She had died.

Her body shut down, her heart no longer pumped its vitality through her circulatory system, and as saddening as it was, she had finally passed away. And death wasn't anything like the movies or comic books, she didn't die saving some distressed bastard from a speeding vehicle or crazed killer. Those heroic - idiotic - deeds weren't for her, she was much too self preserving for that kind of stuff.

In fact Cierra died from her every day, run of the mill asthma.

The one day she was in a rush, a few hours late for the job she had hoped receive a promotion with, she had been forgetful. In her haste, the reminder to grab her inhaler had slipped her mind, just as caution had.

In hindsight, it was her fault.

Cierra knew she shouldn't have been running, or at the very least, running that fast but that hadn't been on her mind.

Even when she had felt her chest begin to contract and her lungs starting to wheeze, it hadn't been a looming threat because in her mind she was all set, prepared to deal with the problem at a moment's notice.

But of course, she wasn't and as she neared the bus stop, the previous absence of concern for her problem burst into the forefront of her mind just as the very real threat of an attack hit her in her gullet. Her throat tightened and her air passages burned as they contracted violently. Eyes blurring, she tried to calm down because getting excited would only hasten the process.

Trailing one hand quickly from her chest to her shoulder bag, she gracelessly ripped it open and began to rummage through it, dragging half concerned, half curious looks from passersby.

With trembling fingers, Cierra raised the opaque object to her mouth and pushed down on the button. Once. Twice. Three times but still nothing. Struggling to stay calm she gave it a vicious shake and tried again but not a thing strayed from the nozzle to alleviate her plight because the cartridge was freaking empty.

Needless to say, she began to panic. She ripped the container out of the slot and threw it on the sidewalk, its ominous clank a warning. Frantically dumping her bag's contents onto the ground she searched for a refill, a refill she prayed she had on her but knew she didn't. Feeling concerned hands grip her shoulders, she barely heard the posed question over the sound of her loud and shuddering wheezes.

"Ma'am are you okay?" A masculine voice asked, and she turned to catch sight of the good Samaritan crouching to her left.

Fighting against the irritation of hearing such an asinine question - because hello! Of fucking course she wasn't! - she shook her head no and managed to croak out the word 'asthma' and instantly regretted it. It feltlike dragging nails along the tissue of her esophagus.

"Inhaler?"

"E...em...emptyyy." Cierra hissed, now clutching her chest and blinking hard against the black dots dancing in her vision. Her breaths were coming in short and choppy and the sound of her heart was beating obscenely loud in her ears. She could feel herself curling into a ball despite the man's protests to stay inclined.

Alarmed shouts and the sensations of hands on her body reluctantly dragged her to attention but soon even those efforts were null, and she was suddenly floating in black and then there was nothing. She felt nothing, understood nothing, was nothing. It was as if her very existence had vanished, as if it was snuffed out like a candle.

And in this nothingness, she realized that she was dead and she was honestly surprised how well she was taking it. But that was how shock worked, it got a person right at the last moment, just when they thought they were alright.

Yet even as Cierra knew what she knew, she could still hear voices. Various ones speaking in states of alarm and suddenly she was being pushed.

Light bloomed from the other side of her closed eyelids and she frowned. She hadn't expected the brightness at the end of the tunnel thing but at least she knew she wasn't headed to hell.

There was a lot of movement and speech - none that she could understand at the moment - spurring on around her and slowly but surely Cierra was beginning to feel again. Squirming slightly she tried to regain her sense of self.

The sensation of being placed into arms shocked her and she gave a little jerk.

"Careful," a soft masculine voice murmured and immediately she stilled. "We don't want her to moved so suddenly after being born."

Her expression twisted even more. Born? Hadn't she just died?

If she were the hopeful type she would assume that she had simply blacked out before being taken to the hospital and the person next to her was having a child but then again, what sense would that make? Birthing didn't occur where she should have been taken, so where was she if not dead in the afterlife?

Slowly and painstakingly going through the process of opening her eyes, Cierra blinked and glared through the fuzzy net covering her vision. Closing them again for a second, she nearly hissed at the headache she had received. Forcing them apart once more, she internally grumbled at the inconvenience.

"Ah! Look, she opened her eyes Kyo! Look at our bambina!" A feminine voice cooed and instantly, she froze. Not used to such warm tones nor the stroking fingers placed on her face, she had to resist the urge to flinch. "She's so freaking cute!"

"I would expect so, she is our progeny." The man, Kyo, said dryly and only then did she notice two different languages being spoken; the woman in English and the man in Japanese.

Waiting impatiently for her eyes to clear, she turned her head with difficulty and stared into dark eyes held in a handsome face framed by black hair. Her brow furrowed as familiarity assaulted her. She knew this man, or at the very least she knew someone who looked like him.

Slowly, Cierra blinked and opened her mouth to ask him whether or not he was going to escort her soul into the afterlife but found that all that came out was faint gurgling and chirping.

Confusion gripped her and she wondered if dying had suddenly made her stupid?

Turning to face the sound of amused giggling - because honestly nothing was funny right now - she saw a foreign woman with long pale hair and warm gray eyes smiling down at her. The lady was beautiful, if not a little haggard looking but Cierra assumed it was warranted all things considered.

"Does the little baby want her food?" She cooed, expression positively sparkling. "Are you hungry, my little bambina?"

And there was that word again, baby. Couldn't these people see she was an almost grown woman with years of almost womanly experience? Besides, she was already dead, why in the world would she need food?

Annoyance mounting, she was barely surprised when the nipple was placed into her mouth because that was just her luck but she was startled to realize that there was an something leaking past her teeth.

Now if the thought that some random woman's areola was in her mouth secreting an unknown liquid wasn't enough to freak her out, then the fact that she was drinking it was.

On reflex or repulsion she bit down only to feel a drop of drool dribble down her chin and she frantically wondered at just what was going on here!

Great, so now she was stupid and had no teeth! Whoever oversaw this soul trafficking business deserved a slap on the ear and a kick in the pants!

Trying valiantly to ignore the fact that she was being breastfed, she refocused on the conversation that was happening while she was - preoccupied and she was alarmed to note that several people had entered the room and were halfway through a conversation.

And the topic? What these two strangers wanted to name her.

"I think," The woman began with a thoughtful hum. "that she should take a Japanese name if we'll be in Giappone."

Looking a bit thoughtful she glanced over to the man by her side.

"Especially considering they'll just butcher any other name into tiny little pieces." She grinned before lifting her arms slightly. "Besides, she'll be adorable no matter what we call her so let's name her after her padre. Hibari Kyoya seems like a lovely name!"

Nuzzling her cheek the woman cooed happily. "Isn't it, mi bambina?"

For a few seconds the only thing that could be heard was the scribbling of a pen before the man in the white coat smiled and bowed at the waist.

"Of course then, Mrs. Salvadore, everything is set." The man told them. "If you have need for anything, please do not hesitate to give us a call."

Some other things may have been said but Cierra - Kyoya - was too busy being stuck on the fact that she had just been named. By two random people.

She did not suffocate to death just to have them do - whatever they're doing!

Raising her hand, prepared to either point rudely at them or give them a good smack when she froze at the sight that greeted her.

A small, chubby palm hovered in the air, and just to confirm it was hers, she gave them a wave because oh lord - she had baby hands.

She had baby hands.

Oh fuck was she a baby?

Panic flashed through her like lightning because what in the hell was this?!

Since when was reincarnation a thing?!

And weren't people supposed to lose all their memory when they were reborn? So why could she, in specifics, recall what she had eaten for breakfast that very morning?

Frowning as she felt he began her eyes begin to close, she cursed her sudden bout of drowsiness and didn't bother to fight it because holy hell was she tuckered out. But as her lids drooped, a single thought penetrated the dense fog sleep had crafted and she furrowed her brow in confusion.

Was she named after Hibari Kyoya from KHR?

Edit: 9/4/16