"Traitors?" Rukia echoed. And then, quietly and sympathetically, "Dead?"

When his face fell, she frowned, and went to touch his knee gently, hoping to be at least a little reassuring. "If it makes you feel better," she said quietly. "The afterlife, at least where I come from, is a very pleasant place. You're never hungry or thirsty or tired or sick, and your whole body feels light all the time."