Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Naruto. Only the OC is my idea, her backstory, abilities, appearance, etc. I do not make any money from this story. Some characters may be a bit out of character.
She watched in amazement as the boy behind the hollow delivered six sets of consecutive blows to various points on the hollow's body. The Shinigami blinked in astonishment as he accurately struck several key points to the reiatsu network of the hollow, she shook her head to break free of her daze before unsheathing her Zanpakuto and slashing the hollow down from the top of its mask down through the entire center of its body.
Neji deactivated his byakugan, his eyes returning to their featurless white state and regarded the person before him, to his astonishment he could still see her.
The girl blinked again, sheathing her Zanpakuto and inquired, "clearly you can see me, can you hear me as well?"
"Yes," came his simple response. She regarded his attire, dressed in a white kimono shirt with long loose sleeves, matching pants and a navy-grey apron was tied around his waist. On his feet were a pair of black sandals, his dark brown hair was long and pulled back into a loose ponytail which he oddly decided to tie near the bottom of the ponytail.
'What a strange choice for a hair style. Yumichika would have a field day with him,' she thought to herself.
"You seem surprised that I can see and hear you," Neji probed, his arms relaxed at his sides.
"It's not common for humans to see my kind. It's akin to a human seeing a ghost," she answered, her amber eyes opening to meet his featureless white. He felt a jolt in his stomach as if a knot had formed there.
"Ghosts are not real," Neji countered, his brow furrowing. He believed she took him for a fool. Everyone knows ghosts are just folktales meant to scare young children are by no means part of any reality. The teenage girl, he estimated to be about sixteen or seventeen years of age gave him a smile and asked, "those other three you were with, were they able to see me?"
"No," Neji conceded.
"Have you ever been on the brink of death?"
Neji remained silent while he thought back to his fight with Kidomaru, aside from physically pushing him to his limit, the member of the silent four had in fact wounded him so severely he had passed out from the pain and the injuries.
He gave a slow nod of his head, and this seemed to relax the elder girl who calmly stated, "well that would explain it. You probably were dead very briefly. Humans who've had near death experiences often gain spiritual awareness after."
Neji regarded her and scoffed, "you expect me to believe that you're a ghost?"
"Not any ordinary ghost, no, but since you asked, I'm a Shinigami," she corrected. Catching the deadpanned expression on his face, she looked to Neji and poised her right hand in front of her with her baby and ring finger bent down, her middle and index finger extended and her thumb pressed against her two bent fingers. "Bakudo 1, Sai!"
While she called this out, she motioned with her right hand off to the side. Against his will Neji's arms flew behind his back and his legs seemed to fuse together.
"That is a technique called 'kido', some refer to it as 'magic'. It's the least harmful of combat techniques I could use on you. I only implemented it as a demonstration, not to cause you any actual harm," She explained.
"Byakugan," Neji called out, the blood flow increasing to his eyes, which once again had dilated pupils. The girl observed the boy keenly as he concluded, "gentle fist art: one blow body." Her amber eyes widened as he broke her kido and stood back up.
'No way! What is he?'
"I never caught your name," she reminded him.
"Nor did I catch yours," he countered, as the byakugan deactivated again. He gave a slight bow as he stated, "my name is Neji Hyuga."
"Chiaki Kyoraku. Call me Aki," she revealed. She looked to Neji with a slightly sheepish grin and commended him, "you do have some impressive skills. I'll grant you that. However I'm off world for a reason. I want to resolve that and return as soon as possible."
"I see. Are you certain no one else can see you in this world?"
Chiaki shrugged her shoulders, "unless I can find a place to construct a faux body for myself or someone else has either died or been very close to death."
"Hmm, I see. I don't feel right about you being out in the open," Neji admitted.
"I'm not exactly rolling in your world's currency. I can't check into a hotel, genius," she pointed out.
The brunette man simply smiled and stated, "you'll stay with me. You can have my room. I will stay in the living room."
Chiaki's eyes widened as she protested, "no, that's not necessary! Really! I couldn't put you out like that. Besides once I gain a faux body wouldn't your parents freak out? You seem to be a teenager."
"I am seventeen. I live alone. It's no trouble," Neji assured her as he turned to head out of the cave but glanced over his shoulder to ensure she was following him. As Chiaki was about to protest again, her stomach growled loudly.
A soft chuckle emitted from him as Neji confessed, "I could eat as well." He then blinked, and gained a nearly sheepish look as he inquired, "What do Shinigami eat anyway?"
"Pretty much anything that you eat, although I'm not keen on sweets or mushrooms," she replied.
"I don't like pumpkināor spicy foods," Neji revealed, though he appeared to be thinking before announcing, "Let's get back to my place. I'll make herring soba."
