A/N: Hello! Welcome to this new chapter. I hope this explains more the Kyuubi issue some have brought up.

Pairing tally:

ShikaxOC:8

ObitoxOC: 3

MinaxOC: 3

SasuxOC: 2

NaruxOC: 1

GaaxOC: 1

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

The Hokage propped his chin on his fist, taking a deep, settling breath.

"Minato-kun, how did this happen?"

The blue-eyed girl looked completely lost, though she opened her mouth anyway. "We were... trying an exercise with chakra paper," she... he? recounted. There was sheepishness in the way she shifted on her feet, though the predominant emotion was worry.


"What's wrong?" Minato said. His eyes widened; that wasn't his voice.

Charlie was shouting in his head, her panic rising as Minato looked around in wonder.

It had been so long since he was in the world, at least in this capacity. He could feel his fingers, the cool wood underneath him. He could turn his head, look around at a landscape that had grown alien to him in his captivity.

Awe overtook him, before the panic set in.

A deep feeling of displacement case upon him, a wave of 'I'm not supposed to be here' that knocked him onto his- her?- back. The natural world was rejecting him conclusively. His newfound freedom was not worth this incredible discomfort.

Minato was dead, and he should've stayed that way. And what right did he have to abduct this girl's body for his own, when he had been so incredibly lucky to occupy a space in her mind in the first place?

"Charlie," he said, "Charlie, try to come back." He closed his eyes, focusing on reeling in the power that had always lied in him. It was stretching now, and it would not be crammed back in so easily.

Her presence was strange in his head. Her aura felt warm, like the sun beaming on your face, and yet it was warped in her fear. She seemed to strengthen somehow, her influence touching every corner of their shared brain, and yet, there he stayed.

"Minato," she said. Her voice still shook, but there was a bit of determination in it as well. "Get to the Hokage. He may be able to help."

Something occurred in his mind, then. He had always been a bit of a scientist when it came to these sorts of things, things he didn't understand. There was a wealth of opportunity here, and he understood it as well as she did.

He felt for the chakra in her system, the chakra of not-so-suspicious origins. It greeted him like an old friend, and wondered at why he hadn't used it sooner. He had generated enough to be full-to-bursting during his time in her head.

With a wistful smile, he pulled it into his grasps again, and shunshined.


Flying into the Hokage's office wall, Minato knew he had overshot himself. Her body was not only smaller than his had been, but he was sure he was pretty damn rusty. It had been a long time, as well, since he'd felt the cool fingers of his chakra, thin and breezy as though he was flying through the atmosphere. It had been far too long.

There was a small dent where her body had slammed into plaster, and he rubbed his nose as he peeled himself off the floor. He could feel the raised chakra of the invisible ANBU guards in the office, but he watched as the Hokage raised his hand to send them off.

Minato had the good sense to suppress his chakra, the noticeable signature gone in an instant. It wouldn't do to have the ANBU poking around.

Which brings us to the present.

"So you both tried a bit of an experiment, huh?" Sarutobi Hiruzen said, not looking as concerned as he should've been. Just a bit tired.

Minato frowned, hearing Charlie's wicked protests in his mind. It was so strange, to be in her position. Did she always feel this way whenever he talked? "Truly, we just wanted to access my chakra."

"And so you have." The Hokage gestured to the wall Minato had run into.

"This was not the way we'd intended. We'd like to switch back." Was he not understanding their predicament? Didn't he care that Minato wasn't meant to be here? Or at least in this capacity?

His predecessor stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps you must be in control to access your chakra," he voiced aloud. Minato's heart skipped a few beats. He had considered that almost immediately after he'd taken control from her. But it was quite a different thing to hear it coming from someone else.

Charlie went silent in his head, though he could feel her horror. He couldn't blame her. Was this going to be their situation forever? Fighting for control over her own body? He was a parasite; a leech that sucked her time and lifeblood from her. And the worst part was, she didn't seem to notice. She had never blamed him, but perhaps he had a right to blame himself.

Minato found himself giving a strained smile. "I'm not going to overtake this young girl's life more than I have, Hokage-sama."

"Minato, stop." He stiffened. Charlie's tone had changed, the fear submitting to the determination he'd heard before. She sounded more stony than she had before. "Stop talking about yourself like that." Charlie's voice seemed to rattle, as if she'd taken an unsteady breath. "Please don't apologize for something we can't help."

He grit his teeth, tightening his- HER- tiny fists. 'You don't deserve to be cooped up in there, Charlie-chan. You know it as well as I do.' Of the two of them, he was sure his sins were more plentiful than a child who knew nothing of the darkness the world contained.

"And you think you do? You think I haven't been beating myself up about what I've done to you? Weren't you at peace?" Her voice broke off into a sob. His features- her features- turned blank, an instinct he had developed during the Third War. Hide your pain, and persevere.

Charlie had never learned that. If he had his way, she never would. Though things seldom went according to plan.

"I'm sure she's quite upset," Hiruzen said. Minato's bright eyes landed back on the man, and he realized late that he'd forgotten where he was.

Minato nodded silently.

"Well, Minato-kun. What do you presume to do, then, if you won't remain in control? How will you go back?"

"I was hoping you would be able to assist in that. I've tried returning already, but it's something akin to fitting an elephant through a water hose." Impossible, he meant. Impossible.

But he would make it so.

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, drawing himself upright. "I'll call Inoichi-kun."


Yamanaka Inoichi was trimming the thorns from a rose when they called on him.

He had a gut feeling it was that girl again. He didn't know why; his brain immediately wondered, however, what she could possibly need now. He was already reeling, to tell the truth; how was he supposed to keep a secret such as this? A person from a separate universe, he could keep- but for some reason, the idea of keeping the existence of the Yondaime a secret was almost too much to bear.

So, he traveled to the Hokage's office a bit slower than he would normally. His thoughts were consumed. He didn't know if he was ecstatic for or afraid of the situation at hand. He didn't know how he would handle it, should he need to come in contact with Namikaze Minato once more- he already felt embarrassed by his previous behavior as it was.

Inoichi's suspicions were confirmed as he stepped through the threshold of the office. The girl stood there, back to him. He could not sense Minato's chakra signature anymore, but that didn't mean it wasn't there.

She turned with a tight smile, and his eyebrows shot up to his hitai-ate. Blue eyes. Hadn't she had hazel?

"I'm glad you could make it. I apologize for calling you here so soon, but we have a new problem that might require your assistance," the girl said. Her eyes- blue- were sharper than they had been before, aged somehow. Even the way she held herself, tall and confident, as though she were as strong as any man.

The man grit his teeth, nodding. "I can see that, Lord Fourth." He bowed slightly, and scratched the back of his neck. "Where did our little comrade go?"

Minato swallowed and looked away, abashed. "She's still here, but she can't come back out. We swapped places trying to use my chakra." Her- his?- mouth quirked into a wry smile. "Which I can do now. But we have been unable to switch back."

It had been a reckless idea from the start, Inoichi acknowledged, for them to try to use Minato's chakra. Not only was it something that, to his knowledge, had no precedence (he didn't know of any other dimension-hopping kage vessels), but Minato's presence was large, and his chakra strong. The girl just wasn't strong enough to compete, though no one could exactly blame that on her.

The Yamanaka would have his work cut out for him. How did one contain chakra as bountiful as a kage's? How did one force him back into the cage that held him? And more importantly, would it break her completely if he even attempted it?

The Third Hokage stood from his seat, removing his hat from his head as he said, "I've got an idea."

Thank God, Inoichi thought. Because for once, he truly did not.


When she was little, Charlie had had a pet goldfish. It was an oranda, with a funny looking tail and a funny gait to match. She would watch it for hours back in those days, until her back ached and her feet cramped from crouching down for that long. Her mother had thought it funny, that such a girl was so mesmerized by a simple creature such as that.

It was a beautiful fish, and was aptly named Beauty. But she didn't watch it for that. Even then, little Charlie was thinking, analyzing, wondering. It had been a simpler time when she had simpler answers, but she still found it in herself to think ceaselessly. She thought about its mind, about how it saw her. She thought about whether or not it thought at all. She wondered what it would be like, to live a life so simple, and concluded that it must've been terribly boring.

And Charlie thought about Beauty now, whilst trapped in her own mind. She wondered if this was what Beauty had felt like, trapped in that little fish bowl, swimming endless circles. She wondered if she would always be the goldfish in the bowl, trapped and remaining so until her death. Was she swimming just to swim, or did she have some sort of purpose?

Beauty had lived only a few short years, and Charlie grew up. She lost her childish wonder, or at the very least cast it into a dark and cobwebbed part of herself that she never willingly visited. Wondering was for children, and so was staring at goldfish. But she never lost that thought, the thought of being a simple creature and how painful it must be to have others think so lowly of you. How privileged she had been, to have been seen and heard and listened to. And how very tragic it had been for that goldfish, trapped in that place, fate sealed before it had known anything of the world.

Now, though, Charlie was the goldfish, and she wished desperately for someone to see her. Losing her physical body, turning into nothing but consciousness, it was terrifying. She felt as if no one aside from Minato would ever hear or speak to her again, despite knowing the absurdity of that thought.

Charlie was still crying, though of course her face did not move. Her anguish went unheard by absolutely everyone besides her comrade. For his part, Minato had quite the reign over his emotions and how he displayed them- though she could tell he could feel just as deeply as she. He worried, just as she did. He was just strong enough to not show it.

The Hokage's plan was a simple one, if she were to think of it objectively. Much like a jinchuuriki's ward was sealed into their stomach, he suggested somehow sealing Minato into her head- where he would be there, still present, and his chakra would continue to be produced, yet he would be unable to take control of her body again unless he was somehow able to push through the seal. Not that he would even try.

Indeed, Minato was gung ho for the idea. He seemed to have no interest in retaining control of her body, and didn't seem to mind being jammed back into place. It bothered her, though, much more than it did him. She didn't like the idea of sealing him away, even if she didn't like him being in the driver's seat either. His self-sacrificing demeanor only served to make her feel selfish and upset.

It would take time, however, to develop the seal. Minato would have to work closely with the Hokage himself to modify the eight trigram seal. As bountiful as his chakra and as immense as his presence was, he wasn't really comparable to a tailed beast, and should they use something as strong as that seal, it could lock the man away completely. That was coupled with the fact that Minato was sure he was split between his body in the Shinigami's stomach, and his soul and chakra in Charlie.

Inoichi would have to be present in her mind at the time of the sealing, it was decided, so as to make sure everything went according to plan. With his jutsu, he could thankfully observe the process from the inside, and stop them if Minato's soul or chakra seemed to be taking a hit.

Plus, there was the problem of the Kyuubi. Minato imagined the beast was alive and well inside his body back in the Shinigami, and he didn't fancy somehow releasing it by some mistake with the seal. All of that cumulated together, and Charlie would have to wait a while to regain control.

Charlie knew all of this, and she did her level best to stiffen her upper lip. 'It can't be helped,' she told herself, despite hoping that it could've. She didn't want to jail Minato more than she had. She didn't want to use up his chakra, or use him in general. She wanted her body back. Hell, she wanted her old life back.

But the fish in the bowl kept swimming, and swimming, and said nothing at all. She was, for the billionth time in this universe, completely out of her depth. Nothing she could say or do would make any difference at all.

Inoichi left the office after their meeting, though Minato was instructed to stay. He didn't quite know why, but he obeyed, and conversed with the Hokage for a bit. A lot had changed since he'd been around, after all. To his surprise, Inoichi returned about twenty minutes later with a plainly wrapped box in his hand.

He handed it to him with a grim smile. "They're colored contacts," the man explained.

Minato frowned a moment before it dawned on him. 'That must've been how he recognized me,' he realized, and opened the box. He hadn't had a chance to glance in the mirror. He supposed it would be rather bad if she abruptly changed eye colors; others might not've noticed, but Naruto definitely would.

With that in mind, he plucked them from their watery holdings and painstakingly arranged them over his own deep blue. It would hopefully mask it enough to leave little question.

"Thank you," Minato said, and bowed his head, first to the Hokage and second to Inoichi. Sarutobi Hiruzen took it with a small nod of his own.

However, the Yamanaka flushed and waved his hands erratically. "D-don't bow to me, Hokage-sama!"

Minato smiled slightly. "You have been a great help, Yamanaka-san. Please allow me this."

Inoichi sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with a good natured smile. "I will continue to serve you faithfully, Yondaime Hokage-sama."

And so they parted. Minato headed back home, as school was already out for the day. He suspected Naruto would be home already, banging down Charlie's door with questions. He blanched a little, stalking his steps. He hadn't thought of it before, but in the time between now and when the seal was completed, he would have to act as his son's friend rather than his father.

He would not be able to tell him all the things he wished he could've, and he would not be able to hold him the way he wished either. It sent a stab of pain through his heart, though he knew he should be grateful to have the opportunity in the first place.

Biting the inside of his cheek, Minato forced his legs to move again, putting his hands in his pockets as a mark of casualness. His eyes- hazel, now- glanced thoughtfully around the village he called home. It brought a stroke of pride within him that the people seemed happy, and the village seemed to be thriving. There were more stores and vendors on the streets, more children, and more hope. Despite everything that the war had put them through, Konoha had sprung back like a forest after a fire, verdant leaves covering the burns and sturdy trees rising from the ashes.

Minato focused on that as he rounded the corner onto the street of Charlie's apartment complex. It is easier to be strong when you focus on the better things in your life.

Predictably, as he climbed the stairs, he could hear Naruto's incessant knocking. He grinned slightly in anticipation.

"Charlie-chaaaan! Are you home?!" his son called, not pausing his knocks.

"I am now," Minato said, approaching from behind Naruto and laughing as the kid whirled on him in shock. Before he knew what he was doing, Minato swooped in, pulling him into his arms and squeezing tightly. He fought hard to not choke up as he leaned his chin into the boy's hair.

Naruto made a small noise of confusion and pulled back, face flushed in embarrassment. "Charlie-chan, why'd you do that?" he whined, blue eyes watching her face go through a series of emotions he couldn't recognize.

"I'm just glad to see you, is all, Naruto." Minato gave a close-eyed smile. "I hope you weren't waiting long."

His son rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and shrugged. "S'ok. Anyway, are you feeling better yet?"

Minato blew out a steady breath. "Yeah, I just went to the hospital. They fixed me right up!"

"Yes! Does that mean you can hang out? Huh?" Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly, and Minato chuckled. What a robust child he had.

Minato put a finger to his chin. Charlie hadn't trained yesterday, and that wouldn't do. He would fail as a teacher. And as a bonus, he had always dreamed of being able to teach Naruto a thing or two. The world was tough for a jinchuuriki, and he deserved to have the best fighting chance he could give. So, with an excited grin, he said, "Do you wanna go train? I know this really cool place where nobody ever bugs you!"

Naruto's head cocked to the side. "Train? You do that for fun?"

Oh, yes. This would be fun.


Training grounds 8 was, predictably, barren of people. Though the sun was high in the sky and the weather pleasant, nobody had bothered to venture to the outer ring of the village where the place lied. "How'd you find this place?" Naruto asked, hands behind his head and jacket open due to the heat of the day. His bright blue eyes, the same shade as his own yet so achingly close to Kushina's as well, took in the space with curiosity.

"I was just wandering around," Minato fibbed, leading his son to the center of the clearing. "Stretches first!" he continued, reaching one arm behind his head.

Naruto stared blatantly. "Ano... what stretches? And why?"

Minato chuckled, glancing at him with a keen eye. "Because you'll pull something if you don't. Now, do what I do!"

And so it went. His son was remarkably clumsy, to his chagrin, though he seemed to pick everything up rather quickly. Minato could tell the boy had never gone training before, and it was a crying shame that he hadn't thought to bring him sooner. That was fine, though: he would rectify the matter.

Charlie was trying to dissuade him from going too harshly on the boy, but Minato wouldn't dare. 'In fact,' he thought, a malicious smile curving his lips and frightening his companion, 'I'll go even harsher.' He could imagine the redhead throwing her hands up in disgust at him and storming away, and laughed aloud.

Naruto blinked innocently at him as their stretches came to a close. 'I'll show him how to train, all right.'

First, they had a simple sparring match. Naruto was physically stronger than Charlie, given that she was a bit willowy and his son was the sturdy sort, but he lost conclusively. Minato found it a challenge to go through the taijutsu he'd long since forgone, but Naruto hadn't ever practiced it at all. So, after a magnificent defeat, the blond laid prone in the dirt, breathing hard and giving him a harsh glare. "How'd you learn to fight like that?" he got out between breaths.

Minato smiled. "It's something I picked up from where I was before. Want to learn?" In truth, it was a combination of taijutsu styles Minato had pulled together himself, enough to where each style was indistinguishable from the other. Only the best of each, of course.

Naruto nodded furiously and sat up, groaning as his new aches twinged. "You're fast, Charlie-chan," he mumbled.

"Slow down! Didn't we say I was supposed to be normal!" Charlie yelled in his head. "I lost against that other kid, I couldn't even get a good punch in ya know!"

Minato's lips quirked. 'You're just mad you're not as cool,' he teased, and taught Naruto the starting position. Hands by the face, feet shoulder's width apart, and knees bent in preparation.

"Your hands are here because they can protect your head and throat, your feet are wide set so that you won't fall if you're hit, and your knees are bent to move in whichever direction your opponent moves in. Okay?" Minato explained, adjusting the boy's position. 'Charlie-chan, you pay attention to this too. It will help you later.' The girl said nothing.

"Moving from that, let's go into katas," Minato continued. At the kid's lost look, he smiled wryly. "It's particular movements you practice repetitively so you can use them by muscle memory later. There are eight basic katas for this style*. Get into your start position, this time with your fists palm-up and close to your ribs." Naruto did, still with an air of confusion. "And now stretch your arm out in front, straight now, good. You twist your fist until it is palm-down by the time your arm is fully extended. Now back to start. Good, you've learned number one."

Naruto raised his eyebrows. "...Really? I mean, that's just a punch," he mumbled dubiously.

Minato grinned. "Ah, but it teaches the proper form for a punch. And now, number two." He demonstrated punching upwards. "Make sure your elbow is bent correctly. You want a 90 degree angle." Naruto imitated. "Good. Now, number three is the same as number one, except it isn't a fist, but a flat palm with the fingers curled inwards. Like a bear paw. Your palm should face your opponent."

Four was a front kick. Five was a side kick. Six was a sort of push. Seven was a ducking motion, with one arm over the head. And eight was a block, with both arms in an 'X' position.

Minato demonstrated all of these, waiting patiently for Naruto to memorize them. "By the time today is through, you should commit all of these to memory, and practice them when you have spare time. Eventually, you will be able to do them automatically. There are more kata that come after these, but these will do for now."

"More...?" Naruto's eyes swirled. "How come you have to remember so much!"

Charlie was laughing in his head as Minato gave his son a gentle smile. "Well, because I want to be able to protect my precious people as best I can. Don't you?"

Naruto gave a begrudging nod.

"Good!" He clapped his hands together. "All right. Now, let's do some more exercise, yeah?"

Naruto's training session lasted a total of three hours. By the end of it, Minato, weak as his body felt after exercising alongside him, had to sling him over his back to carry the poor kid home. "Thanks for showing me that, Charlie-chan," Naruto mumbled, leaning against Minato's shoulder with a sigh of exhaustion.

"Anytime, bud," Minato said, smiling as he noticed the sun begin to set. It was his first sunset in Konoha since that fateful day, and he relished it, pausing in the middle of the street to stare at its glory. 'And so, the sun sets on a day of change,' he thought. 'Whatever may come tomorrow, at least these will never change.'

In his head, Charlie concurred.


*These kata are similar to the ones taught to me personally by my jiu-jitsu teacher. I say similar, because I haven't had a class in years and I was a horrible student.

Guest: No, anybody is up for the poll! And I know, I miss Shisui. He was a good guy :( I wish him and Itachi could've been protected from the whole world. Screw Danzou.

Haven: Thank you! Anybody willing to vote is more than welcome.

Pat123: Now! Lol, I can't wait to build them both up a little bit before the main storyline. I think it would bring me a sick sense of satisfaction for enemies to underestimate them, and get KO'd for it haha. Thanks!

GinHanelle: You're not wrong haha! I'm kind of glad you see it this way, I wanted to write Charlie as an independent sort of character who is fine on her own and yet only intensified in the presence of others. A person who blooms where they're planted, so to speak. I won't be writing the pairing in for a long time, but when I do, I'll do my level best to make it not awkward lmao. I can only imagine poor Minato cowering in the corner. Thanks for your review!

Nerdcat21: I know, I feel like I might cry trying to write a NejixOC pairing. I feel like she'd torture herself over trying to keep him safe, though I'm sure she'll be doing that anyway regardless. Thank you!