A/N: I just wanted to answer the question somebody had posted on a review, which was how could Hanabi fall in love with Itachi when there's such a large gap between their ages? I'm sorry for not touching on this earlier, but I guess this is sort of like an AR to my story This World Can't Tear Us Apart. There I decreased the age gap to only two years; Hanabi is only two years younger than Hinata and Itachi is two years older than Sasuke. Hinata's death in the beginning of the story is a sort of "what if". Instead of having a happy ending with Sasuke she met her demise. But you don't need to read that one as a precursor for this one, I just really like SasuHina and ItaHanabi and will support these two any chance I get.

Also if any of you read that story, Las-T made a Commission for that story and is probably the first ItaHanabi fanart. Please check it out, it turned out much more beautiful than I imagined (she even got the lotus necklace he gave her perfectly)!

Here's the link (without the spaces): fav. me /d5qh3ry

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not Naruto or Bleach they belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo.

Chapter 4

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She had finally managed to get the younger girl to turn in for the night. There was no doubt in her mind that the fact she had found her had been pure fate for Rukongai was so large that the young girl could have ended up anywhere, but instead she had ended up here. While the older woman was glad fate had smiled upon her by bringing them together, this could only mean one thing and that in fact was that the young girl was dead.

For the past several weeks the lavender eyed girl had been having recurring nightmares, which the older woman suspected were memories from her previous life that came to her while she succumbed to slumber. The older woman had until now served as a guide through this shocking transition into the afterlife— the overwhelming remembrance of one's previous life's memories and eventually the moment that led to one's death— she was grateful she was the one that had crossed the girl's path. When she revealed to the young girl that she was dead it had certainly not been easy; the initial shock had been almost too much for the young girl to tolerate. In her situation, for instance, what had made that reality sink in easier was that her memories had not been lost to her and she had known from the beginning that she was dead. The girl had not been as fortunate.

Every time the girl dreamt she could feel the increase in reiatsu— it was what she learned in this world was similar to chakra— whatever abilities she had in her previous life had carried on to this one and had begun to awaken. The older woman was afraid for the younger; this increase in spiritual pressure only meant one thing and it would not be long before somebody else became aware of it. She would keep the young girl hidden for as long as she could; she only hoped that her awareness was slow to awaken.

Just then a large wave of reiatsu came flowing out from the room where the young girl was sleeping and it made her body tremble. These waves were becoming increasingly more powerful as the weeks passed. She only hoped no one that could recognize it for what it was had been anywhere near their little cottage hidden deep within the forest.

Several weeks prior…

She knew she was approaching the end of the forest before she could even see it; the dense canopy overhead began to grow more sparse and she could hear a multitude of noises ahead of her. In the time she traveled through the forest she became aware of a few things, for instance, the fact that her senses were very sharp. She could hear things that were at a distance from her and could discern accurately what those things were. Her eyesight was sharp as well and could see things clearly when they were still quite a distance away. She had been so entranced by this fact— she would pick out something at a distance and identify it, only to discover up close that she had in fact been right— that when she finally reached the end of the forest the unfiltered sunlight nearly blinded her and she immediately shielded her eyes.

She had ended up in a small village that looked like it had seen better days. There were no paved roads and the ground felt damp at her feet; she could still smell the moisture from the previous rainfall in the air. This particular section of the village resembled a small marketplace for there were locales on either side of her selling all sorts of things. For a moment she was overwhelmed by the assault to her senses; the almost deafening chatter from the people around her that threatened to drown her, as well as the all encompassing scents that surrounded her were almost too much to bear. It took her several moments to gain composure, but when she did she caught a whiff of food in the air and her stomach grumbled low in response. Gathering courage she began to make her way through the busy street and tried not to collide with any of the villagers. As she looked around her she caught people giving her curious glances and she wondered why; discreetly she assessed herself once again and upon noticing nothing out of place other than the fact she was barefoot, she decided to not dwell on it.

She passed by booths selling clothing, pottery, jewelry, weapons, and many other things; vendors invited anyone who would listen to purchase their quality products. She could smell the food getting closer and she currently had a one track mind as she made her way through the crowded street. When her eyes found what she had been looking for her mouth watered— in front of her were slabs of meat rotating slowly over a grill, seafood she currently couldn't recall the names of were on display, and the way the poultry was being prepared gave a whole new meaning to the word "fresh". As she made her way through the booths she saw they were all paying with a type of currency and she reached her hands into her pockets, unsurprised to find that they were empty.

She continued to work her way down the street and saw a fruit stand. The owner appeared to be busy with the small crowd of potential customers surrounding his stand. She approached the farthest end of the stand that was out of his sight and looked longingly at the different array of fruits on display. She felt torn for she felt the burn from the hunger pangs but she knew that taking something without paying for it was wrong. She would find a way to acquire this currency and earn it— as soon as she found out exactly where she was and how she had gotten here.

As she was about to walk away, she felt something crash into her from behind pushing her towards the makeshift fruit display. She immediately shot her hands forward to avoid slamming face first onto the stand and send several oranges rolling with her action. When she regained her balance and righted herself, she saw a small boy that barely reached her waist with two oranges tucked under his arm dash away as far as his little feet could take him. The owner of the stand quickly made his way towards her to see what all the commotion had been.

His face was flushed red with anger by the time he was in front of her. "Damn it, not again!" His glare was boring into her, "You're trying to take my fruit without paying aren't you?" He said accusingly.

She was taken aback by his wrongful accusation even when her train of thought had strayed there not five minutes ago and could only shake her head. "I-"

By this time a crowd had gathered around them and she could hear their incriminating whispers. "Don't try to deny it I'm onto your act! You distract me while your little friend makes off with my fruit!" He reached his hand out and grabbed a hold of her upper arm in a tight grip.

"But I didn't-" It was all she managed to say before he interrupted her by shaking her.

"Who's gonna pay for my stolen goods now? I bet you don't even have money to pay…" He said when he made a quick assessment of her state of dress.

By now she started to shake in fear; she was desperately trying to find a way to get out of the situation but was coming up empty.

"I'll cover it," a woman's voice came from somewhere in the crowd and she took advantage of his distraction to wriggle free from his tight hold so she too could see who had spoken. "She's with me." She immediately noticed the authoritative tone in which she spoke.

Said woman finally came out of the crowd and stopped until she stood between the two of them. "It's gonna cost you," the man said with a smug look on his face.

"No, it's not," the woman stated. "If you were actually an honest merchant you would accept payment only for the two pieces of fruit that child stole, the rest were merely knocked down by accident." She clarified as she gestured toward the ground where the rest of the fruit lay.

The crowd's hushed whispers increased in volume as they agreed with the woman. "Leave the girl alone, you greedy bastard!" she heard someone say from somewhere behind her.

"Yeah, now you're just trying to steal her money!" Someone else threw in and soon enough the crowd was defending her from the merchant.

The woman smirked in triumph. "You heard them. I suggest you are truly honest unless you want to risk losing future customers."

"F-fine, just pay for the goods and take her with you." The man's anger had long subsided and was now replaced with embarrassment.

The woman reached into the large tote bag she had strung over her shoulder that was filled with food and pulled out a small wallet. From within she pulled out two coins and handed them to the man. "Thank you for being reasonable," she said before she held onto her arm and pulled her away from the crowd heading in the direction she had first entered the village.

"Uhm…" she said but the woman gave no sign of having heard her and only continued to lead her away from the busy street.

As she trailed behind her, she could see the woman was a few inches taller than her, had jet black hair that reached her lower back, and a light complexion. Something about the woman's grasp on her felt familiar but she could not recall who this woman was. When she looked ahead she could make out the entrance of the forest once again and she began to panic.

"Excuse me," she said as she pulled her arm free from the unknown woman's hand. "Can we please stop?" They stood in the middle of the street and the woman quickly scanned the area around them. When her eyes spotted what she had been looking for she quickly pulled her into a deserted alley.

"When did you get here?" She demanded with urgency. Now that they stood face to face she could see the older woman was beautiful. Her eyes were a grey so dark they were almost black but instead of being afraid of their darkness she felt at peace— everything about this woman screamed warmth. She exhaled loudly and asked in a calm voice, "How long have you been here?"

She still didn't know where "here" was much less what the answer to the woman's question was. The only thing that gave her an indication as to how long she had been there was how long it had been since she first gained consciousness in the forest. "Uhm… well, for a day… I think."

The woman only stared at her and she could see the many questions that were forming silently in her charcoal eyes. She was surprised when the woman pulled her tightly in an embrace but before she could react they had broken apart and she was left speechless.

"You really don't remember me, do you?" The disappointment could be heard in her voice.

She looked intently at her but nothing about this woman looked familiar. She shook her head, "No, I-I'm sorry."

The disappointment was clear on the woman's face but she only said, "Maybe with time… you will." She shook her head as if to clear it. "Do you have anywhere to go? Have you eaten since you came here?"

As if on cue her stomach growled loudly and she blushed at her body giving her away. "No… to both of your questions."

The older woman laughed and she found the sound comforting. "Come with me," she stated plainly. "I live alone and we can talk in private without worrying about anybody interrupting us. What do you say?"

She really didn't have any options but even then something in her gut told her that this woman was trustworthy. While she could easily spend the night in the forest— a fact that left her intrigued— she really didn't want to when there was an offer for a roof over her head even if it was only for the night.

She nodded her consent and the woman smiled warmly at her. As she turned away from her and made to exit the alleyway to lead them in the direction of her home, she reached for her arm and held tightly. "My name… you said you knew me." She looked up and stared pleadingly into grey eyes. "What is it?" She asked hesitantly.

The woman's smile grew even wider. "Hyūga," she said as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear affectionately. "Hinata Hyūga."

A/N: Sorry guys, had to stop it there because otherwise the chapter would have gotten waaaayyy too long. This is only Part I and Part II will be coming soon along with the revelation of who this mystery woman is! Thank you for your continued support and please be on the lookout for the next chapter!

-Wyvern