Tossing…turning…trembling. Toshiro's whole being was shaking from the negative effects of the inside of his mind. He looked to be in pain.

…

"Run, Toshiro!" Katashi screamed, his own face panicked and terrified.

The little boy's feet were frozen in place.

"Run!"

Dense pressure surrounded him, made him drop to his knees. Why couldn't he move?

A great shadow appeared. Katashi stared straight at it. Then, the older brother was…flying. The shadow had picked him up off the ground, crushing him within a black claw. The world turned to static. The body dropped. The bones were crushed, the neck at an awkward angle. Teal eyes and tear streaks…

…

Ulquiorra's eyes widened at the sudden influx of energy. "This reiatsu," he said. "It's Toshiro's."

Before another word could be spoken, he was freed of the gigai and out the door. Ichigo followed shortly after him.

"Go home and protect Karin," Ulquiorra ordered. "With Toshiro's reiatsu at this level, it is only a matter of time before a Hollow shows up."

Ichigo nodded and took off in another direction. Ulquiorra headed back to Ukitake's apartment as fast as he could, blurring into sonido. He only slowed down upon entering the building. Again, there was only silence. Katashi burst into Toshiro's room.

It was the same as last time.

Ulquiorra kneeled by his brother's side and began to shake his shoulder. The boy didn't wake up. Instead, he went into a spasm.

The boy was turning as white as the man himself.

"Open your eyes," Ulquiorra said quietly. His fingers gently reached for Toshiro's arm. Focusing, he projected some of his own reiatsu. Toshiro's eyes snapped open. He pushed himself upward, breathing unsteady, staring at his blanket-covered knees.

He was shaking.

"It seems as if I am not the only one hiding things," Ulquiorra said. "How long has this been happening?"

No answer.

"Please speak to me."

Then, so quiet he could barely hear it, "…Why should I?"

"It is obvious that something is troubling you," Ulquiorra pointed out. "The nightmares seem to have gotten worse. Are they memories?"

Toshiro folded his arms and placed his head on top of them. He wouldn't look at his older brother. "I don't know."

The patter of rain began to thunder outside.

"You were letting off extensive amounts of reiatsu," Ulquiorra stated.

"Leave me alone," Toshiro protested.

"Toshiro," Ulquiorra reprimanded.

"Just go away!" Toshiro's head snapped toward him, eyes burning with emotion.

Ulquiorra stared back at him levelly. "I will not."

It was even worse than he had thought. The memories were becoming so strong that they were beginning to pull Toshiro back into their depths. The personality of his childhood was reemerging, breaking into his present life. For once, Ulquiorra was at a loss of what to do.

So he tried what would have worked all those years ago.

Ulquiorra slowly reached out a hand and ruffled Toshiro's hair. The man made an awkward attempt at a smile. Toshiro looked at him in shock.

"Toshiro," Ulquiorra said, "I think it is time we fully discuss this."

…

The rain. Karin stared wide-eyed at it from the front door of the Kurosaki house. Despite common sense, she stepped outside, letting the droplets hit her bare skin. They were cold, almost like snow. She closed her eyes and tilted her face toward the stormy sky. This feeling…it was familiar.

It felt like Toshiro.

Her breathing slowed and became calm until it was almost like she was asleep. She hated the cold and the rain. She lived for the heat and the sun. So why…?

The air suddenly became as heavy as lead. Karin's knees shook and she collapsed onto the hard pavement. Her calm breathing became labored. A shrill cry split the air.

A Hollow.

Karin struggled to stand. She couldn't lie around if one of those monsters was about to show up! But the pressure was becoming stronger. She looked up. A white mask stared back at her hungrily. It was all she could do not to scream.

Scrambling backward, she felt energy rise within her. Reiatsu, Toshiro had called it. It pulsed through her veins just as naturally as adrenalin. She took a deep breath and stood. The creature looked at her quizzically. Then, it grinned.

Karin dodged a split second before its teeth would have bitten off her left arm. She took off down the street, away from her sleeping sister and father. That burning warmth rebelled inside her, begging to be let out. She felt it dancing along her fingertips.

The Hollow roared, stomping its foot against the pavement. The ground shook beneath her feet, forcing her to drop onto it. As she stared up at the monster that could easily bring her death, there was a flash in her obsidian eyes. Determination. Before she could think about what she was doing, Karin held her hands out in front of her face. Everything caged within her, the frustration, the energy, the heated power…she let her grip on it slip. If it wanted out so badly, she'd let it go already!

The creature screamed in agony as the red blast of energy sprang forth from the girl's fingers and made contact with its shoulder. Blood spurted fourth in a gory fountain. Karin watched in morbid fascination, her vision beginning to go black. A headache pounded against her skull. Was that all she had in her? How could she be so…so helplessly weak?

Now the Hollow was angry. It leered down at her, raising one mighty claw to the sky like an executioner's ax. She blinked blearily. No…

The next thing she saw was the shocked look on the Hollow's masked face as a sword ripped through its head. The beast disintegrated. Karin, with the scarce few strands of her remaining conscious, tried to look at her savior.

"Toshiro?" she whispered.

A frowning face came into view, accompanied by bright orange hair. "Karin!" Ichigo shouted. "Are you alright?" He scooped her off the ground. "Look, I know you hate me right now, but please tell me if you're okay."

She stared up at his worried face. Her jaw trembled. Unable to contain it any longer, Karin gripped her brother's shihakusho with shaking fingers and buried her face deep in its black fabric. She didn't cry-she refused to-but she also didn't complain when Ichigo wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"Karin," he whispered, "I'm so sorry."

She wasn't sure if he heard her mumble, "I know."

…

"Hey, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked.

"Mmm?" the cheery girl responded.

"Why do you hang around with that guy so much?"

Orihime blinked blankly at her friend. "Well, we do work together and…"-Orihime couldn't stop the soft, sad smile from coming to her lips-"I guess I feel bad for him. I know I shouldn't because he was never exactly nice to me, but he didn't even understand what a heart was and that was so horrible. Still, I think he was trying to all along. He was just so lost, sort of like a puppy." She giggled at her comparison. However, her giggles soon gave way to a heavier emotion. "Then he was just gone, but now he's back and he's changing and I-I want to be there for him."

Tatsuki sighed and shook her head at her friend's rambling. "Orihime…"

The hard-edged girl was cut off by a suffocating force. She gritted her teeth. Next to her, Orihime gasped. A Hollow! No sooner had this thought come to her mind than there was a vicious beast snarling in front of them.

"Tatsuki, run!" Orihime cried, hands flying to hairpins. "Kanten Z-"

Orihime never got to finish that command. More so, she never needed to. Tatsuki's foot rammed into the monster's mask. A long crack tore through the bone surface. A swiftly delivered a punch finished the job. The creature gave one final roar before vanishing. Orihime stared in outright shock as her best friend-the girl who'd always been there, who was like a sister to her-killed a Hollow with nothing but her non-weapon-wielding body.

"Tatsu…ki…" Orihime whispered.

The unsuspected warrior whirled around. A grin split her face. "What, did you think I was laying back while you were off in that creepy Hollows' world? I've been fighting these things ever since you guys left. Urahara taught me."

"But what if you get hurt?" Orihime protested. "I would never forgive myself!"

Tatsuki looked at her in disbelief. "You could get hurt just as easily, Orihime. I wouldn't forgive myself if that happened."

Tears began to form in Orihime's eyes. She rushed forward and wrapped Tatsuki in a suffocating hug. "Oh, Tatsuki."

Tatsuki didn't speak, just smiled. The concrete walls of secrets were being torn down. It was a type of destruction she couldn't help but love.

…

Thank you to my chapter 7 reviewers: -SoManyUpsAndDowns- and Hatsune-chan. You guys made my day(s).

As of now, I have a grand total of 10 reviews. (Just a little under the 108 I managed to earn from Like Brothers, not that I'm complaining.) I guess this is what I get for writing the sequel a year later.

As a side note, I recently posted a one-shot called First Strike. It's a companion piece to this. Check it out if you feel like it, ignore it if you don't.

Also, changing the title. It will become Like Strangers from now on.

That's all.