Hello my wonderful readers! Sorry this was a couple of days late, but it's here now and that's all that matters. I tried posting this a few minutes ago, but my internet is being dodgy and taking my creative works with it. Literally all the changes I'd made to this document - including the note above it - didn't save. I'm kicking myself for not copying the text before trying to save it.

So this one's a little wordier than the other ones, but every story needs blocks of prose now and then to build better pictures, I suppose.

Please enjoy and if you have any comments or feedback, don't be afraid to leave a review.

Words: 5,801

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. ^-^

Resonating Souls

Chapter 8: Fildore

It was just as well that Tsanoku had revived as quickly as he had, for mere moments after he had spoken, the tunnel farthest from their position – the one that both Orihime and Ulquiorra had entered by – suddenly erupted into angered roars as hordes of land Paraxians poured out of it and spilled into the cavern. The trio were lucky that not a single one could fly, like the one that had fled from them, so the monsters would take a few minutes to reach the lava lake they were on. Only minutes though, which were being wasted the longer that they remained in place.

Without wasting another second, Ulquiorra raised Murcielago and brought it down upon the chains that were securing Tsanoku in place. The links broke apart each time he struck a different section, and when the last chain fell away he pulled Tsanoku roughly to the boy's feet and grabbed Orihime by the wrist, too. He grasped at that almost insignificant little spark of energy leaking from within his soul and tugged at it, willing his powers to return to him one more time. I need to get us all out of here, right now. The former Arrancar could feel something click back into its rightful place, so he used the one skill that would benefit them in the situation that they now found themselves in: Sonido. He would have preferred opening a Garganta, but that wasn't an option here in this world with its unpredictable laws and physics.

Using a speed that could never be matched by these creatures, Ulquiorra dragged the stunned boy and the exhausted girl across the stone bridge and made for the nearest tunnel that he could reach. He would wager that both humans' arms would be pulled from their sockets by the end of this hasty retreat, but he didn't exactly have the luxury of carrying either of them in the time he was given. Already, he could feel his speed slowing down, the dregs of his power slipping away again.

Ulquiorra's speedy strides carried the bedraggled party through two more tunnels before his legs gave out and he finally had to stop, his reserve of spiritual power tapped out at last. He fell to his knees panting, the exertion of the day's events all hitting him at once. His whole body trembled and ached, but at least whatever healing Orihime had inadvertently cast upon him earlier was still in place. The last thing Ulquiorra needed was for Inoue's powers to fail and revert just as his own ran out.

A timid voice reached his exhausted mind, "Are you alright, Ulquiorra-san?"

The Quattro forced his head to turn and look at the girl who had most likely caused his current state of being. She was standing awkwardly to his right, rubbing her no-doubt-sore arm and shoulder, distress and worry battling for control on her face. That she would care about Ulquiorra's well-being startled his tired brain. If she chose to, she could leave him for dead and run to safety – or whatever qualified in this world – with Tsanoku, who would no doubt eventually find a way to send her back to her own world. Nothing bound the girl to Ulquiorra, yet she was not fleeing, nor was she taking advantage of his weakened state to 'finish the job', so to speak.

There is something profoundly wrong with this girl's mind, to think of others before herself. Time and again she has rushed to aid another person, while ignoring the very real danger to her own life. Even when we first met, back in her world, she chose to stay and protect trash, knowing that it was a futile decision.

Ulquiorra couldn't understand Orihime's choices at all. It was quite possibly the main reason that her friends were to be used as blackmail to force her to surrender and come quietly to Hueco Mundo. If scaring her into going wouldn't work, the obvious choice had been to threaten her friends in front of her until she complied. And she would have agreed, of this Ulquiorra had no doubts. It was perhaps luck on her part that he hadn't gotten to his ultimatum before they were whisked away to this forsaken world.

The bright-haired girl expected an answer though, so, "I am fine. I merely pushed this mortal form well beyond the limits it was capable of." Ulquiorra paused to steady his breathing and try to calm the trembles in his limbs, which had slowed a good deal since his initial collapse. When he was satisfied that he would be able to move normally again, he pushed his legs to stand and resumed his usual calm poise – although he still felt unsteady, in truth. "We had better move on before those beasts gain on us."

"Are…are you sure?"

"Quite sure, woman." Ulquiorra looked at where they'd ended up – a small cross-roads with two routes to choose from, one that seemed to dip lower in altitude and one that climbed higher – and pointed to the left-most pathway, "That seems like the most logical direction to go in. Up normally means sky at some point, so we will at least be able to determine the hour and where we have travelled to from our last position."

The only person who hadn't said a word yet finally put in his own two cents, "I think you make a good point; up is definitely a smart idea. I just don't think you're up to moving just yet, is all."

Ulquiorra shot a baleful glare at the local youth, contempt heavily lacing his voice, "I don't care what you 'think'; I know that I am right. I also know that I am fine. Now must we continue to argue here or are we going to try and escape this labyrinth?"

Tsanoku held his hands up in surrender and said, "Hey, I didn't mean to start an argument, you just seemed really tuckered out just a moment ago is all. You wanna keep going? Fine, we'll keep going. Fair warning though: I lost my things when I got taken, including the map. Even if we get outside, I might not be able to find out where we are once we see the land."

"That won't be an issue. As long as we can see your sun we should be able to navigate. I assume you know which direction your sun rises and sets in, correct?"

Tsanoku looked momentarily confused, before realising what Ulquiorra was getting at, "Ah yeah! Of course! We can work out north and south from the Bright-star's position in the sky! How could I forget that?"

I won't even bother to answer that question, Ulquiorra thought with just a touch of sarcasm.

"Right, it's decided then! Let's move out everybody!" Orihime excitedly declared, fist-pumping the air with more enthusiasm than Ulquiorra had ever seen her use. "Ouch…probably shouldn't have done that…" She clutched at her still aching shoulder and rubbed along her arm dejectedly, feebly trying to will her pain away, Ulquiorra supposed.

Curiously, when Ulquiorra turned to follow behind Tsanoku as they headed into the steadily ascending tunnel, the Farreanian boy didn't even seem troubled by his arm or his shoulder. If anything, he looked like he was buzzing with extra energy. Residual healing effects from the girl, perhaps? Or does it have something to do with the bizarre circumstances we rescued him from? What exactly were the Paraxians doing with the boy..?

Orihime was really starting to feel grubby, sore and generally very tired as she marched steadily up the sloping tunnel just ahead of the two boys. Her feet were killing her and they had started to feel swollen somewhere back in the cavern down below. Her legs were losing the will to go on and she had to continuously remind them that 'it was just a little further and they could rest'. On top of these rather minor issues, she also felt dirty and pretty darned sweaty too. The monster blood from earlier really stinks and I wish I'd had some deodorant on me when we teleported to this world because I just know I can't smell pretty right about now! I need a bath…

Realistically, Orihime knew that her basic hygiene was the very least of everyone's troubles, but she couldn't help dwelling on it. She didn't want to stink up wherever they ended up next and she was more than certain that the Paraxians could just follow the pungent aroma of her B.O. to find them all again. Yes, she was definitely thinking too hard about this.

"Man, how far up does this tunnel go?" Tsanoku's pitchy voice whined.

Orihime personally had no clue, but she knew that they'd come a long way down underground to rescue him…so she guessed it had to be a pretty long climb back up. Luckily, Ulquiorra's extremely fast brain figured it out for her,

"We found you well below the planet's surface, so obviously that is the amount of distance – or maybe more – which we need to cover in order to get out."

"I kind of figured that would be the case. You don't have to be a wise guy about it. I was just asking to break the silence, is all. You seriously need to lighten up Ulquiorra."

And they're fighting again…

Inoue was secretly relieved that she wasn't stuck in the middle of both black-haired boys, but why did they have to argue about everything? Ulquiorra should be the most mature of them all, seeing as how he's actually a dead person that most likely lived a long time ago. Yet the first opportunity to belittle Tsanoku or retaliate to anything he says and Ulquiorra jumps at it.

Tatsuki-chan was right, boys really don't grow up.

The orange-haired high school girl tuned the two bickering 'mature' people out and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. The steady rhythm of walking calmed her mind enough for her to think about her troubling memories – in particular the dreams that had been bothering her for a while now.

The recurring nightmare that she had been having before arriving in Yohlis always featured a strange boy with long purple hair and eyes similar to Tsanoku's, but flipped so that the right was red and the left was grey instead. He was always dead, killed by a man in full combat armour – the same as what was worn by the dead soldiers back in the fields of Farris village. That clue alone proved to Orihime that she'd been dreaming of Yohlis for some time now, even though she had never even heard of this place until she was dropped on it.

Her last dream before coming here had featured her grumpy travelling companion, Ulquiorra. Somehow, her subconscious had known that she would see the Arrancar again, and that he would go with her to this new world. Maybe someone sent me psychic messages trying to warn me about this place and what would happen to me? - Which just seems creepy if I think about it too long.

The one thing bothering Orihime the most was the dream she'd woken from only the night before, which had left her sobbing and in tears. The details still failed her, but the more that Tsanoku had spoken of his world, the more pieces had started to form in her mind's eye. She was now convinced that she'd been dreaming of that Krutessan Captain Tsanoku had spoken of – before coming to Yohlis and again last night. The young man in her dream last night had worn armour like the Krutessan army wore and he also had the same features as the boy she always saw dead on the floor. She didn't know why she'd been seeing him in her dreams, yet, but she was extremely determined to find out.

Two more characters stood out in her thoughts from her dream last night: the little white-haired girl with the butterfly hair pin; and the strange man in bright clothing that had impaled the Captain in the stomach. Obviously, the little girl must be Tsanoku's little sister. I don't know how I saw her when he's never even described her to us, but maybe if I ask Tsanoku about her more I'll know for sure if what I saw was real or not. That man though…Orihime glanced quickly over her shoulder to look properly at the horrible scars that now adorned Tsanoku's forehead and chest. The symbols were identical, only the size of them differed depending on location. And they match that scary man's one too. The one he had on his forehead. What does it mean?

A small stone lodged awkwardly in the ground caused Orihime to stumble slightly, and her thoughts immediately halted as she tried to keep her balance. She flailed her arms around like a pinwheel for a good thirty seconds, her body lurching forwards and backwards and then forwards once again. Fate had chosen which direction Inoue would fall, but at least this time she wouldn't land on anyone. The harsh stone ground met her body and she stayed exactly where she was, her face once more a full-blown shade of crimson.

Scuffling shoes approached her embarrassed form and a peach – not pale like someone else's – arm came into view just before her eyes.

"You gotta start being more careful, Orihime. One of these days you could do yourself some serious damage." Tsanoku lifted Inoue gently to her feet and smiled kindly at her when she was steady again.

You can tell he's a big brother. His smile is so kind and he reminds me of Sora, sometimes. We have to save his little sister. Siblings shouldn't be apart!

"Thank you Tsanoku-san. I'll be more careful from now on, I promise." Inoue gave a little salute as she finished, and then she tried to not-so-subtly ask about Tsanoku's missing sister, "Um, Tsanoku-san, I was wondering… Would you tell us about your sister? We're looking for her and I just realised that I don't know anything about her, which obviously won't help when we try to find her because how will we know what to look for..?"

I really need to stop babbling so much, but I can't help it.

Tsanoku hesitated, but realised that it would be stupid to keep anything about his sister secret from these two. They did need to know about Éclaire, and Orihime was becoming a fast friend for Tsanoku; why not tell them?

"Alright, I guess it won't hurt to talk about her. It might even cheer me up a little if I did. We need to keep moving though, unless we want to get caught while I'm describing exactly how cute my little sis can be."

"Oh yeah… Good idea Tsanoku-san."

They all started walking again, but Orihime stuck a little closer to Tsanoku this time in case of further accidents. The young Farreanian tried to think of where he should start with his story-telling, but Ulquiorra – surprisingly – gave him an excellent starting point.

"You lived with your Aunt and Uncle in your village, yes? So what happened to your parents?"

"Wow, you've got a keen memory, don't you Ulquiorra?" Tsanoku sent a silent prayer to his dead Uncle and Aunt, hoping that wherever they were they were happy, and then said, "You're right, of course. We lived on a small farm on the outskirts of Farris village. The farm belonged to my Uncle Robert, although technically they weren't actually my relatives. They told me a few years ago, when I'd started to get curious about where my parents were, that they had found me crying in the barn when I was a baby. Not once did they pretend to be my mother or father, but it was still a shock for me to learn that I wasn't even really their nephew either.

"I was only eleven then. After that I became more curious about why I was left there, who my family might be – things like that. Four years later, when I'd accepted that I was never going to learn the truth and that I should be happy with the family that actually wanted me, my Aunt came back from the fields with a little girl clutched to her side. She was the shyest person I had ever met; she wouldn't speak for almost two months to any of us. As soon as my Uncle heard her speak, he rushed over to the Mayor's house and they spent a good couple of hours trying to work out where the girl had come from – and more importantly, what they were going to do with her.

"At this point, I'd grown attached to the quiet little girl. I wanted a little sister or a brother – I wasn't fussy – so I could look after someone and teach them where the best climbing spots were. My Aunt loved her too, but she was worried that Mayor Asca would tell us to send the girl away. One mysterious child appearing was fine. To have another one appear bordered on dangerous. Especially when my Aunt told everyone that she'd found the girl wondering over from the Krutessan borders.

"The villagers wanted to send the little girl away, give her back to Krutessa so we didn't get any trouble from them. Mayor Asca, thankfully, disagreed. She told my Uncle Robert that the girl could stay with us, so long as we didn't let her wander alone outside in public. My Aunt and Uncle were thrilled to keep the girl and I was super excited to get my own sibling at last. They asked her what name she wanted to go by – because she didn't even know her own name – and she skimmed through a name chart until she stopped at one: Éclaire. I remember thinking it was a stupid name at the time, but I didn't mention that or I'd have been sent to clean out the Kreehgon dung. Believe me, that is not a job anyone wants to have.

"Éclaire's sort of an odd one – like you Orihime. She wants to touch everything new and different. The world excites her and she was always learning every little thing that she could when we were on the farm. I once caught her trying to pet a wyre-rat. Trust me when I say, that is not a good idea. The babies always look cute, but they grow really, really big and their fur turns to needles that scratch and stick to things. They're not really bad animals, but when an eight year old thinks that it's okay to stroke sharp needles because she thinks the animal is 'cute', the idea is definitely a bad one. I had to take her to one side and explain that she'd have lost a good deal of skin and blood if she'd actually gone through with it. She cried about how I was mean for not letting her pet the 'fluffy mouse', but I would rather take her tears of frustration over her tears of pain any day.

"Personally, I think she'd like you, Orihime. Just because you're both very alike."

Orihime beamed at Tsanoku and he grinned back at her, glad to finally be talking about his sister without crying at the mere thought of her. Orihime's encouragement and presence left Tsanoku feeling more optimistic that he'd see his sister again, and that she'd be safe too.

"So, what does she look like Tsanoku-san? Nothing like you, I bet."

"And you would be right there, Orihime. She's really short – only comes up to my waist actually. And her hair is white like chalk. She's got these really dark eyes, almost black I'd say, and the cutest little button nose I've ever seen." He couldn't help the proud big brother tone that had seeped into his voice as he described his sister. "Usually she wears whatever hand-me-down shirt and trousers she can find that belonged to me, much to our Aunt's annoyance. My Aunt was always trying to make her wear 'girly' clothes – like your dress, Orihime – but Éclaire wanted to emulate me wherever possible, so she paraded around in baggy shirts and cotton trousers with the bottoms rolled up almost to her knees. About the only girl-like thing she owned was this little butterfly clip in her hair. Mayor Asca bought it for her on her sixth birthday, when we'd had a party and invited the whole village to our home. Éclaire never takes the clip off. It's literally fused to her like glue to paper."

Orihime's face had taken on a curious sickly pallor as Tsanoku mentioned the butterfly clip, so he paused and grasped the bright-haired girl's wrist, "Was it something I said, Orihime? You look a little ill."

"I wouldn't worry too much about her, boy. She zones out more times than anyone I've ever had the misfortune of encountering," Ulquiorra muttered quietly from a little behind the pair. "I think we have enough information to last a lifetime about your sister, so I suggest we stop with the stories for now."

"It's fine, I was gonna finish there anyways," Tsanoku replied to the green-eyed man, even while his main focus was still fixed on Orihime's concerning condition. "Orihime, do you need to sit down for a minute?"

Inoue blinked her ash-coloured eyes and shook her head, "N-no, I'm alright Tsanoku-san. I think I must just be hungry, that's all. Um, your sister sounds like a wonderful person. I can't wait to meet her."

The smile Orihime sent to Tsanoku appeared genuine and full of true joy, but the black-haired youth was not so easily convinced. You may be looking forward to meeting with Éclaire, Orihime, but something is definitely bothering you. Why can't you tell me?

"Okay Orihime, if you say so."

Tsanoku dropped Orihime's wrist and moved a step further away from her, before continuing to march up the gradually levelling out tunnel. The other two joined his steps, Ulquiorra with more surety than Orihime, and all three breathed a collective sigh of relief when they spotted actual daylight filtering in through the mouth of the tunnel – not ten feet from where they were.

"Finally, we made it!" Tsanoku cried in equal parts relief and resignation.

It was true that they had at last escaped from the bowels of the Parax Mountains – now outside, it was more than obvious they'd been trapped in the labyrinth-like tunnel systems that filled the mountain range – but the forest that they had initially been travelling through looked to be miles from where they had emerged. On top of that little problem, when Tsanoku looked to the sky, he saw that the Bright-star was much closer to the horizon than any of them would have liked. If they remained in the open for much longer, it wouldn't matter where they went – mountain, forest or field – because the Paraxians would have free reign of the land.

"Tell me, what direction does your sun set each day?" Ulquiorra's deep tones demanded.

"That's a simple question: the Bright-star sets in the south."

"So, if it is over there," Ulquiorra gestured to the sun that was skirting dangerously close to setting, just hovering over the edge of a large field, "that would make that area the south and over there," Ulquiorra point to the spot just beyond the forest, to their right, "the west."

"Er, yeah, you're right. So?"

"So, this Fildore village we've been trying to get to all day is located just on the edge of the forest… there," Ulquiorra's black nail pointed to a single spot with smoke rising from it, indicative of a small controlled fire – like a chimney or fire pit.

Once Ulquiorra mentioned it, Tsanoku's sense of smell picked up the faintest whiff of burnt charcoal and stewing Kreehgon meat. His stomach protested being so far from the source of the delicious aroma, gurgling and grumbling, much to his dismay.

"Don't be sad, Tsanoku-san, my belly likes to complain the same way too!"

"I think we're all aware of that, girl," Ulquiorra interjected.

"Hey, it's not normally that loud, it was just special circumstances and stuff…"

"What 'special circumstances' would those be then?" Ulquiorra asked sceptically, a thick black brow raised in query.

"Er…um…dimension-hopping! Yeah, it takes a lot out of me, so I need to eat more food afterwards…eheheh…"

"…Right."

"Guys, not to interrupt this fun little banter you've got going, but we really need to get to Fildore before it gets dark."

"Oh, um, sorry Tsanoku-san. I was distracted."

Tsanoku dragged a gloved hand over his face in exasperation, "Yes, I kinda worked that out, Orihime. So, shall we..?"

Tsanoku led the trek down the side of the mountain, choosing the safest footing so that not even Orihime Inoue could trip and fall to her doom – or take anyone down with her. Downhill was definitely quicker than going up, and they reached the foot of the mountain side in less than ten minutes. The thick forest loomed all around them when they tried to get their bearings.

"Which way do we go now?" Orihime asked.

Tsanoku sniffed the air – how can they not smell that? – and indicated with his hand, "The food smell is coming from over that-a-way, come on guys."

Behind him he could hear Orihime mumble to Ulquiorra, "Do you smell anything, Ulquiorra-san?"

He didn't catch the pale man's reply, if there was one, but Tsanoku was starting to get mildly worried that he was the only one who could smell the cooking. They'd all seen the smoke, so surely they could smell the reason behind it too?

To get to the village, they still had to travel through a good couple of miles of dense, dark woods. Tsanoku took up the lead, telling the others to, "Hold onto each other guys, it's getting a little dark now." He grasped Orihime's right hand, while she grabbed Ulquiorra's hand with her left, making a short human chain.

"Wow, you're right, Tsanoku-san. It is getting really dark under these trees. I can barely see in front of my face now."

"Just don't fall over, girl, or you'll drag us both down with you." Ulquiorra grumbled from the back of the group.

"I won't, I promise."

After that they lapsed into silence, trying to focus on walking forwards and not veering off direction much in the darkness. Tsanoku found it very odd that he could see almost as clearly in the dark as he could in the light, with only far off objects still obscured in a blanket of shadows. He chose not to mention this to the other two, because they probably wouldn't take it too well. He was trying his hardest not to freak out as it was.

My senses are getting better, which is actually kinda neat, but mostly just scary. Has something happened to me?

Choosing to think more on this later, Tsanoku concentrated on following the smell of food and smoke from the fire that must be cooking it. As he did this he noticed that the smells were getting stronger, closer even.

"Hey, I think we're almost there you two. It must just be beyond these trees here."

As soon as he'd spoken the words he caught site of a peculiar thing up ahead: a large wooden wall made from crudely carved wooden stakes, presumably surrounding the village of Fildore. The only irregularity in the wall was the wooden door set into the left-most side, with a lantern hooked and lit by it.

"We made it! Well done Tsanoku-san!" Orihime squeezed Tsanoku's hand in her excitement, and a sharp pain shot through it – and his other one, too.

"Ah!" Tsanoku snatched his hand away from the confused girl and brought them both to his chest. The tips of his fingers were throbbing painfully through his gloves, like knives were stabbing the skin there.

"What's wrong, Tsanoku-san? Did I hurt your hand?"

"No it's-ah! It's my fingers. They feel like I'm being stabbed repeatedly in each one."

"Well maybe I can…"

Ulquiorra pulled Orihime away from Tsanoku and told her, "You cannot heal what is wrong with him. If you could have undone it, he wouldn't have those scars at all. Those things did something to the boy when they took him. Just look."

She did and she watched as Tsanoku cried out in pain for one last time, and sharp claws tore through the tips of his gloves, blood dripping from the holes in the fabric. He was crying and gasping in pain, but it appeared that the ordeal was over for the moment.

Tsanoku looked at what had become of his once human hands, not quite understanding or believing that he'd sprouted claws where fingernails should have been. The pain had been almost unbearable and he didn't even know why it had happened to him.

"What's happening to me..?" Tsanoku whispered.

Ulquiorra must have heard, for he answered, "I think you are becoming one of those monsters, a Paraxian. What we interrupted looked like a ritual of some sort, and those scars you bear should not even exist after the girl healed you – unless there was some hidden working behind the designs of them, something her powers couldn't erase."

"What 'powers' are you talking about? Orihime's not some kind of witch or Spellcrafter! I think I would have noticed if she was."

The high schooler spoke up to explain, "Actually…I'm not either of those things, I don't think. Ulquiorra-san and I come from somewhere else, right? Well, where we come from I have these powers. One of the powers lets me heal any wound, but he's right, if it had worked properly you wouldn't have any scars to show for it. It might even be my fault that something's happening to you because my powers are working differently here so they might not have healed enough or…"

"It's not your fault, girl. You healed me earlier when you placed a shield around me back in those caves."

"I…I did? Why didn't you say anything before?"

"It wasn't important at the time."

"Oh, but- "

"-Can we get back to the point here, please?" Tsanoku interrupted. He raised his hands and analysed them, before saying, "So, I'm turning into a monster, am I? Well, we can at least use whatever benefits come from this before I really do become one, to save my sister."

"You're brave Tsanoku-san," Orihime said with a touch of awe.

Ulquiorra stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and asked, "What are the 'benefits' then?"

"So far? I can see pretty well in the dark, hear a little better, and smell that delicious Kreehgon stew – I smelt it all the way back up the mountain."

"Wow, you have super powers Tsanoku-san!"

She really does flip from sad to happy way too fast.

"S'pose I do, Orihime." Tsanoku tried to grin, even though inside he had started to cry again. He was scared; he didn't know what was going to happen to him. Some of the changes might help them now, but the rate that they were happening, he would be a monster before the week's end.

Ulquiorra wasn't worried about what was becoming of their 'guide' – he didn't know how the boy actually qualified as a guide when they had so far gotten lost because of him. He held no emotional attachment to the boy, nor did he care what fate befell the boy's sister. His only concern was leaving this world and returning to Las Noches, with the girl in tow. So long as one of their number had better senses than a mere mortal, he intended to exploit that person. That it was Tsanoku and not Ulquiorra irked the former Arrancar, but he couldn't afford to be picky now.

Satisfied that nothing else was going to happen to the boy for the moment, Ulquiorra approached the wooden entrance and rapped harshly on its surface. When no reply was forthcoming, he searched for a handle – anything – to open the door with.

There was none. It only opened one way, apparently.

The orange-haired girl, having seen what Ulquiorra was attempting, stepped forwards and called out to the walls, "Hello! Can we come in please?"

That seemed to have an effect, for a muffled voice replied, "You ain't gettin' in 'nless you know the password!"

Orihime shouted back, "But we need help and shelter and we're new here and-"

The voice called back, louder this time, "I don't care if you're blinkin' royalty! No password, no entry!"

Ulquiorra, growing weary of this stupid back-and-forth, called out threateningly, "If you don't open this door, then I shall break it down." He emphasised his point by drawing his Zanpaku-tou, raising it to chest level, and stabbing it up to the hilt through the door.

A startled yelp cried out from the other side of it, followed by a series of complicated whirs and cranks, and then finally the door swung inwards, allowing the three travellers entry into the village gates.

The man responsible for guarding the door backed away when they walked through, mumbling, "I didn't mean nuthin' by it, mister swordsman, sir. Wos jus' bein' cautious, I was. Please don't go stabbin' me. I'm fragile."

Orihime smiled cheerfully at the gate keeper, who wore a thick cloak that obscured much of his body and head from view – the rest of his face was hidden in a tightly wrapped scarf, revealing only his eyes that shone golden in the light.

"I don't think he really would have stabbed you, gate keeper-san. He was just trying to scare you a bit, right Ulquiorra-san?"

Ulquiorra didn't even bother to reply, he was too busy taking in the village properly. It consisted of many shabby-looking mud huts clustered together, forming a circle around the town centre. In the middle of this stood a ramshackle well and a stone platform – upon which rested a large, smoking pot, the source of the cooking smells and the smoke. From the safety of the huts, the village-folk emerged, all dressed to match the gate keeper. Odd.

Turning back to the still babbling man, Ulquiorra asked, "Is this 'Fildore' village?"

The man jumped a little when Ulquiorra spoke, probably recalling that he was the one carrying the sword that had stabbed clean through the door, and then stuttered out, "I-It is, y-yes s-sir."

At least they had confirmation that they would be safe for the night. Ulquiorra still had questions, curious about why these people hid so much from sight, but for now they could wait.

If it has anything to do with their unfriendly neighbours in the mountains, I will find out.

And he would, he was sure.