Heyyyy everyone... *looks around nervously*. I'm really sorry that this is almost three weeks later than I intended. Work kind of gets in the way of writing, plus I'm slowly trying to watch Naruto Shippuuden again in order for me to get back into that fandom properly - plot and all - for my other story I have on the go. That one is taking even longer to update for, but it's really hard to write for something when you can't get the characters to feel like the characters and you can't even remember key plot points in the series.
That's what I love about this story: I don't have to worry about fudging up the time line because it's set somewhere else entirely. Nobody can wave a pitch fork and declare that my chronology is flawed, so I'm not under as much pressure I suppose. That being said, I'm pressuring myself as I write this piece because I know the world and it's quirks, so I don't want to make any critical errors that will haunt me later on.
More things are happening in this, I think, and more will happen in the next chapter. It's over 5000 words to make up for lateness, without being grossly long and tedious, I hope. Next chapter should be around the same sort of length and should be up next weekend. Should be.
Please leave me feedback in case I made any grammar/spelling errors and just drop me a line to let me know what you think. Love it, hate it, whatever you feel is fine with me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or anything related to that manga/anime. I only borrow the characters and terms for the purposes of fanfiction, which doesn't pay a thing back in return. Yohlis and all things associated are mine, so don't use unless you want to wind up with your head on backwards. ^-^
Words: 5,267
Resonating Souls
Chapter 6: Monsters
"Oh wow, what's that Tsanoku-san?"
"W-wait! Don't touch that Orihime!"
A high-pitched scream echoed through the thick forest and Tsanoku flinched in empathy for all the other sentient beings within earshot of it. Orihime's orange locks disappeared behind a tree to Tsanoku's right and he sighed when he saw the toxic moth slowly move to follow her. There was little chance that the fuzzy purple giant insect would catch up with her, for they flew exceedingly poorly and sometimes took days to travel across the forests, but Tsanoku still removed his sword from the scabbard and strode towards the insect.
He could see Ulquiorra watching the creature with a little curiosity, and based on Orihime's reactions to just about everything they'd encountered so far, he resolved to explain his world to them as soon as he took care of the moth. The last thing he needed was Orihime touching a poisonous flower because she thought it was pretty, because he had no antidotes on hand to heal her if she did.
She's worse than my sister was when she first arrived in Farris.
Tsanoku reached the moth in a few steps and he took a moment to silently apologise to the insect for having to kill it. He didn't want to, but once a moth became angered by another animal – or human in Orihime's case – it would follow that being until it eventually caught up with them, forgoing rest or anything that would slow it down. At some point, all living things had to stop to sleep, so the moth would use that opportunity to sneak up on its enemy and bite the unsuspecting animal. Their bite was where the 'toxic' in their names came from, for the instant you were bitten by a toxic moth the venom would flow through your body and attack both the brain and the heart. The deaths of people and animals bitten by a moth were always painful, slow and incurable.
There was a time where people from Farris, as well as the surrounding villages in the area, would actively hunt and kill the moths to eliminate that threat, but some researchers put a stop to that sport when it was discovered that the toxic moths mostly fed on a much smaller pest – fungi roaches. These little insects destroyed many kinds of vegetation, including the mottle-weed that Farreanian's loved so much. If the moths died out, then so would crops and eventually the people would suffer too. After this came to light, it was decreed that nobody would disturb a toxic moth – or kill one – unless there was very little choice. They were a necessary evil that humans would have to learn to live with.
I'm sorry about this, big guy.
The toxic moth was just crossing in front of Tsanoku, its large fuzzy body equal to the size of the young man's head, its wings buzzing furiously just to keep it afloat, when he swung his sword vertically and cut it clean in half. All at once the buzzing ceased and the two halves of the insect landed a couple of feet away in the soil. Black blood coated Tsanoku's blade, causing him to grimace, so he approached the nearest patch of grass and cleaned the offending mess off as best as he could.
That's going to stain. Moth blood always does, no matter how thorough you are.
He looked over to the treeline where Orihime had fled, and saw her orange head peak out from behind a large oak.
"Is it dead, Tsanoku-san?"
He grinned at the nervous girl and waved his hand vaguely in the general direction of both halves, "See for yourself, Orihime."
The bright-haired teen shuffled out from her hiding spot and edged closer to Tsanoku. She peered over his shoulder and blinked when her eyes took in the bisected insectoid. Strangely, she began to tear up and Tsanoku started to think that perhaps Orihime was marginally insane. Why cry over a dead insect? He couldn't begin to understand her mind – frankly he was a little too scared to.
"Erm, are you alright Orihime?"
Orihime backed away from Tsanoku's personal space, swallowed and hastily wiped up her tears before they could properly fall. She gave the older boy a nod and said, "I'm fine, just sad that it had to die. What exactly was it, Tsanoku-san?"
Tsanoku would never get used to Orihime's odd quirk with his – or anyone's – name. Seriously, what's with the 'san' thing? He'd asked Asca first thing that morning when he'd gone to fetch some food, but she had little in the way of ideas about it either. She supposed it might have been a form of respect that the girl used, or perhaps a speech impediment that prevented her from addressing people without using it. Personally, the boy felt it might have been the latter, because Orihime Inoue was one peculiar girl.
To answer her question, Tsanoku said, "That thing is what we call a 'toxic moth'. They're deadly to all living creatures, because their bites are always fatal. If you'd just left it alone, it most likely would have carried on doing whatever it wanted to."
Her face fell and she frowned in worry, "So, it's my fault that it died?"
"Well it kind of was, but you couldn't have known what it was when you saw it. Neither of you," Tsanoku gave a significant look to their silent travel companion, "I guess I should explain some more about this world to you both, before something worse happens to you."
Orihime gave a nod in resigned agreement, still distressed that she was responsible for the death of what her mind perceived as an 'innocent' creature. Ulquiorra approached the pair and seemed to be giving Tsanoku his full attention, so the young man decided that he had better make this explanation as thorough as possible, for all their sakes.
Tsanoku folded his arms and turned so that he was facing both of his allies, then cleared his throat and began, "For as long as people can remember, even before Mayor Asca was born, our land has been at constant war. It's mostly between the Industrial Empire of Krutessa in the West, and the Warrior Kingdom of Litmah in the East. Sometimes the smaller nations, like this one, get caught up in the middle.
"Yesterday, Krutessa attacked Farris, my village, and we had no warning that they were coming. We have no soldiers, nobody that could be classed as a fighter, so we never stood a chance. Krutessan soldiers are ruthless. They're not an enemy you ever want to face. You were lucky that they were already leaving when you arrived."
Orihime's soft voice asked, "What did they want?"
Here Tsanoku sighed, irritation and sadness seeping into his thoughts, souring his mood, "According to the Captain leading their forces, they were after my sister. His smug face practically gloated about how she was the property of their Emperor, and not my sister. I don't fully understand what he meant, but if I ever see that purple-haired bastard again I'll beat the answers out of him."
Inoue blinked at those words, something Tsanoku said resonating with her thoughts. The man Tsanoku spoke of, with the purple hair, sounded familiar to the high-school girl - as though she could almost see who it was. I can't know this Captain though, she thought with bewilderment, because I've never been to this land before now.
A fuzzy image flashed across her thoughts, of a young man around Tsanoku's age, run through the stomach by a horrifying clawed hand. She could see his long purple hair falling about his face as he hit the floor, crimson blood slowly oozing out of the wound. Another image accompanied this one, of a small bedraggled girl with snow white hair and a butterfly pin in her fringe, being carted off to a dark fortress-like building among a city of towering skyscrapers. Almost as soon as the shocking images appeared, they faded from Orihime's mind like a quickly wound on video.
What…did I just see? It felt like a memory, not a day-dream. I know the difference, that's for sure.
Tsanoku continued his narrative about the lands, having not noticed Orihime's sudden zoning out, "According to the map Asca gave me, the easiest route into Krutessa is from the north, hence why we're in the forest right now. So long as none of us touches anything we don't understand, we shouldn't have any more trouble from the wildlife. Pretty much everything in this forest will kill us if we disturb the peace, but it's still safer than trying to cross the border beyond the plains. We'd be captured by 'Tessan troops before we even made it on their soil. Captured, tortured and then eventually executed."
Tsanoku's arm raised the rumpled map to eye level so that both Inoue and Ulquiorra could read it and see the route they'd be taking. His gloved hand pointed to a little dot just to the north of where their current location was, "We need to reach Fildore village by nightfall. That's this place, right here," he tapped the dot with his finger, "They should give us shelter from the Paraxians, according to the Mayor, but she warned me that the people who lived in Fildore were suspicious of all travellers. Let's try not to expect a warm greeting when we get there."
Ulquiorra's pale hand gestured at the other notable landmark near to their location and his deep voice asked, "Is it wise to travel so close to the mountains that those monsters live in?"
Inoue saw that he was right, because the Parax Mountains were directly adjacent to the forest they were in. How is going near those monsters safer than being captured by Krutessa? Her mind conjured up images of fire-breathing dragons swooping down from the towering peak of Parax and gobbling up both boys, before grabbing the frightened young woman and taking her for ransom to their King. And what if they don't pay the ransom? I'll have to clean their evil dragon lairs for the rest of my life!
"I don't even like dusting!" Orihime shrieked aloud.
Tsanoku blinked in confusion and Ulquiorra raised a thick black brow in question, but neither seemed brave enough to discover what Orihime's odd outburst had been about. The local boy cleared his throat and answered Ulquiorra's query, trying to pretend that the bright-haired girl hadn't said a thing.
I really need to stop doing that, she thought in embarrassment, flushing so scarlet that she matched Tsanoku's shirt.
"It's because the Paraxians are so close by that we need to go this way," Tsanoku tried to explain. This particular path they were on was his idea, one that wise old Asca had thought quite risky, but she agreed that the logic couldn't be faulted. If the old Mayor agreed with his choice, Tsanoku was certainly not going to be put off it by some unknown stranger to these lands.
Ulquiorra narrowed his eyes at Tsanoku, causing the boy to suddenly realise that the green-eyed man was actually quite intimidating - and that's not taking into account the exceedingly deadly sword he carried around. Ulquiorra's words were deliberately slow as he said, "So, your cunning plan is to flaunt death with those creatures, all in the optimistic hope that the entire armed forces of your enemy are too afraid of them to properly patrol the trails through the forests."
The condescension dripping from his words hit the still sore spot inside Tsanoku's psyche – one left by that Captain Delcamire from the previous evening – and his grip tightened on the map in his hand, scrunching the edges under his curling fingers.
"You don't have to make it sound so crazy," the young Farreanian retorted, "The plan will work, just trust me on this."
"I can hardly trust my life to a complete stranger. Especially one as ill-equipped to deal with danger as you clearly are. Trash that can talk is still just that – trash."
The spot snapped something in the younger male, and he stepped right into Ulquiorra's space and shoved him – childishly - with all of his strength, forcing the pale-skinned man to stumble back a couple of steps, alarm streaking across his features. It might have been pathetic, but it made the young Farreanian feel better for all of five seconds, so he was glad to have done it.
"If you don't like the plan so much, then just get lost. I take back what I said in Farris: we don't need you to find my sister; you'll only slow us down. Find your own way home. Come on Orihime."
Tsanoku roughly stuffed the screwed up map back into his satchel, grabbed one of Orihime's wrists, and started walking – petulantly – away from Ulquiorra.
The Quattro Espada was still trying to process the absurdity of being pushed by a weak human, but his brain managed to catch up to the present moment when he saw his almost-captive's orange hair disappear just beyond what could have been a large fir tree. Inoue Orihime is my mission. I will not lose her in this world because of some pathetic little mortal. The former Arrancar's longer strides quickly caught up with the two humans and he reached forwards and clamped a steely grip on Orihime's other wrist.
All at once the girl's pace was halted, Ulquiorra's resolve giving him the strength needed to stop them both. Tsanoku pulled harder on Inoue's arm, stretching her ensnared limbs as he did so, but Ulquiorra only dug his heels in deeper to keep the girl anchored in place. The Farreanian tried one more useless tug and then finally gave up and released the poor girl's abused limb. Ulquiorra did the same once he saw that he'd won the little struggle.
Orihime rubbed at the reddening skin and glared – which wasn't at all intimidating – at both boys, "You two need to quit being babies and get along. None of us will be fine on our own, so we need to stick together, alright?"
The last thing that Ulquiorra wanted to do was agree with the ridiculous woman's logical suggestion, but he also did not want to continue pointlessly arguing with the foolish boy. From the look on Tsanoku's face, the green-eyed former Hollow could tell that he didn't want to concede defeat either. If this boy persists with his pathetic attitude, this journey will prove more trying than sitting through one of Aizen-sama's meetings with both Nnoitora and Grimmjow present.
At last the boy closed his dual-coloured eyes and relented, "She's right. We all need to work together here if we want to get through this. I'm sorry I went off on one. Truce?"
Tsanoku held a gloved hand aloft and Ulquiorra briefly considered removing said appendage from the boy, but he didn't think that would be wise – some crazy whim I've developed due to my mortal weakness, no doubt. Ulquiorra reluctantly grasped Tsanoku's hand and felt all of the tension in the air dissipate at last.
It wasn't a guaranteed peace, but for the moment Ulquiorra would humour them both. He only needed to buy his time until an opportunity to return to Hueco Mundo presented itself.
The three travellers made quick work of the journey to Fildore, sticking to the overgrown trails and refraining from touching anything they didn't recognise – as much as Orihime Inoue could, at least. The brightly coloured flora had captivated the young teen and both Tsanoku and Ulquiorra found their greatest difficulty was in keeping Orihime's hands firmly at her sides – with the girl herself penned off between both boys to prevent wandering.
Orihime could hardly be blamed for her childlike curiosity. Many of the flowers were strange and new, and the deeper into the woods they went, the more varied the plants became. Some would glow like solar lights, even though the sun could never have provided enough light to do so; others sparkled like they were coated in glitter – or fairy dust, as Orihime suspected; and a peculiar kind, that the orange-haired girl desperately wanted to pluck, changed colours – from red to orange, blue to white, then purple and round back to red once again.
Aside from the foliage that had ensnared Orihime's attention, there was an echoing soundtrack as they walked of the creatures that resided in the forest. Humming and buzzing from what Tsanoku assured was more toxic moths; croaking and screeching from things that the boy couldn't identify and honestly didn't want to meet; and a rustling in the bushes beyond their vision that seemed to be following wherever the trio went.
It was this that had Tsanoku finally halt the group. He raised a gloved hand to his mouth, miming a shushing motion as he did so, and pointed over to his right where the rustling sounded the loudest. Tsanoku gripped the pommel of his short sword in his left hand and slowly withdrew the blade from its scabbard, careful to not make too much noise so that the mysterious whatever-it-was wouldn't be startled.
Ulquiorra also withdrew his weapon, Murcielago glinting dangerously in the dwindling light. Orihime, naturally, was not as subtle as her allies at removing her pole from the strap on her back. She found the weapon awkward and much heavier than she expected. So when she tugged it free from the bindings, Orihime stumbled from the momentum and barrelled into Tsanoku's back with a little shriek. The rustling abruptly ceased and Ulquiorra glared at the cause for this. Anymore inane antics and he might just be carrying the girl's head back to Aizen. She truly was wearing out the former Arrancar's patience, what little he possessed.
Orihime nervously stepped away from Tsanoku, using her staff as a prop for balance, "I'm so, so sorry Tsanoku-san! I didn't expect this thing to be so heavy, seeing as how I've been carrying it on my back so much, like a donkey…erm…so d-did I ruin our sneak attack?"
Inoue looked so crestfallen that Tsanoku instantly forgave her blunder. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and said, "It's okay, it was probably just a curious wyre-rat or something. Maybe now it'll go awa-!"
Tsanoku was cut off as something pulled his shirt from behind, yanking him back into the denser bushes and trees. Thorns tore at his clothing, snagging the woollen material in places and leaving holes that the young Farreanian dreaded having to sew back together when he was less preoccupied. The light of the Bright-Star filtering through the thick forest canopy thinned and finally faded altogether the deeper that Tsanoku's captor dragged him, leaving him eclipsed in near total darkness.
Whatever was pulling at his back had a grip like the force of two opposing magnets. It didn't seem inclined to release Tsanoku, nor did it even look to be slowing down. I can't let this continue, he thought with desperation, and instantly started grasping at the shadows for purchase on something that would slow – or stop – his involuntary movement. The frantic way he flung his unoccupied hand around for an anchor made it almost impossible to keep a grip on the unknown objects that were hidden amongst the blackness of the woods. His palm smacked against a particularly solid something – was that a rock? – and pain jolted up his arm and temporarily ceased his short-lived efforts.
Just when he thought the journey would never end, his silent attacker abruptly stopped and Tsanoku was dumped carelessly upon the ground – leaves crunching under his weight as he hit them. There was still no light by which to see, or indeed even identify his foe, but a low growling and snarling quickly filled in some of the blanks for the boy. Whatever had taken him had friends that were all around, encircling Tsanoku if the sounds were anything to go by. And they didn't appear to be friendly.
Orihime was frozen in place after a large clawed appendage had darted out of the bushes behind Tsanoku and snatched him away from the trail. Their kind-hearted ally had barely been a foot from Orihime's own body and she had been both unable to prevent him getting taken, as well as unable to pursue his disappearing form. I can't believe that just happened! What…what was that?
Whatever was behind this abduction, it was large and physically very strong. It had to be, with a clawed hand – covered in scales, strangely enough – that was bigger than Orihime's own head, and strong enough to pull a boy of Tsanoku's size along as if he were a small rag doll. And that frightened Orihime.
Apparently, it didn't affect her other companion though, for his green clad form stepped into her line of site and gestured icily towards the foreboding darkness where Tsanoku had vanished, "Don't just stand there gawking, girl. I don't relish the idea of tracking down that wretch into unknown territory, but he is our guide and we will need his assistance if we are to escape this world."
Orihime blinked and was about to stammer out a reply when the Espada stepped closer, close enough that the young woman could see the different flecks of green – and a little yellow too - that made up his eyes. The shock of his nearness stunned her brain into silence and she watched as he took her only means of defending herself in this world – the blasted too heavy wooden staff – and tossed it wordlessly to one side. His cat-like eyes narrowed at her, as if daring her to rebel and recover the cumbersome pole, but she was still rendered powerless at his proximity.
He's so close..! Too close!
Orihime's slate eyes snapped shut to block him out and then she nervously pushed at the former Arrancar's chest to make him move – with little effect – away from her space. She needed him away, because the longer he remained near her, the harder it was becoming to think or even breathe. And breathing, Orihime knew, was important. Briefly her mind filed away the peculiar knowledge that Ulquiorra's chest was very solid for one so thin – although he might only be lean, not thin like some of the boy's her age were.
And at that thought Orihime felt her face enflame and everything else she wanted to say – or think – trickled away into the void that was her mind a lot of the time.
A strong hand gripped her forearm and Orihime's bizarre trance finally ended, recent events returning to the fore of her mind and she jerked a little to distance herself from Ulquiorra, saying, "We'd better hurry up and save Tsanoku-san before something bad happens to him."
Just like that, Orihime had managed to push aside her confusing thoughts and returned to the much more important matter – that of Tsanoku Raméto's life being in jeopardy.
Ulquiorra grimaced, knowing what he would have to do in order to keep the ridiculous woman in his sights as they ventured into the pitch-black forest depths. With one hand still holding tight to his Zanpaku-tou, he moved the hand that gripped Inoue's arm until it closed around the much smaller hand at the end of it. Barely concealing his disgust at having to hold this weak mortal's hand, he manipulated her hand until the fingers were woven with his own in a fairly tight grip, one that would be difficult to break and therefore lose her.
"Do not let go of my hand, woman. I don't have the patience to go looking for you should you get lost in there."
"R-Right! I won't."
He could tell she was unnerved by his action, but he would be lying if he said that he was not affected by her touch either. Humanity had always lured and repelled Ulquiorra. As a Hollow he had been drawn to the souls of humans for sustenance and also something to fill that constant hole in his being. As an Arrancar he had a greater awareness of self, and he cared little for anything – least of all human beings. The void inside his soul was still there, he knew it, his absence of feelings made it glaringly obvious that he was not complete. Yet he also knew that humans were weak, useless lumps of flesh and bones. He did not need them now that he was evolved.
Now though, when he too was suffering from mortality and all of the same things he had detested so much, the contact with this girl was stirring something peculiar in his soul. Not the hunger a Hollow craves; or the simple detachment he always felt around others either. It was oddly warm and at the same time chilling. Her skin was smooth and soft, not marred by anything that time would normally have blessed her with – paper cuts, callouses and the like. Her hand was small and fit in his own hand as though they were designed to be a matching set. A ludicrous notion, but he couldn't exactly shake it from his mind.
These observations Ulquiorra took in barely a few scant seconds, before he motioned with his head towards the trees and took off at a sprint, pulling the girl along as he went.
Orihime kept up surprisingly well, considering that she normally took shorter strides than Ulquiorra did and she was also notorious for her clumsiness when she rushed to go somewhere. The odds of her tripping on something, like a tree root or an unsuspecting animal's foot, were definitely not in the high schooler's favour, but nothing of the like occurred as they progressed deeper into the darkening woods. I really don't like the dark, Inoue mentally cried out, trying not to picture what might be lurking and plotting their imminent doom. Please don't let it be more of those moths! Or evil vegetables…
There seemed to be no end to the blackness all around them and Orihime wondered if they were even going in the right direction. What if we've missed Tsanoku-san already and he's lying in a ditch, slowly bleeding to death and being chewed on by those rat thingies he mentioned?!
Something sharp scratched across Orihime's cheek and she hissed in pain, praying it had only been a low branch or a tall hedge. She did not want to be dying of mysterious poisons while they tried to rescue Tsanoku. She felt Ulquiorra's grip tighten and his pace quicken, and so opted to break the silence to ease her worries, for surely Ulquiorra must know if they were close by now, "How do you know we're going the right way, Ulquiorra-san? Can you smell Tsanoku-san or something..?"
"Of course not, woman. I'm human at the moment, so my senses are as dull as your own."
Confused, Orihime pressed the issue, "Then how are we going to find him?"
"I'm following my ears, or trying to, and listening for the sounds of struggle to track him by. It would be so much easier to do if you would quit talking. Now."
The bite in his tone at the end was all the encouragement that Orihime needed and she fell silent immediately. As she did so, she could just about make out the sounds of something ahead of them crashing through the thick foliage – no doubt the sound that Ulquiorra had been pursuing since they charged in after Tsanoku. It definitely sounded like something – or someone – struggling, but almost as soon as she started listening for it, the sound ended.
The odd pair hurried their pace to reach where the sound had stopped, and came upon a little problem when they did. The route they had taken had not been blocked at all as they followed their missing comrade, but Ulquiorra's body suddenly jerked to a stop at what felt like a gigantic stone wall. The former Arrancar pressed his full weight against it, but it would not budge. Somehow, he had lost their prey beyond this immovable obstacle.
Orihime felt dismay claw its way into her heart. Tsanoku was lost to them and would probably be dead before long. They couldn't get to him, couldn't find him, he was gone. Once again, Inoue felt like the useless tag along. This wouldn't have happened – probably – if she had simply left her staff on her back and remained at the rear of the group, while her two quite capable comrades dealt with the mysterious stalker. Her clumsiness and carelessness had cost someone their life.
He was only ever nice to us, to me, and he didn't even get to save his sister and it's all my fault and-
A strange orange glow was emitting from under the great barrier that blocked their path, interrupting Orihime's rambling thoughts. The glow hummed in her head, almost singing to her, and she cautiously began to approach it, mindful of Ulquiorra's hand still tightly clutching her own. The darker haired man had apparently also seen the light and as they both reached it Orihime could see his features harden as he analysed the section of stone that they were facing. A closer inspection revealed that the glowing was actually coming from what looked like the outline of a door in the wall.
It's a secret door, like for a villain's evil lair!
Ulquiorra dropped her hand and Orihime gave him a questioning glance, curious as to his intentions now. He didn't even look at her, but he still managed to answer her unspoken question as if he could see into her head, which he hopefully couldn't do, "It must have taken the boy into here. Once I open this door, you are to remain at the entrance until I return. I won't be able to watch you and fight whatever is in there." He flicked his eyes over her faintly illuminated form, before adding, "And you are not stealthy."
Orihime knew that, it was totally something she had been living with all her life, but it still stung for him to state it like a cold hard fact. Not everyone was born a spy/assassin/stealth-ninja. Her aspiration was to be a giant robot, anyway. Still, despite being angry with his insinuation that she couldn't sneak anywhere, she agreed with his plan, "Alright, just make sure you get Tsanoku-san out of there. Please."
The green-eyed man gave a brief nod to her request, although he never actually said he would promise to rescue the boy. It might be too late, and the realist in Orihime was already setting her mind up for the worst possible scenario. Her heart had to have faith though. She had to believe that Tsanoku would live through this, that they'd all escape just fine and finally reach this 'Fildore' village he had spoken of.
Inoue had to believe, because otherwise the much more crippling thought that she was never going to see Ichigo Kurosaki, or any of her friends, ever again would destroy her.
Ulquiorra gave the door-like impression a powerful shove with his shoulder and it moved inwards, bathing the dark woods in more of the orange light. Whatever morose thoughts were trying to weigh Orihime down momentarily faded as they both stepped over the threshold, and she watched the slender warrior continue down into the depths of the mysterious cave, following the light to its source.
And hopefully to the one person in this world that wanted to help them get home.