II
The first thing that popped into Orihime's mind the moment they got close to the barren land near the edge of their small town was her brother. He used to spend a lot of time in the place, before and after his disappearance. The place was serene and despite its eeriness, contributed by the fact that it's also a burial ground, it was bizarrely inspiring. It was the perfect place to get creative and focus on delicate work.
The land was surrounded by a five feet high wall made of red bricks. Almost half of the surrounding wall though was non-existent, due to the bad weather from time to time and its lack of care. The iron wrought gates were covered with climbing plants and rust. Ichigo who walked ahead of Orihime pushed the gates and it creaked like a dying demon. It broke the silence and black birds came flying out from inside.
Orihime visits the grave once yearly, last year she was with Tatsuki but she didn't asked her this year because she remembered her saying that her job was slowly killing her, though she probably asked Ichigo because she wanted to be with him. She diverted her gaze from his back at the thought of it.
Several feet from the desolated building at the center of the cemetery was her brother's grave. A smooth flat stone was placed on top to mark its position with his name on it. The stone though was covered with weeds and dirt that one would miss it if they didn't knew about it. She crouched down and removed the obstruction then placed the flowers in a bottle on top of the stone. She inaudibly spent a couple of minutes to say something to her brother then she stood up.
"Thanks for coming with me here today" she gave her companion a coy smile. "and for the flowers"
"It's nothing" he replied as he turned his attention to the structure to his right. "Inoue, your brother used to stay here a lot right?"
"He did" She started to walk towards the almost fallen structure. The front part looks intact but the side walls got holes and half the roof has already fallen. The glass on top of the wooden double doors was broken and the doorway was covered with plants. "Would you like to go inside?" she looked over her shoulders as she reached the doors.
"It's probably a dump in there" he replied but followed her anyway.
She pushed the doors which opened easily. She too expected a dump but to her surprise it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. The last time she's been there was on his brother's second death anniversary. After that she didn't bothered going in that place anymore. "It doesn't look that bad"
"You're right" Ichigo said as she walked in ahead of her. There were also some plants growing here and there, puddles of water, moss and rusted old things. The fallen parts of the wall also scattered on the floor. His eyes traveled to the tables and shelves that line the walls. It looked dusty and some things were grimy but most of the things were intact.
Inoue ran her hands over the armrest of benches which lined both sides of the aisle in the middle of the building. Her fingers got damp and instantly covered with dirt. The thick fabric that covered the aisle was already crumbling and its original color was almost unidentifiable. As she reached the last bench before the podium, she stopped and sat down. She took in the details left on the stained glass window which gave the dull wall some life. In front of the tall arched window was a simple item made of wood. If her memory served her right, it was called a crucifix. She shifted her gaze to the man who just sat next to her. He too studied the things in front of them.
"Before" she spoke and the silence shattered as her voice echoed, amplifying it. "people has something they called religion"
"Huh?" Ichigo directed his attention to her. "I heard my old man talk about that a couple of times but I don't get it"
Looking ahead of her she continued. "A religion was something that gave people something to believe in and it gave them a set of rules to follows, as well as the punishments they would receive for breaking the rules."
"Something to believe in? You mean like…" he paused and thought of something. "like believing that the rain would stop the next morning or believing that someone wouldn't die?"
"I'm not sure but based on what I read and what my brother explained to me, people used to believe in higher powers. Like beings from the sky or somewhere from space" she chuckled. "I thought it was funny at first and then I realized as I learnt more that this religion humans created became a foundation of their life. It acted like a guiding principle for them. Brother told me though that a lot of chaos was caused by this religion though." She placed a finger on her lower lip and tapped it a couple of times as she thought. "Actually there weren't only one religion, there were many of them and people can choose what to believe in"
"Is that so? Now that I think about it, the reason why the old man spoke of religion before was because there was this group of humans who refuse to stay in towns because they didn't want to be surrounded by non-believers of their religion."
"It makes me wonder though. How can something so important to humans be forgotten just like that? We no longer have this so called religions but we still are thought with the morals that originated by them. What made us decide to dissolve these beliefs?"
"I don't know the answer to that but maybe this religion was no longer useful or maybe it failed its purpose." Ichigo stood up.
"My brother told me that the higher being we worshipped involved gods, angels and spirits. And he told me that the only thing we held on to in those beliefs was the idea of the devil." Orihime stood up as well.
"They exist alright and sadly these devils are in form of humans as well, if not Neo-humans"
"If we believe in the existence of darkness then why don't we believe on the opposite of it" she walked towards the center of the aisle, the light strained by the stained glass bathed her. "Sometimes I think that it would be better for us to believe in something again. I mean just for the sake of uplifting everyone's spirits. Probably believing that there is still hope for something better in the future wouldn't be bad." She placed her arm behind her to grab the other lightly. "Truth be said sometimes it scares me how horrible people can get but I want to believe in the goodness of their heart…" she stopped as soon as she felt a firm grip on her shoulder. She looked up and saw his smiling face.
"I'm glad that I know one less horrible person in this town. Times are tough, so people have to be too. I was never one to read books too much but I know the basics of our history. With the situation humans are in right now, I understand why we stopped trying to regain what we have lost at some point. But you are right, we should still believe that we have hope"
"Kurosaki…" she muttered then returned his smile.
~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~
It was the tenth time that the dark skinned woman, driving a sleek black high velocity car, checked the mirror. Her amber eyes studied the emotionless face of the impossibly pale man sitting behind her. It's been hours since they started their journey to the outskirts but not a word was spoken by the man or neither did his emotion changed. She looked ahead and reached for her pass as they reached the gates of Zone 8. Around ten feet away from the gates she raised her pass in front of her to be inspected by an automatic scanner which isn't visible to anyone. When the pass is accepted the vehicles would be allowed through the gates but if it isn't the vehicle would be shut down instantly by an electromagnetic shot and would be pulled aside for inspection. Luckily she never had problems with passing through the gates, she had an A class pass which gave her access onto all the gates. Upon passing the gates, the driver turned to her best pal who sat next to her.
"Kisuke what's his deal? He neither talks nor moves. Even robots got more life than him." She took another glance at the mirror hoping to see some reaction since the topic shifted to him but there was none. She wasn't a faint heart and fear is a stain at the last page of her dictionary but she admits that the man behind them was oozing with some sort of darkness she can't point her finger at and it made her skin crawl the moment they met.
The shop keeper smiled. "He's just not much of a talker"
There was a while of silence.
Ulquiorra turned his attention to the vast nothingness outside. Night was at its peak and not even the light from the moon can quench the darkness in the area. In the distance his eyes caught a short row of white lights, peaking out like stars on land. He concluded that it must belong to the scarce dwelling in the area which is far from the road they were taking. It made him wonder what the outskirts would be like then. Las Noches, up to Zone 7, was gleaming with life but the last three after that is dawdling in insipidness. It was sand, dirt, quartz trees and tumbleweeds made of crystals all over. He knows though that there is more to this than it appears. He remembered talks about a vast facility beneath Zone 8 to 10. There were no proofs to the gossip but he was sure that there is something underneath the desert. Las Noches is the capital city of the world, which is now known as Hueco Mundo as a whole, and so those from the upper tier wouldn't waste a space like this.
"So, Ulquiorra" Kisuke glanced at him from the mirror. "How about Yoruichi and I start briefing you with the basics in the outskirts?"
"Go ahead." He muttered.
Yoruichi glanced at the man and for the first time since they started the journey she caught him moving. He nodded and leaned back but that was all. As Kisuke started talking it was as if he returned to his rigid self.
~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~
Sitting in the middle of her room, in her night clothes after a long warm shower, Orihime looked out her window. The moonlight graced her window, reason why she turned off the light in her room. It was beautiful and it put her into the mood to do some experimenting. Beside her was a box containing her brother's belongings and research, half of them she doesn't understand. She reached inside and pulled out a leather journal, its pages were yellow but it was still in perfect condition. She snapped the lock open and slowly turned its pages. Upon arriving at the entry she was looking for she stopped and placed the journal down. With her eyes she read the entry which she knew quite well already.
She did it again today. I can't believe my own eyes. I'm overwhelmed with this discovery that it scares me. But no, I shouldn't be scared. She's my sister. The only one I have and I love her with every cell in my body. I have to learn more about her abilities, that way when the time comes I could help her with whatever problems they may cause. Am I right though to ask her to not use them? That is for the best at the moment….I guess.
After the short entry she turned the pages then stopped once more. She felt a pang in her heart as she laid her eyes on the last entry her brother made before he disappeared.
Tomorrow I'll start my journey to Las Noches. I heard from some of the groups outside the town that humans can slip in there. That place is the center for knowledge and I might find answers there. I admit that I'm doing it selfishly just to feed by curiosity but this should be worth it. I'm surprised that I don't feel even a tiny bit of fear when I'd be venturing in their territory. My only chance of getting in there is if I find a way myself. Waiting for the next Neo-human to waltz into town to pick a toy isn't an option. I have to go now. Orihime would be scared but she's tough. Tatsuki and her mother would take good care of her. Again I told her not to tell anyone or use her power. She's curious about it but I can't risk anyone knowing. Who knows what they'd do to her.
Orihime then quickly turned to the last few pages of the journal. There were random notes written in different ink colors. Some she can easily read while others were written in haste. She focused though on the list with read bullets on the side. It was a list of instances when she managed to materialize her, whatever it is to be considered. Her brother said that it was a gift she should treasure, she believes him but she wonders if it was a curse at the same time. She was told not to let anyone know and she wouldn't but she can't help but use it. She was curious and since it was a part of her she wanted to know more about it. She wouldn't want to be a stranger to herself.
Grabbing the dead plant in a small colorful pot next to her, she raised both her hand and concentrated. In her mind she wished for the plant to live. At first it doesn't seem to work but as frustration crept in an orange flash of light appeared and it covered the plant. Life was breathed into the wilted stem and dead leaves. She can't help but smile at her handiwork. She never had control of it in the past but as she experimented with her abilities she slowly got the hang of it. Just like her brother it astounded her but scared her as well. The smile on her face was then wiped and her lips twisted into a frown. Before she knew it hot tears rolled down her cheeks, dropping on her knees.
She remembered that time when her brother returned from Las Noches. That day she went to the cemetery to check on the laboratory. As she opened the door she saw him sitting on a one of the bench, unmindful to her presence. Quickly she ran to him and hugged him tightly, even cried on his arms but he didn't responded. It was after she shook him hard that his eyes moved to her and as if realization kicked in he hugged her back. He was back but he wasn't the same. A year after that he died in a shooting by a group of anarchist from outside of their town. At that time she still has no solid knowledge about what her powers could do. It was a year after he died that she decided to go through some of his things and that's when she learnt that he was able to come up with theories about her ability and he has two conclusions, time reversal or rejection. The fact that she could do either pained her. If she knew earlier she could've prevented him from dying but she stopped nagging herself about that. Despite her brother's research she still doesn't know the extent of her power and she's never tried it on anyone in fear that she might end up hurting them.
Orihime wiped her tears with the back of her hand and took a deep breath. She returned the journal to the box then stood up to return it to the shelf. She forgot about the pot on the floor and tripped, sending the box flying from her hands and its content scattered on the floor. She safely landed on her knees and hands. When she got over the shock she slowly sat up and writhed her wrist to check if it got sprained, luckily it wasn't. She then started crawling towards the items that spilt from the box.
She froze. Under the pale moon light, just an arm length from her was an almost realistic sketch. It was made by black ink and the lines were rough but decent enough to create a disturbing image of something that exist not even in her wildest dreams. She's never seen it before; it must've been stuck in between the papers. She can discern that it was her brother who made it, probably from the time when he seemed unstable. She reached for the slightly crisp piece of paper and looked at it closer. She wasn't sure what to make of the sketch in her hands but with all its darkness something stood out to her, which breathed life into the sketch. The green pair of eyes that stared back at her.
~~~o~~~o~~~o~~~
The outskirts of Las Noches was a wasteland with mountains of old and forgotten things. The origins of the garbage can be traced back from the time when Las Noches was developing on full speed. The air in the area was can't even be compared to that of the inner districts. It has a distinct stench of rotten, moldy and burning. No wonder why it was this secluded. It was supposed to be noon but the wasteland was as dark as late afternoon. In a distant there was smoke coming from houses made from scraps. Even from where they were standing they can feel presence of other beings, lurking behind the items whose names are already wiped from the new dictionaries of their kind. These beings are those who were shunned from the bright lights of Las Noches for various reasons. The environment of the outskirts was harsh and it would speak of its inhabitants as well.
"Well" The store owner closed his fan and crossed his arms. "I believe our paths shall part here"
Ulquiorra turned to the man and the woman who stood next to the black vehicle which was covered by some cloth that made it blend well to its background, giving an effect of invisibility. "It will and as promised I won't breathe a word about your involvement in this."
Yoruichi snickered. "I don't mind getting into some trouble"
"It's boring, yes. But I know this isn't the kind of trouble we would want to involve ourselves in my dear" Kisuke smirked.
"I shall be on my way" Ulquiorra turned from the two and started on the next leg of his journey alone.
Yoruichi and Kisuke watched him as he disappeared into the dark path that leads deeper into the city of waste. He was walking exactly the same way he did when he strolled into Kisuke's shop in Zone 5, bold but not in any kind of haste. It seems like he added despair and emptiness in the already glum landscape. In his dark outfit, pale skin and blank face, he was like death making his way to the next soul to be devoured.
"Are you sure it's alright to let him go?" the woman unfolded her arms under her chest and stood straight up.
"Yes. I find no reason why I won't help him in his small request" replied the man as he lifted the metal cylindrical capsule next to him. "Besides even if I refused to help him, he'd find a way out. Also I'm interested with how things would work out for him"
"What is he anyway? I'm sure he's not one of us but it's impossible for him to be human either." Kisuke started walking and she followed.
"You're right. He isn't either. He is something they created but doesn't want to let live as well. He's a Vasto Lorde" he looked at his companion over his shoulder with a knowing smile.
Note: And that was chapter 2. Don't hesitate to leave your thoughts about the story. Looking forward to hear from you guys!
