She was so cute.

The girl couldn't have been anymore than eight. She was very thin, with small hands and feet, but despite that still carried a bright smile on her dirt caked face. Raven black hair framed her delicate features, only topped by big cobalt colored eyes. She was standing by a small man-made canal, fishing out small crabs, only to throw them back in when she lost interest. The girl was completely alone, not a single soul in sight; save for the dark shadow that stalked her every move.

It approached her slowly, as to not startle the young girl. He had an ominous feeling about him, it was surprising the girl's instincts didn't kick in and alert her of his presence. The more she tried to focus on his features the more blurry be seemed to become. She tried to shout at the girl to run, but not a single sound came out, like her voice was too strained to speak. She kept raising it as high as her body would allow, but nothing. She thrashed about. Maybe she could run to the girl, pull her away before he got too close. But not a single finger was lifted. All she could do was watch helplessly as he got closer and closer to his prey. He was so close now, not even a foot away. He reached out his monstrous hands, a wicked smiled growing on his lips. The girl was so small, so powerless against someone his size. There was nothing anyone could do for her now.

Then, in one quick movement, he swept her away.

Hisana screamed.

The sound seemed to echo throughout the large house, and most definitely would have woken it's occupants, had anyone besides her actually been there. Hisana could hear her rapid heartbeat and was forced to slow down her breathing. She'd never had a dream like that before. Her skin was lined with a thin sweat and her body shook from the adrenaline. It took her mind a second to come around. The moonlight shined in through the window, bathing everything inside in a luminescent glow. The soft, thin sheets that served as her blanket clung to her skin. She struggled to untangle them from her legs and slowly crawled out of bed. She was wearing little more than a loose kimono, which she tightened around her body despite the warm night. Right now, all she wanted was some fresh air.

The subtle sound of light footsteps and sliding doors were the only things that could be heard. Hisana nearly jumped out the door when the fresh smell of cherry blossoms hit her. The adrenaline still running high, she took off out the door, only to crash to the floor with a resounding thump.

"Hisana!" The person she had crashed into ducked down, a look of concern on his face.

"Byakuya?" She whimpered. Despite the pain, she was glad he was here.

"Are you alright?" His hand cupped her cheek. A small blush rose, topped by a soft smile.

"Better now." He, in turn, gave a warm smile back.

Cradling her arms and legs, he picked her up off the ground as if she were lighter than a pillow, carrying her back to room to the room they shared, the same one where she had her nightmare. She clutched his Shinigami's uniform.

"You shouldn't be up so late. You know it's bad for your health." He gently set her back onto the bed. He was always worried about her condition, it just seemed to be getting worse and worse as the days went by. It was hard to imagine what he'd do if things never got better, ultimately leading to the day he feared more than anything in the world. But those thoughts were for another time.

He slipped into bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her tiny waste. He could tell something was bothering her, but she'd never tell him, fearing causing him more worry than she already has. But he needed to know.

"What's troubling you?" Those beautiful dark blue eyes turned down in shyness.

"It's nothing." Byakuya had never been one to push a subject, having always been taught that it was rude, so he let it go. But it wouldn't disappear that easily.

"Byakuya?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever . . . felt guilty about something? I mean, something big, something you felt you could never take back?" For nearly their entire relationship, they had communicated silently. Not that they never spoke, but rather they never needed to. But this also had it's disadvantages, namely they didn't know as much about each other as one may think. So Hisana sincerely had no idea.

"No, not that I can particularly think of." It was wrong, but her heart fell a little. It didn't matter what she did, she always felt like she was a small child viewing him from the bottom of a towering mountain. It always felt like no matter how close she got to him, her voice would never truly carry to his ears.

"But you have." He didn't even need to ask to know. She buried her face in his robes, attempting to escape his burning gaze. And there came that fear again, that fear of closing that gap. Though she didn't know it, he felt it too, that wide span of nothing that separated them on so many levels. For now, though, there was nothing they could do about it. Let it be, and hope that maybe, one day, one of them would have the guts to cross that expanse and allow them to finally become one.

Sadly, it would only truly be closed on her death bed.