Unfinished Gems

Soul Brothers - 15

Ulquiorra.

Yoru knew, without a doubt, what the Arrancar truly was. He wasn't a mere hollow, as the others believed him to be. Nor was he as cruel as he made himself out to be. There was a reason why Yoru had spared him when they fought.

He came back to the present when the soutaicho appeared. The stage was set, and Yoru prepared to keep them away while Toshiro finally settled their battle.

Kusaka wanted him to use his bankai, but Toshiro didn't want that.

Before they could be attacked by their own, Ichigo and Rukia finally came.

Toshiro never intended to be on Kusaka's side. He crossed blades with his former friend.

Rukia watched with understanding.

Kusaka had devoted himself to the soul society...but because he shared the same blade as his best friend, he was forced to fight. He was killed by the people he tried to serve, without even having a fair chance.

Toshiro blamed himself for Kusaka's death, and had never let it go even after all these years. So when Kusaka returned, intending to rule, he felt like he had no choice but to fight the man.

But in order to do that, he would have to go rogue and find him. Even if it meant he would have to die at the end.

Yoru would never let Toshiro die at the hands of the soul society. He had one ace up his sleeve that he hoped he would never have to use.

A few weeks after becoming a captain, he had looked up himself out of boredom.

It was then that he found out he wasn't who he believed he was at all.

Yoruichi had known, and kept it from him. He didn't blame her, because the knowledge of what his soul really was could have ruined his peaceful life in an instant.

~

Kusaka raised the Ouin. He was going to release most of its power using his bankai, which he couldn't control. If he couldn't control it, he was going to destroy the soul society.

He sliced the Ouin into uneven halves.

Yoru felt the pulsing grow stronger, but remained standing. The Ouin had tested him all those years ago, to see if he was worthy of its power.

And here he was, preparing to accept it.

Ichigo stood before Toshiro, protecting him slightly.

"Don't try to shoulder the burden all alone! Your pain, your resolve...Share then with us!"

"I'm no longer a captain..."

Yoru snorted.

"Toshiro, do you truly believe even for a second that we would accept you going rogue so easily? Matsumoto and the others...they still accept you as their captain," said Yoru.

Ichigo added his two bits by giving Toshiro a much needed whack to the head.

"You've tried to endure this all alone...Have you thought about others and how that makes them feel?"

Yoru remembered the pain of Masaki's death. He suspected it was the catalyst that had started everything. Her death was the one event which could explain how Ichigo and Yoru switched souls for four years.

How, he had no idea, but he would find out someday.

"I know someone like you, who couldn't depend on others. I realized he was the weakest of all!"

It was then that Toshiro finally heard the voices of those who still cared about him. His squad.

"Get ready, Kurosaki. He's coming."