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.
A week had passed since that day. The same day of the incident between Neji and Tenten Chiaki had given the roses to Hinata for her Aunt and Uncle's graves. She explained that she was a friend of her cousin Neji's, however he wasn't well enough to take them himself. Hinata had asked what was wrong with Neji, to which Chiaki had only said, "he'll tell you when he's able to. Right now is just not a good time."
It was evident that this girl she'd heard him talking to, Tenten was a bit more upset than she'd given her credit for because anytime either of them saw her, she completely evaded them. Eventually Neji had resigned himself to going to Tsunade for help. Which lead to this scene: a scowling Tenten who looked enraged enough to start a camp fire with her glare, Neji who resembled an abused wounded puppy and Chiaki who looked as nervous as a bird that had just flown through a category one hurricane.
They all faced the brown eyed blonde woman who was currently sitting behind her desk in her office. Tsunade sighed heavily and began, "first off I shouldn't need to tell you that being romantically involved with your teammates is not the best idea out there. At least hold off until you're both Jonin, preferably when you're heading your own squads. That way if something like this happens, it doesn't compromise your entire team!"
"Yes Lady Tsunade," Tenten and Neji answered in unison.
"Second, Tenten, while I can understand what you saw was upsetting you're not being very fair to Neji. You're making assumptions. Reasonable ones given what you did see, but perhaps you should hear what he's been wanting to tell you for the past week," Tsunade added.
"I was willing but he'd have to talk before he got into my home," Tenten defended herself.
"That wouldn't have been wise," Tsunade countered, her eyes narrowing slightly.
She took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, "Chiaki, I know exactly what you are and I know you're not of this world."
Tenten looked to the other brunette girl in shock before blurting out, "you're an alien?! Oh that's so much better!"
"I'm not an alien. I come from a spiritual world called 'Soul Society'. I exist as a soul. The reason you can see me is because I'm currently in a gigai. A fake body that I built after arriving here, which I couldn't have done without Neji's help," Chiaki objected.
"Right, a soul," Tenten scoffed.
"Tenten, do you remember eleven days ago when we were having lunch while Lee and Guy sensei were training, and I said I saw something in the sky?"
"Yeah, lead us to those three people that were barely alive," Tenten shrugged
It was Chiaki's voice that was next heard, "so they're okay? The mom's recovering well?"
"They all made a complete recovery," Tsuande agreed.
"Oh that's good news," Chiaki admitted, visibly relieved before she added, "the mother's chain of fate was almost fully severed. I'm glad I was there."
"Chain of fate? There's no such thing! How dare you! Do you even know what Neji's been through?"
"It isn't like that Tenten," Neji interjected.
"There you go again, defending her when I'm defending you!"
"Tenten, it's true. We have a chain that binds our soul to our bodies called a chain of fate. I saw it in my own chest when I was unconscious after my fight with Kidomaru," Neji stated firmly.
"The fact that you saw it means that it's exactly as I expected although you can see Reiatsu and Chakra networks with Byakugan, it's not enough. You need to have been near death to actually see me," Chiaki
"If you're a soul why don't you go back to your 'soul society'?"
Tsunade growled out, "Because she was sent here on a mission, Tenten! Like you and the rest of the Shinobi she safe guards not only her world but all worlds that contain living people!"
"A mission?" Tenten and Neji asked in unison.
'Well, Neji didn't even know about it, that's a bit reassuring,' Tenten thought to herself.
Chiaki rubbed the back of her neck before admitting, "yes. I was sent here on a mission – in a sense. It was kind of spur of the moment. Mobilize whomever was on hand for it."
"For what?" Neji asked.
"The escape of a dangerous criminal from Muken, one of the more secure levels of the Shinigami prison. We had little time to organize anything. I was passing near the detention spire when the alarm sounded. Unauthorized off world travel, I could sense where it was coming from and pursued them here. Only to find a world that's got a bit of a hollow problem its self. To make matters worse I can barely get a signal here, so I haven't been able to report in."
Tenten rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Right, what did this guy try to do? Kill off a nation?"
"First off: Shinigami are not permitted to harm humans. It's one of our highest laws that can only be broken without consequence if the Shinigami is under orders from our governing body, Central 46. Second: This person didn't just try to slaughter a town. He tried to slaughter an entire town, over throw the Spirit King and reign over all existence to reshape it in his image and that's after the illegal experiments he performed on humans and souls alike. Third, I'd rather not be the only Shinigami here chasing this creep, but I am! That leads me to a thought process every single day that no person should ever have and yes it makes me cranky," Chiaki snapped at Tenten.
Neji blinked and looked to Chiaki with concern, Tenten was now giving the girl her undivided attention as well. Carefully choosing his words, Neji inquired, "what thought process would that be?"
Chiaki swallowed hard, taking a shaky breath, tears formed in her eyes as she admitted, "let me put it this way: this man is my biological father- and- my mother's murderer."
Tenten and Neji's eyes both grew to the size of saucers, while Tsunade sat back down at her desk, resting an elbow on the surface, and her chin on the palm of her hand she stated, "There you have it. That's why Chiaki has been viewed as a pariah among her own people for the past ten years."
"After he was convicted, and announced to everyone that he was my father—he never claimed me before then, my friends started shunning me. My subordinates and colleagues look at me with equal amounts of fear. I'm barely trusted now. All because of what he did, which I had no way of knowing he was doing or stopping him. I got used to being alone. Then I came to this world and—I met Neji. Suddenly I had someone around that didn't fear me again. It was nice," Chiaki concluded.
Tenten lowered her head processing the information, 'that's why she's so happy with him. It isn't about romance it's just happiness to have someone around again.'
Neji shook his head a bit as he admitted, "I can never claim to know how that feels but I can tell you one thing: you do have a friend here."
"I'm sorry, I—I got insecure and I shouldn't have," Tenten apologized. Neji and Chiaki both relaxed but tensed again at Tsunade's next declaration.
"Oh good, but if I catch the two of you lovey-dovey before you're on different teams after this fiasco, I'm stripping you both of your commissions!"
