Author Note: Is this concept original and completely mine? Depends how you want to qualify it. I did come up with the idea without stealing it off somewhere else. But has the concept already been done? My instincts tell me, probably yes, as this isn't a huge leap to make. I was having a conversation with myself (yes, I do that, I know it's weird) about crossover fanfics and the difference between bending and breaking rules of the two used canon universes... one thing led to another, and I thought of this concept. Again, considering it's not exactly a hard universe connection to make, I highly doubt I'm the first to come up with this idea, but I at least pride myself on not having stolen it from someone else...

xXxXxXx

She'd never been in so much pain in all of her life. She couldn't even pinpoint where the pain was coming from. It seemed to engulf her entirely.

"Maka!"a distant voice cried, a voice that was all too familiar. The voice seemed worried, desperate. But somehow the tone didn't phaze her. Only the voice itself, which was oddly soothing.

"Maka! Open your eyes!"the voice demanded. There was a low curse at her lack of response before she heard him- yes, there was no question that voice was male- speaking desperately to some others she couldn't see. "We have to get her back to Shibusen! Fast!"

"Soul... she's losing too much blood..."spoke up a female voice, one that sounded on the verge of tears.

The rest of the conversation seemed to blur together to her. The pain was beginning to fade, being replaced by a strange, almost cold numbness. She managed to force her eyes open, but her vision was swimming. She could make out the vague images of her friends standing over her, but they weren't completely clear. It was only the colors of their shapes and the sounds of their voices that let her decipher who was who.

"Maka!"the voice said again, still sounding worried, but also relieved. Now that her mind wasn't swimming so much, she was able to identify it.

"S-Soul..."she said weakly. "I..."

"Don't strain yourself."Tsubaki's voice interrupted. "You're hurt badly, Maka. You need to preserve your strength until we can bring you to Professor Stein."

She managed to shake her head. "I... I don't know if I can hold out..."

"Don't say that!"Soul demanded, holding her body gently but securely. "We'll get you back to Shibusen and Stein'll fix you up, and you'll be good as new!"

She managed to give a small smile as her eyes slid closed again. "Soul... thank you... for everything..."

"Maka? Maka!"

xXxXxXx

When she opened her eyes again, she was looking down at her own body. Her friends were gathered around her worriedly, Soul desperately calling her name as he tried to wake her. But it was too late.

She looked down at herself. This definitely wasn't the visible form she had always seen souls as. Maybe this was a less tangible form? One that wasn't as readily visible as the spheres of blue flame that always stood so prominently? What she looked at was mostly the same as the form she was floating over: her school uniform, her black coat. The only notable changed was a chain attached to her chest, maybe a dozen or so links long she estimated without taking the time to count.

"Well, it's not often I find a Whole this fresh."said an unfamiliar voice. She turned to see a woman standing beside her, wearing black clothes and carrying a sword in her hand. Her first instinct at seeing the sword was to back away, but the woman gave a small smile.

"Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you. But your time in this world is over. It's time to move on to the next. To the Soul Society."

"The... Soul Society...?"she said uncertainly. That sounded vaguely familiar, but it definitely wasn't something they'd discussed in class. Maybe she'd overheard Stein or Shinigami-sama mentioning it off-handedly, but the name itself was all that was ringing a bell at all.

"It's a nice place."the woman assured her. "Think of it like heaven."

She hesitated, looking down to her body and friend again. She felt a tightening in her chest, seeing that it had become clear to them that she was now gone and not coming back. The others were trying to comfort Soul, who was clearly inconsolable, clinging tightly to her still body.

"Al-alright..."she finally breathed, tearing her eyes away to look at the woman. "Take me to this Soul Society place..."

With a nod, the woman stepped forward, raising her sword. She stiffened, but then realized that the woman wasn't preparing to attack, but simply placed the glowing hilt of her sword against her forehead for a few moments. She blinked in surprise for a few moments, before a sudden rush of peacefulness filled her. Her eyes fell closed, thinking one last time of her friends before things went dark.

xXxXxXx

Author Notes: The Shinigami woman isn't meant to be any canon character. Since Soul Eater takes place in the US, it's unlikely any characters we're familiar with showing up in the Japan area would be around when Maka died. But Soul Society itself I consider to be a single place where all dead would go, regardless of their origin, so there will be canon Bleach characters present.

As for the title... it's really just a working title until I can come up with something better, I'm not really satisfied with it...