A/N: This story popped into my head one morning while I was using my cherry blossom shampoo (I know go figure), but the truth is writing a Byakuya Kuchiki and Hinata Hyūga story was one of the pairings I wanted to do. This story has been in the works for a while, and I hope you like it. I think I love it as much as This World Can't Tear Us Apart and it's just the first chapter. Maybe because it's Hinata…

Before you skip to the beginning of the story, I need to establish a background first. This story takes place when the Konoha 11 are all between the ages of 18 and 20; I wouldn't feel comfortable with a several hundred years old Shinigami having a relationship with an underage Hinata and I don't think he would either. This also takes place after the Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc so their new look applies. I don't want to give too much away as I'm sure you will all figure things out as we go along. Please read and review! Anyway, on with the story…

Rating: M for violence and adult situations

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach; they belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo who have so kindly created them for our entertainment. We will forever be grateful.

Would It Be Okay If I Took Your Breath Away?

Chapter 1

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It all started with the summoning they received from a Hell Butterfly. The planes of existence between Soul Society and the human world as they knew them would forever be altered. The Captain Commander Genryūsai Shikeguni Yamamoto sat on his chair with his hand grasping tightly the cane he always carried and never parted with. His face was a mask of indifference that betrayed nothing, but the Captains and Vice-Captains of the three divisions of the Gotei 13 that now stood before him knew better. Only four had been summoned: two Captains and two Vice-Captains. Their faces did not betray their innermost thoughts for they were the pillars of Seireitei and if they crumbled everything would follow soon after.

"You all have been summoned here for a special mission," Captain Commander Yamamoto started, his aged and wise voice reverberated through the main hall. "It is of the utmost importance that everything is handled with complete secrecy." He paused and looked at the four standing before him. "A life altering discovery has been made. A second plane of human-like life forms has been discovered."

Their eyes widened in varying degrees at the new information. "What do you mean by second plane, Yamamoto-sōtaichō, and human-like?" Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya was the first to speak.

"This world was discovered a few days ago by accident, and the reason why that discovery was made until now is what has Central 46, Kurotsuchi-taichō, and myself worried." He allowed them a chance to voice their concerns and when they made none he continued. "There was a tremendous fluctuation in Reiryoku and its source was undetermined. The Shinigami Research and Development Institute could not pinpoint its exact location, and at first it was speculated that it had originated from the Human World. However, upon further research it was found that the amount of Reiryoku was far more powerful than that of humans; it far surpasses that of Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, and Uryū Ishida."

He had claimed the Captains' and Vice-Captains' undivided attention at the mention of this second plane. "Why now? Why is it that now all of a sudden this second world has been detected? We are almost certain that it has been there for a long time unnoticed by Shinigami and Hollow alike." Maybe they had an educated guess as to why this had been, but when he remained quiet so did they. "Our closest assumption is that something major is going on in this second world."

"Something major, like what Yamamoto-sōtaichō?" Vice-Captain Rukia Kuchiki asked.

"That is unknown, Kuchiki-fukutaichō, which is precisely why you have all been summoned here today. Your mission is to go to this second world and investigate the source of this unknown Reiryoku. You are merely being sent there to observe and are not to engage in any unnecessary confrontation. If the situation gets out of your control call for backup immediately I have selected Shinigami on standby. You are going into unknown territory and we cannot afford to have any casualties especially any of you. I have chosen the four of you for a reason; you have shown your worth and ability time and time again. I place complete trust in your judgment."

"How soon do you expect us to return with the information?" Vice-Captain Rangiku Matsumoto asked.

"I expect you to inform me as soon as you do a quick survey of the area upon your arrival, but take as much time as is needed. However, if I receive no report of your status within a few hours I will send immediate assistance." Head Captain Yamamoto turned to look at the one person who had not spoken. "Do you have any questions, Kuchiki-taichō?"

Byakuya Kuchiki had received his orders from the Captain Commander and they were perfectly clear. "I have none, Yamamoto-sōtaichō."

Pleased with his Captains and Vice-Captains the Head Captain pounded his cane on the floor. "You have received your orders, go and come back safely."

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All four of them secretly made their way to the Kuchiki manor, their mission was top-secret and they should proceed as such. There was a Hell Butterfly for each of them and they fluttered freely in front of them. The Senkaimon opened and they were greeted by its characteristic bright light, the Hell Butterflies fleeting ahead of them to guide their way. Rukia would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous; a completely new world would be revealed to them soon.

They walked the small room that led to the Senkaimon that would open into this new world. Right in front of it her brother paused briefly he had been leading the way, and she was sure that he had done it mainly for her and Rangiku to gather themselves; the captains were fearless. He finally opened the door and they were temporarily disoriented by the sunlight. They cautiously stepped out and when their eyes had adjusted to the light they saw that the safest place the Hell Butterflies could lead them to had been in midair.

They were in a vast terrain; there were no buildings anywhere in the area and they could see what remained of the mountainous region. Her sense of sound was immediately assaulted by the sound of explosions, and Rukia found she could not pinpoint one single source for there were countless. They had stumbled upon an enormous battlefield. That's when she felt it— the tremendous spikes of Reiryoku all over the area— there were so many of them! She looked at her brother as well as the Captain and Vice-Captain of the 10th Division, and saw that they had felt the same thing.

A Hell Butterfly landed on Byakuya's finger to relay the message of their arrival and the condition that this world was in to the Captain Commander. It fled swiftly once the message was received and entered the Senkaimon. "We are not to engage or interfere under any circumstances. We have our orders from the Captain Commander. There are far too many concentrated sources of Reiryoku, and we shall focus for now on the ones where the concentration is at its strongest. If there is a significant spike in any of our Reiatsu we shall assist immediately. Returning to Soul Society with our information is as important as gathering it." He looked between the three of them to make sure they had understood. "Rukia you will stay in this vicinity, Hitsugaya-taichō you shall take the western side, Matsumoto-fukutaichō the east, and I will take the north. If anything gets out of control we will meet back here."

When all was made crystal clear they all went in different directions. Rukia descended to her designated area and felt the flow of Reiryoku increase as she did so. She landed in a small open area where she could begin her observation. The first thing she noticed was one of the opposing sides. They were these strange white creatures and half of its body looked mutilated and warped, she could see hundreds of them as far as the eye could see. These clone-like things were not Hollows of that much she was sure. They kept coming and coming even after they were cut down by the opposing side; the others were human but they weren't normal at all. Rukia could sense their Reiatsu, on some more than others, but these people had developed it far beyond what they had known a human was capable of.

Not too far ahead of her she felt a particular large surge in reiatsu and drawn to it she walked through the sea of white clones and super humans. She came to a stop a short distance from two people that stood back to back, and in a few words they were beautiful to her. Her first conclusion was that they had to be somehow related; the male and female had almost the same exact shade of pupil less eyes and she could see veins protruding from the sides of their eyes. To put it quite simply she had never seen anything like them, their fighting style was graceful and fluid almost as if they were dancing. The male had long brown hair and the female had long midnight blue hair. They were both out of breath, but they stood tall watching each others' backs.

As another mob of the white clones attacked them the two said, "Hakke Kūhekishō!" Simultaneously they extended their left and right arms as an invisible vacuum-like force expelled their enemies several feet away from them and with tremendous exertion. Their hands had not even made contact with their opponents' bodies. As a clone approached the male from behind, the petite female reacted in a matter of seconds and aimed at it with a flexed hand. A blue light emitted from her hand as she aimed for its heart; before her hand had made contact it fell lifeless at their feet.

The brunette turned to look at her in awe and appreciation at having saved his life. "Thank you, Hinata-sama."

She had to react quickly as many more made to attack them. "There is no need to thank me, Neji-niisan. I will not stand by as my loved ones are threatened; it is my nindō." She quickly took down two more clones. "We swore this war was to protect Naruto-kun from Madara and we cannot fall here." Rukia could see the determination in her eyes and she admired it.

"Hai, Hinata-sama," and the two continued to battle against the opposing army. He looked down at the ground, "The White Zetsu Army keeps on coming from underground. There's no end to them!"

Rukia wondered how he was able to know that, when she saw him look off in the distance towards the ground and she realized that it must have been their eyes. Those white eyes of theirs intrigued her. "We must continue to hold them off as much as we can. We don't know how long our reinforcements will take; the White Zetsus caught the Allied Shinobi Forces off guard when they went underground."

That's who these humans were, shinobi? She remembered learning vaguely about them when she went to school in the human world, but they had been taught they were no longer around. This alternate plane was a shinobi world?

The shinobi fought countless enemies for what seemed hours and just when Rukia saw no end to them, their numbers died down. Breathless and exhausted the shinobi looked around them for any more of the ones they referred to as they White Zetsu Army. Just as it seemed as if they would be able to catch their breath, they all visibly stiffened and appeared to be listening for something that was inaudible to her. Instantly exhaustion left their bodies and their determination was renewed.

"You all heard Yamanaka-san, Naruto-kun and Killer B-sama are making their stand and are fighting Tobi and the tailed beasts with all they have. We must help them!" Hinata spoke with renewed fervor. Rukia wondered how they had all been notified of this. Were these shinobi capable of telepathy? Somehow that did not surprise her.

The shinobi quickly ran off in the direction Tōshirō had gone and she followed them. The shinobi looked more determined than ever. Rukia felt as the Reiatsu increased exponentially ahead of them and she felt the killing intent rolling off of it in waves. Soon after she saw enormous black spheres of energy and when they touched ground and exploded the shockwave was powerful enough it knocked back several of the shinobi. Hinata, Neji, and the rest of them who had not been affected just kept pressing forward even more determined to get to their comrades.

When they finally reached this new battle, she immediately spotted Tōshirō above the battleground observing them and went to him. "What's going on Hitsugaya-taichō?"

"I saw a man turn into an octopus and begin to fight the other beasts, then the blonde boy was shrouded in yellow light and he joined in the fight. The masked man standing over there is commanding the beasts. Somehow he is controlling them. All of their powers and abilities… I've never seen anything like them." The young captain said in awe. "What are they?"

"From what I have overheard they are all shinobi. We happened to stumble upon some type of great shinobi war— they call themselves the Allied Shinobi Forces. What this war is over I am still unsure of."

Behind her she heard Neji call out, "Gai-sensei!"

A man wearing a green spandex uniform turned to look at him. "Neji-kun, stay back!" All of them did just as an attack was aimed at him, another man with grey hair, and the blonde boy Tōshirō had mentioned.

The powerful attack was deflected by the blonde boy creating another explosion. "Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei, are you alright?" He asked, his concern over the other two exceeding his own wellbeing. The other two nodded.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata's concern reflected in her voice.

"Hinata, stay back! Neji take them away from here! It's far too dangerous!" The blonde yelled at him.

"No, Naruto-kun the whole purpose of the alliance was for us to protect you and B-sama. We can't stand aside and do nothing!" Hinata replied fervently.

Rukia could see the doubt in Naruto's eyes as he looked back at Hinata but he finally gave in and almost growled in frustration. "Fine, but everybody else needs to stay back. I don't want any unnecessary casualties." All but Neji, Hinata, a boy with red triangles on his face, and another with a heavy coat and sunglasses stood back a distance.

All their attention was focused on the masked man when he laughed. "Still worrying over others? You haven't changed Naruto. You are willing to die for them— the ones who shunned you and the others for being jinchūriki. It is all only momentary. They are grateful to you only because you defeated Pain… it will all fade with time. When I win this Fourth Shinobi World War it will not matter, the great Shinobi Nations will be under my Infinite Tsukuyomi and it will be as if all of this never happened. All who have fallen will not be remembered."

Rukia raised her Reiatsu to alert Byakuya and Rangiku, the situation in this Shinobi World was much worse than they feared. "Fourth Shinobi World War— then that means there have been three wars prior to this one? Why is it that the others did not alert us of their existence?"

The 10th Division Captain remained silent while he pondered over this new revelation. "Perhaps the others were nowhere near as grand in scale as this one." That made sense.

Then another immense presence entered the battlefield accompanied by Byakuya and Rangiku. "We felt the irregularity in your Reiatsu and came as soon as possible." Byakuya said addressing her. The two new to the battle surveyed the area quickly.

As the unknown male stood next to the masked man she heard the others gasp in astonishment. "Madara Uchiha," she heard the one known as Kakashi say when he recognized the dark long haired man.

Naruto quickly turned to him, "What do you mean? If that's Madara Uchiha than who is he?" He said pointing to the one wearing the orange mask.

The man laughed heartily yet his laugh sent a chill down her spine. "I am no one. My true identity is of no importance." The beasts retreated and stood next to him, waiting, for what she wasn't sure.

"There were five others fighting Madara Uchiha. All five were powerful, but he was overpowering them and it appeared as if he was merely toying with them." Byakuya gave them his analysis quickly and calmly.

Rukia looked at Madara Uchiha. Something about him seemed off; when she looked in his eyes they were almost lifeless. "Nii-sama, his eyes they're-"

"He is dead— from what I gathered from the other five, that is why everyone reacts that way by his presence on the battlefield. A man named Kabuto used what they referred to as Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei, a technique which brought several of their most feared warriors back from the dead." He had gathered such valuable information in a short amount of time. "Apparently the technique is forbidden."

"How is that even possible, to bring the dead back to life?" The 10th Division Captain asked incredulously.

"I saw him fight against them, Hitsugaya-taichō, and I do believe there might be some truth to what they say. He seemed almost completely empty. The way he and his companion spoke to them it seemed as if their movements were not of their own volition and they are being manipulated." If her brother believed it to be true then they were truly dangerous.

"Won't all these souls eventually attract Hollows? There are countless dead and more dying as we speak." Rangiku was right. Maybe the Hollows had not made their way into this world yet, but the current situation would certainly attract them. Like moths to the flame.

"Matsumoto-fukutaichō and I will perform konsō on the ones we can find." Tōshirō and Rangiku took off in opposite directions.

"Is that the Kyūbi's chakra I sense?" They heard Madara ask.

Rukia saw Naruto stiffen slightly. "He is one of the remaining jinchūriki, Naruto Uzumaki." The masked man offered.

"From the Uzumaki Clan?" She heard Madara confirm.

The masked man nodded, "He is the son of the previous Kyūbi jinchūriki Kushina Uzumaki and the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze."

"Tobi," Kakashi called out to him and the masked man looked at him in acknowledgement. "Will you not reveal your true identity to us now? It is clear that you are not Madara Uchiha, for he is standing in front of us under the influence of the Edo Tensei as a mere puppet of Kabuto's. This only confirms that the real Madara Uchiha has been dead all this time."

"Like I said before my true identity is of no consequence. The outcome will be the same once I acquire the last of the bijū." This man gave Rukia the chills.

She felt the new Reiatsu approach the battlefield before she saw him. She heard the voices of the other shinobi in the distance and when she looked in the direction they had gone to take cover she saw a dark haired male walking towards them. Her brother was looking at him too as well as Hinata. The girl recognized him and Rukia saw an unknown emotion in her lavender eyes. "Sasuke," she almost whispered his name.

Naruto looked back and his eyes widened when he saw him, "Sasuke… I was hoping we wouldn't have to come to this in the end." All his motivation and determination had left him as soon as this Sasuke appeared and now he looked sad.

"Sasuke, how nice of you to join us," Tobi said his voice dripping with disdain.

Sasuke smirked as he addressed them, "So this is the mighty Madara Uchiha— the founder of the Uchiha Clan— bending to the will of the Akatsuki?"

Madara's expression remained lifeless but if he could have expressed anything, Rukia could have sworn he almost seemed fond of the young man. "Sasuke Uchiha, the last of the survivors of the Uchiha clan." This clan must have been powerful she thought. "You know we don't have a will of our own the Edo Tensei takes complete control. I would have never wanted for the last of the Uchiha to die out like this. Whatever you do Sasuke, do not let yourself get killed today." She saw a remnant of who he had been when he was alive show through. As quickly as it had appeared it was gone. "Sharingan," and with just a simple word his eyes changed and they turned red.

Sasuke muttered the same word and his eyes did the same thing. It was similar to what she had seen earlier with Hinata and Neji; their eyes were a special trait of their respective clans. Madara started making some hand signals and she saw the alarm on Sasuke's face. "Everybody move back!" All the shinobi that were within earshot ran off at speed similar to their hohō.

"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku," Madara expelled fire from his mouth and a great wall of fire swept towards them and wiped out everything in its path. The ones that had not been able to get away had turned to ash and though it was sad to see any life lost she was glad the number had been far less thanks to Sasuke's warning.

She looked at Byakuya and tried to read an emotion on his face but saw none, he only observed everything just as she. She was astonished at what these shinobi could do. She hoped Hinata and Neji were okay and had gotten away in time. Once the smoke dissipated Naruto and Sasuke emerged unscathed and she felt herself let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Rangiku and Tōshirō were once again at their side. "We managed to purify the ones in the surrounding areas, but we thought you might need assistance we felt the massive surge in Reiatsu." Tōshirō looked around at the scorched earth. "What happened here?"

"It was him— it was Madara," Rukia said motioning to him. "He did a series of hand signals and fire came out of his mouth destroying everything in its path." He looked at Byakuya who only nodded slightly for confirmation.

The two Uchiha began attacking each other with balls of fire and Tōshirō and Rangiku witnessed for themselves that what they had claimed before was true. At the same time Naruto performed a technique of his own, "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Hundreds of Naruto clones appeared and attacked Madara.

Behind him Sasuke prepared for another attack as blue-white lightning started to form on his left hand. The sound that emitted from the lightning was like that of birds, and while it looked beautiful it must have been deadly. Sasuke charged through the Narutos and went straight for Madara. "Chidori!" The powerful current was focused on his chest and sent him flying several feet. Madara lay immobile for several moments before standing to his feet.

Madara was undamaged. "You have to come at me much stronger than that. You will never defeat me that way." Rukia was confused did he want to be beaten? "Mangekyō Sharingan." Then his eyes transformed again.

When Naruto meant to charge at him Sasuke held up his hand. "Stand back Naruto, you can't defeat him. You are no match for the Mangekyō." One of the beasts attacked Naruto forcing him to leave Sasuke to battle alone, and the rest of the beasts followed along with Tobi. Sasuke drew out his katana. "Kusanagi no Tsurugi: Chidorigatana," and it was surrounded in blue lightning and emitted that same bird-like sound. Then they charged and attacked each other relentlessly. From what she could see Sasuke could not land a hit on Madara giving him the upper hand.

Madara continued to attack with fire techniques keeping Sasuke at a distance. Still Sasuke did not waver. Then Madara did a technique she had not seen yet. "Susanoo," as he uttered this a giant humanoid being was formed and surrounded him like armor.

Rukia saw Sasuke smirk. "Mangekyō Sharingan," and his eyes transformed as well.

"No, Sasuke!" She saw Hinata get closer and Neji pull her back.

"Hinata-sama you must not interfere. This is his fight there is nothing we can do. Our Byakugan is no match against Susanoo. Surely you know this." Rukia could see he did not like admitting it.

Hinata stopped moving thinking over what he had said. "Byakugan." The veins around her eyes were visible again and she looked intently at the humanoid being. Whatever she saw must not have been good for she could hear her desperation. "We have to do something, Neji-niisan! We have to help him." Neji only shook his head.

Rukia turned to her brother and saw curiosity briefly cross his features. "I saw them fighting while using that technique. It must be a clan trait, similar to the ones the Uchiha possess. It enables them to see through objects and great distances. He was able to see the enemy coming at them from underground." She said referring to Neji. "It also allows them to emit Reiatsu like powers from their hands incapacitating the enemy without so much as touching them." She saw Byakuya was looking closely at the two below them. Floating above their shoulders she saw the remaining three Hell Butterflies and she felt relieved for they would need the evidence to prove what they had seen today.

They heard Sasuke's voice and their attention was once again drawn towards the battle, "Amaterasu." His technique was done to counter the one of fire made by Madara. His black fames clashed with Madara's red flames, and it overpowered them clashing into the humanoid. It was engulfed in the black flames and whatever surrounded it was immediately obliterated. They had never seen flames quite like those.

When the flames surrounding the humanoid receded she saw it was unscathed and she could see the surprise in the other Shinigamis' faces— there was no taking this thing down. The flames on the terrain around it however, did not burn out. "Had your opponent been anybody else you would have succeeded. My powers far exceed the never extinguishing flames of Amaterasu rendering them completely useless against me."

She saw the frustration briefly in Sasuke's features as he acknowledged the truth in what he had said; his attacks had yet to damage Madara or his creature. Madara made to attack once again. "Yasaka no Magatama." The humanoid created a large chain of tomoe attached by a nearly invisible Reiatsu thread then hurled it in his direction. She saw them detach once in flight and attack him individually at alarming speed. With effort he evaded them all and when his feet were about to touch the ground the last one came at him at unavoidable speed.

Time slowed down as the Shinigami stood aside to see the outcome. Rukia did not want to see she knew if that attack hit him he would not survive. She wanted to look away but Neji's voice did not let her. "Hinata-sama!" No! She had just seen the petite girl far away from them, how had she crossed the distance between them that fast?

Hinata had managed to get to Sasuke and pushed him out of the way as the last attack came at him. She had seen what he had failed to. Nobody had been able to stop her. Hinata was thrown several feet in the air before coming down hard to the ground. Rukia heard Rangiku's sharp intake of air next to her as everything unraveled before them. Sasuke and Neji were at Hinata's side in record time. From where he had been fighting, he must have seen what had happened for Naruto was there too leaving the octopus and the other two men fighting the beasts.

She saw Hinata spit out blood and Sasuke knelt down beside to her. He lifted her into his arms and cradled her. "Hinata, why, why did you do it? You were supposed to stay away. Stupid, selfless woman…" She could hear him struggling for composure. Whatever their relationship was it must have been close.

Hinata coughed as she struggled to speak and she searched for his hand and grasped it with whatever strength she had left. "S-Sasuke… I couldn't stand by a-and do n-nothing while you put your l-life on the line f-for u-us."

"We need a medic nin! Somebody get Sakura-chan or Granny Tsunade!" Naruto yelled desperately. She saw many shinobi run off no doubt to search for a medic.

Neji was on her other side and held onto her just as desperately. "Hinata-sama you never listen to me. What am I supposed to tell Hiashi-sama and Hanabi-sama? You were my responsibility…"

Hinata smiled sadly. "T-tell my f-father and sister that I-I followed my nindō until the very e-end. They will understand…" Another coughing fit racked her body and she spit out more blood.

"Byakugan," Neji's eyes searched her body and when Sasuke looked at him hopefully he only shook his head.

"S-Sasuke," she said softly. "P-promise me that no m-matter what h-happens you'll go back to the v-village and rebuild the U-Uchiha Clan."

He shook his head. "Hinata, I-"

"Y-you have to p-promise," she pleaded as a tear trailed down her cheek. "You h-have to forgive Itachi." When he looked at her incredulously she continued. "I know the t-truth… I know why he m-massacred the clan. It w-wasn't his fault."

Tears flowed freely down her cheeks now. "I promise Hinata, I will do anything you ask of me. I always did." At that she smiled and he caressed her hair. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and Rukia could feel her eyes tear up.

"S-Sasuke… I-I have always l-loved you… a-all my life since w-we were k-kids." She confessed. She heard Rangiku sniffle next to her.

"I love you, too Hinata," he whispered. "It was always you— the reason why I kept going after everything that happened." The last bit of strength he had left was quickly leaving him and Rukia saw his shoulders tremble. "The Uchiha Clan… you were supposed to rebuild it along with me…"

"I-I'm sorry, Sasuke…" she let out one last breath and her small body stilled.

Sasuke and Neji immediately noticed and she saw their despair. Tears finally left Sasuke's eyes and he kissed her forehead tenderly as if he would break her. A blonde woman appeared next to them. "Hinata…" she said tenderly.

"Tsunade," Sasuke said as he looked up pleadingly at her but the woman only shook her head. It was too late for her.

Rukia saw Hinata's soul slowly materialize close to the group and she quickly descended towards her. The three Shinigami followed her. Rukia saw as Hinata quickly took in what had happened. The young girl quickly realized her fate. When Rukia touched the ground, Hinata turned to look at her with tears in her eyes. "I'm dead… aren't I?"

Rukia nodded sadly, "Yes, I'm sorry."

Hinata looked at her loved ones again, focusing mostly on Sasuke. "There is no reason to be sorry. I did what I had to do… I would not have been able to live with myself if something had happened to them while I just stood back and watched." She looked back at the four Shinigami behind her. "Did you see everything that happened?"

"Yes, we did."

"Who are you?"

"We are Shinigami."

Hinata did not know what Shinigami were, but if she had only been able to see them then it probably meant one thing. "Are you here to take me away?" Rukia only nodded. Hinata looked at the four Shinigami in front of her as if she was memorizing what they looked like. "Will I see them again one day?"

Rukia knew she was asking about her loved ones. "Yes, you will in due time."

Hinata turned away from them again and looked sadly at Sasuke and a single tear escaped her eye. "I am ready." She said simply.

Rukia unsheathed her zanpakutō slowly watching for any fear in Hinata but saw none. The girl was truly resigned to her fate. She felt extreme sadness for this girl that had just begun to live and she felt her hand waiver. Byakuya was quickly at her side and placed his hand briefly on hers stilling it. She looked up at him gratefully, "Thank you, nii-sama."

Hinata looked at Byakuya intently before smiling kindly at the captain. "Nii-sama… Neji was like my brother." She said as she turned back to look at the male.

Rukia focused on her task once again. She smiled at the girl in front of her, "See you on the other side, Hinata." She said softly as she performed konsō on her. Rukia knew that this would not be the last they heard of the lavender eyed girl. She was not sure why, but somehow she just knew.

Hinata looked truly at peace in that moment. "Sasuke…" she whispered as she looked back at him one last time, and as if he had been able to hear her he turned to look at them. As he focused his attention on them Hinata vanished.

She wondered if Sasuke had been able to see Hinata's soul depart at the last moment for immediately after a cry of true and utter anguish broke out loud enough for all to hear.