A/N: For those of you that read xxxHOLiC some of this might seem familiar. I took the idea from that chapter with the ghost girl. Episode 7 of the anime.

Staring Into the Face of Death

When Ukitake opened his eyes everything was dark. There was only darkness in this place. He looked down to himself and noticed he wasn't injured anymore, the gaping hole on his body gone. He was wearing a white yukata, which meant he had been stripped of his shinigami powers. He couldn't feel Sogyo no Kotowari's comforting presence in his mind anymore. His body felt light, and he had never found it so easy to breathe in his life. He frowns, sad. This was it, right? He had died. He hadn't expected it to be this lonely, this oppressing. But as long as Shunsui lived that was all that mattered. But he had no idea if the man was alive or not.

He was distracted from his reveries when he heard something. Someone was…crying? He slowly walked in the darkness, following the sound. He had no idea if a minute or a century had passed when he saw a child crouched, crying. He frowned. A young child like that shouldn't be in a place like this, wherever this was. He approached her and leaned by her side, resting his hand on her head.

"What's wrong?"

The little girl looked at him with teary, wide eyes. "I can't go. It'll be gone soon but I can't go."

"Go where?" She lifted her head, looking off at the distance. It seemed the same as everything else but he could feel isomething/i from that place.

"Over there. I have to go but… I'm too scared to"

He smiled gently at her "Of course you would be scared, in a dark place like this."

"But, if ojii-san comes with me, I might be able to go!"

He chuckled at that "I might have white hair but I'm not quite that old."

He blinks when the girl starts pulling him alone "Where is this place you want to go? Home?"

The girl kept walking, still holding his hand. "It's not home but…I still have to go. Ne, you won't leave me alone, right?"

He frowned when a sense of dread hit him and he held her hand, stopping her from going further. She looked back at him "What's wrong?"

"It's just…this feeling. I don't think we should go there" He knew something was wrong, even without his shinigami powers he could still sense something off with that place.

The girl's eyes widened at that and she clutches his arm "Ne, come with me! I can't go by myself! It's scary! I'll be stuck here forever!"

The white haired man was about to reply when he heard familiar voices.

iDon't…go…/i It was Sogyo no Kotowari? But wasn't he dead? Wasn't he just a soul now? He's distracted when the girl pulls him again and he lets her pull him, extremely confused by now. And oddly enough he was starting to have a headache.

iDon't go. If you go over there…you won't be able to return. Your mission…isn't over yet…/i The voices were getting more insistent. Mission? What…what had he been doing? As they wandered on he found it hard to remember… Who was he?

iPlease…remember…Juushirou. Everyone is…waiting…/i The voices were pleading now. Juushirou, right. That was his name. Everyone was waiting? Who was? The glimpse of a man in a pink kimono passed through his mind. Who was that? Someone important… He gasps and pries his away hand from the little girl, ignoring her startled cry.

"Shunsui!" That's right, he had to know if he was alive. But…it was too late now, wasn't it?

iIt is never too late… We're glad…you realized in time… You are not meant to be there/i

"What do you mean? How can I go back?" Before his zanpakutou could answer he heard a familiar voice calling him.

"…shirou. Juushirou. Hang in there. He's gonna be okay, right? He's gonna live, right?"

"If you let me do my work, Kyouraku-taicho, I assure you he will be fine" Came Unohana's strict reply. He almost burst laughing with relief when he heard the familiar scolding. This was a common occurrence between Shunsui and Unohana whenever he was sick.

He felt something on his hand and looked down. He couldn't see it, but he could feel someone squeezing it. He looked at the young child, sad. "I'm sorry, but I can't come with you. It's not my time yet. Not yet" He patted her head gently "Wait for me a while longer" He then closed his eyes and felt himself drift.

When he next came to, well it wasn't exactly the most pleasant feeling. His body hurt all over and even if he was familiar with pain, this was almost unbearable. His chest in particular was killing him. But what else was new? He heard a voice calling him and forced himself to open his eyes, which in itself was quite an accomplishment due to his state. He tried to focus his blurry vision on Shunsui's bloody face. He looked half dead too but his trademark grin was there as usual.

"Hey, handsome. Had a nice nap?"

He smiled back at him. small"You look like hell"/small He was immediately overcome by a coughing fit and gasped at the searing pain. Okay so talking was a ibad/i idea.

Unohana was immediately at his side. "Kyouraku-taichou! If you disturb my patient any further I will have you admitted in the 4th division facilities with only male nurses to attend you" That instantly made Shunsui quiet down. Besides, Unohana was damn scary when she was angry. She nodded in his direction before hurrying off to care for the rest of the injured. It seemed the 4th division had returned and built a campaign hospital to attend to the fallen soldiers that were too gravely injured to be moved.

Ukitake frowned when he saw the state Shunsui was in. From what he could see, his left arm had been nearly decimated and was heavily bandaged. Well, the man looked basically like a mummy and he must have been in a lot of pain too but his good hand was still holding his own in a deadly grip. That was when he realized his other hand was clutching something so tightly it hurt his knuckles. Also, there was something curled around his arm. He turned his face a bit to look and smiled when he saw one of his twin zanpakutous, the red cord curled around his arm almost protectively. Its twin lied some distance away, cracked. They had both been injured this time. That's why her words hadn't reached him sooner. Above, the sound of the raging battle could still be heard. He wondered how everyone else was doing. Apparently his concern must have shown in his face because Shunsui squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry, no one died. Though you really gave us quite a scare. You stopped breathing for a moment there. We all thought…I thought that…" The darker man closed his eyes, trying to reign in his emotions. Ukitake could only squeeze his hand tightly, remembering the utter despair in other's face when he had been struck down. He would keep his promise to not leave his friend alone. It had been a promise he had made long ago. He would never die before him. He was too stubborn to give in to his illness, to give in to death. Although right now, it had been a close call. He had certainly stared into the face of death. If only he knew how accurate that expression was.