A/N: Hello! Bit of a shorter chapter for you but deffo not filler. I will also be ending the pairing poll by the next chapter. It was looking close for a while there, but I'm seeing a very large increase for our boy Minty Toe so I'm thinking that's the consensus. Again, the poll will end by the posting of Chapter 11, so if you haven't voted yet please do so before then. As it stands, here are the pairings:

ShikaxOC: 8
SasuxOC: 1
ObixOC: 5
MinaxOC: 14
NejixOC: 1
NaruxOC: 3
GaaxOC: 1
InoxOC: 1
KarinxOC: 1
NobodyxOC: 1

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Naruto was trying to 'meditate' (that's what Charlie called it) when a knock came at his door. His eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at his alarm clock- it was only six PM. Charlie hadn't said she was training with him today, but... then again, she had seemed pretty pissed a few hours ago. Maybe it slipped her mind.

He unfurled himself from his cross-legged position and got to his feet, rushing to the door. He managed to stub his toe on the corner of the coffee table as well as the wall before he made it there, but at least he didn't fall on his face, which was a marked improvement from what usually happened when he rushed to the door.

Charlie always said: 'Haste makes waste'. He didn't really know what haste was, but he knew she tsk'ed every time he came to the door with newly sprouting bruises, so he'd learned to adapt.

Naruto might've been more cautious about throwing open the door (he'd certainly had his fair share of hecklers by this point), but he knew it was Charlie. He could tell, because she always knocked three times. So he threw open the door, and there she stood, giving him a mercurial close-eyed smile. "Hiya, Charlie," he greeted cheerfully. He had decided to drop the -chan from her name. It sounded better that way.

He really liked Charlie. Nobody else had ever stood up for him the way she did, the way she continually did. She made it seem like she was proud to be his friend, like it was only natural. It wasn't something he was used to, but he could definitely get used to it.

He couldn't believe his luck at finding her that day almost two months ago, naked and alone in the forest. Who would've guessed she'd make such a great friend?

"Hey, Naruto. You ready to go?" she offered her elbow playfully.

"Are you gonna go train me again?!" he shouted, excitement pumping in his veins. Charlie was a great teacher, or at least he thought so. He learned more from her than from that bastard Kuboyashi-sensei, at any rate.

She shrugged. "Actually, I got a jounin to tutor us. I figured he might have some wisdom to impart." Naruto didn't know what 'impart' meant, but he hoped it was some kind of food.

He locked elbows with her and dove out of his flat, content to race her all the way to... wherever they were meeting the jounin at, when she stopped him. "Naruto," she chided gently, "you need to lock your door."

The blond gave a suffering sigh as he paused and dug through his jumpsuit pocket. "Not like there's anything there to take," he muttered childishly.

"Not the point," Charlie giggled, "one day, you will, and you don't want to forget to lock it then!"

Naruto locked the door securely. For someone his own age, she made too much sense sometimes.

"Where are we going?" he inquired, bouncing on his feet as they exited the complex.

Charlie paused, and pointed with a wide grin. "There," she said.

His eyes nearlly bugged out of his skull. "Charlie, we're not allowed there," he whispered. Especially because Charlie was so strong, she tended to be a bit destructive when practicing her taijutsu.

The redhead was laughing at him again, and he flushed. "We're just meeting him there, is all. I'm sure he'll take us somewhere else later."

That was good enough for him, and so they started their walk in amicable silence. That was, until, Naruto remembered that he wanted to race her there. He picked up the pace, a puckish grin curling his lips. "First one to the base of the mountain gets dinner," he called, and shot off. He had gotten faster since his training with Charlie, he noticed, and it didn't make him as tired anymore to run like this.

'It shouldn't, either,' he thought with a mental grimace, 'with all those laps she makes me run.'

Naruto chanced a glance behind him. Charlie was hot on his heels, sticking out her tongue at him. His eyes widened and he picked up the pace. He couldn't spare a second- she had been training too, after all.

Then, of course, something awesome happened. Well, it was the exact opposite of awesome, and now he was flat on his butt in the dirt, head aching. The vegetable merchant, who had been minding his own business crossing the street, groaned at the force of trying to keep the cart rightside-up.

Naruto tentatively touched his forehead, and winced as it smarted. He'd hit it on the rail, which must've been made of wood stronger than steel, because damn, that hurt.

Charlie skidded to a stop, dirt kicking up from her shoes. "Ah, Naruto, you alright?" she asked, sweatdropping.

"I'm fine," Naruto grouched, getting to his feet despite the vertigo he felt. How embarrassing.

The old merchant was giving him the evil eye. Ah, right, he had crashed into his cart. The blond flushed a little, and glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye, who was now bowing profusely. He decided to do the same- after all, Charlie was pretty good at making people not mad at him anymore. "I'm sorry ojii-san, I was going too fast," Naruto said quickly, bowing at the hip.

The man must've been in a good mood, because all he did was grunt and start pushing his cart again. Naruto gave a quiet sigh of relief.

Charlie pursed her lips at him, though her eyes were dancing humorously. "You almost knocked over an old man," she chuckled to him under her breath, and he glared at her.

And then she was off again, leaving him to eat the dust in her wake. Damn it.

At the Hokage Monument (she had beaten him there, unfortunately), the two decided to immediately proceed into their stretches. It wasn't time for the jounin to show up yet, Charlie said, but she also had little faith that he would arrive on time either. 'What kind of a jounin is late to his own appointments?' Naruto thought, but didn't voice. From the sour look on her face, he was sure she was thinking something similar.

It was 8:30 by the time Hatake Kakashi decided to show his face.

Minato had been... frankly, appalled. Charlie had told him, of course, of his chronic lateness. And it wasn't like he didn't believe her. But... to see his former pristine-ninja-material student Kakashi late for training was... a shocker. Obito had usually been the tardy one.

Then again, things change, and people do too. Neither of them had escaped the Third War unscathed, and even back then, he knew that Kakashi wasn't ready for what he would face once it was over. The aftermath of Rin left him wounded, and so he'd thrown himself into ANBU with relish. He killed his enemies as coldly as he killed his own emotions, and knew nothing but blood and death and the horrid reputation he gained.

They'd called him a friend murderer. They didn't understand, of course, as strangers seldom do, but their words took their toll. Even now, Minato wondered what he could've done differently.

It was another sin he had yet to atone for.

Kakashi approached them at the base of the mountain with a grimace on his face. Not that any ordinary person could tell, but Minato had grown adept at guessing his facial expressions from his eye alone.

"Kakashi-sensei," Minato greeted cheerfully, and after a moment's pause, Naruto followed suit. He kept giving Minato these questioning glances out of the corner of his eye, but he steadfastly ignored them.

The jounin gave an exaggeratedly slow blink, as if to show just how bored he really was. "Charlie-chan... Naruto-kun." His gaze landed on the blond, and a strange emotion flashed on his face before he coughed. "Since I'm so nice, I agreed to help you train. You're welcome."

Minato grinned. "Thanks!" He'd have to thank the Hokage for almost forcing Kakashi into this. Excitement pumped in his veins- he would finally get to train with one of his precious students again.

Kakashi waved his hand. "Anyway. What have you brats been working on?"

Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet. "Taijutsu!" he exclaimed happily. He stalled a moment in thought, then added, "And Charlie showed me my chakra affinity."

The jounin raised his eyebrows. "And what were your affinities?"

"Both wind," Minato replied.

"Figures," the man mumbled under his breath. "Come on, then. I'll show you how to control it."

The two followed his lead as he strolled further and further from the summit of the mountain. He didn't say anything to them- in fact, he busted out the same peculiar orange book he'd been reading before, and started skimming its pages. How Kakashi managed to read and not run into anything was beyond him. The trio ended up near the far edge of the village, a training grounds that was pretty spare save for some trees and a dank looking pond.

Scratching the back of his head, the jounin turned to look at them. "Here's exercise one," he said, and plucked two leaves from the branches of a nearby tree. "If you get this, you get to move to exercise two. Do like so." He placed the leaf on his forehead, and beside him, Naruto gaped.

"How'd you get it to stay!" the kid exclaimed excitedly, hopping around the man to explore all angles.

"With my chakra. You send chakra into the leaf from your forehead, and if you do it correctly, you can get it to stick to you," Kakashi explained, and handed the leaf to the boy. He held out the other for Minato, and he took it with a small smile.

"That's all you're doing today, since I doubt you'll be able to get past it by night fall. Bye kids." And then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto shrieked. "HEY! He didn't even stay! What the hell!"

Minato sweatdropped, not bothering to remind the kid that he was never there in the first place. It seemed his former student wanted no part in their education. "Looks like you've got your work cut out for you, Minato," Charlie piped up.

The kage sighed. That, he did. Well, as long as the man wasn't anywhere to watch him do this, he may as well train Naruto the rest of the way. No use in letting the kid flounder.

"Well, complaining's not gonna do anything about it. Sit down, Naruto, let's try to feel for our chakra first," he suggested, sitting on his heels with his back straight. Naruto mimicked him with an exasperated sigh.

"Now, close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly. Just like meditating, like I showed you. Remember?" Naruto nodded minutely and complied. "You should feel something like warmth in your body, and that's your chakra. With me so far?" Another nod. "Can you focus it to different parts of your body?"

The boy's eyebrows scrunched together. "How do I do that?"

"Just imagine all the warmth flooding to that area. You can try your forehead first, since that's where we're going to be working today. Don't force it, now," he added, noting the kid's stiffened posture.

"I don't know if I have it or not," Naruto revealed, grimacing.

"That's what the leaf is for. If you're not doing it right, the leaf won't stay, and if you put too much chakra, the leaf will get cut. It's all about balance."

Hesitantly, Naruto raised the leaf to his forehead, and jumped a little as it immediately sliced in two and fell to his lap. His focus broke as he looked down with a confused expression.

"I can sense you have a lot of chakra, Naruto," Minato said calmly, "you really won't need to put too much towards what you want to do. So keep practicing, and I will, too." He handed the boy his own leaf, and rose to grab a few more from the tree.

For the next two hours, long after the sun ducked down over the horizon, the two practiced faithfully. Minato's chakra control was still relatively intact, even after being put into such a small body, but Naruto had just a bit of trouble. It didn't surprise him any; after all, it took a lot of time and dedication to harness chakra reserves as large as Naruto's. Hell, he couldn't imagine how tough of a time the kid would have once he started to use the Kyuubi's.

'Ne, Charlie, when Naruto first used the Kyuubi's chakra... what happened?'

"He kind of lost control," she replied after a moment. "He was in battle, and his team mate was injured. I think he lost it a little after that, and that momentary weakness allowed Kurama to take hold a little."

Minato hummed thoughtfully as his fingers tangled in the grass below him. So somehow, the Kyuubi had managed to pollute Naruto with his chakra enough that he lost control of himself. He knew well enough that the seal was a strong one- he'd placed it there, after all. He had used a double version of the Four Symbols seal purely because of the Kyuubi's strength, but it made him leery that the beast was still able to cast his rage over the boy.

The sooner they befriended the fox, the better.

"Minato, I've been thinking," Charlie added hesitantly, making him straighten up. "I know you don't want to think about it, but... maybe you would be better suited to be here than I am."

'...What?' he thought. His brain short circuited. He could feel what she'd been thinking lately, about giving up, but he never thought she'd admit it. Frankly, he had hoped it was just a passing feeling. Then again, he himself was more determined than most- perhaps he was hoping that she was more of the same.

Was it cruel of him to expect something more of her?

"I'm not giving up," she replied, annoyed. "At least... if I am, it's for the greater good. Who do you think is better suited to save us, huh? You or me? I know who I'd put my money on. I'm tired of watching you wither away trying to create this seal for my sake, especially when you'd be of way more use." Her voice grew smaller as she went on and lost steam.

Minato grit his teeth and leaned back on his elbows in the damp grass. Thankfully, Naruto wasn't aware of the fiery glare that flashed uncontained across Minato's face. 'Enough, Charlie. I know how much you're dying in there, believe me, but I just need more time. Can't you understand that I'd never leave you? That I'd never let you face an enemy alone?'

"Why do you want this seal so bad? Aren't you glad to be free? Why-" she cut off, her voice wavering unsteadily. "Why do you always do that? How can you just- just sacrifice yourself, like it means nothing!"

'It means something, Charlie. That's why I'm doing this. Because you deserve your life back. I was dead, and by all means I should've stayed that way. At least this way I can fix what's broken.' He blinked rapidly as he felt her pain resonate in his heart. It was strange- this body, her body, was under his control, and yet it still panged with her harsher emotions. Maybe the pain belonged to both of them.

"I can't be your jailer, Minato. I won't." Charlie hiccupped, and his heart sunk as he realized she was probably crying. His head started to pound- he hated when she did that. "What do you have to atone for? What have you done?"

It bothered him greatly that she seemed to put him on a pedestal. He was human, just like her. He had his faults just like anyone else, as much as others loathed to admit it. Charlie of all people should've known that. 'Charlie, I can't go over with you every time I've regretted my actions, but believe me, I have, and I still do.' His voice had taken on a hard tone. There would be no more questions.

A jagged stone wall rectified itself somewhere in his mind. There were things he would not talk about, things he didn't want to go over with her now, if not ever. It was his burden to bear. And if he was honest, as close as they were, he still valued his secrets.

She sniffed. "I'm sad, Minato."

'I know.' All too well.

He spent the rest of the hour watching Naruto try and fail with increasing success until, by the time the sun set, the boy had managed to suspend the leaf right between his eyebrows. He gave Minato a prideful smile and a thumbs up, and the man congratulated him enthusiastically despite the exhaustion that had washed over him.

They needed to stop having serious discussions. It was seriously messing with his psyche.

The duo walked home in amicable silence, Naruto still delightedly sticking and unsticking the leaf from his forehead.

Abruptly, Minato felt a familiar chakra signature blip on his radar. He stalled, silent footsteps ceasing as a small smile curled his lips. "Kakashi-sensei. Checking up on us?" he called, turning. The silver-haired jounin stood a few yards back, thumb holding the place in his book as he glanced at the two of them.

Naruto pointed accusingly at the man. "HEY! You disappeared earlier!" he exclaimed, and Minato winced at the sheer volume. The boy had expelled an exhaustive amount of chakra trying to get the leaf to stick to him, and yet he was as energetic as ever.

Yet another thing Kushina had passed on to him. Her enthusiasm and her massive capacity for chakra.

Kakashi blinked boredly. "Hey, good job,you got it to stick." Minato blinked in confusion before he realized that Naruto still had the leaf on his forehead.

He couldn't stop the laugh that passed his lips as the boy realized it, too. Absentmindedly, he noted that it was incredible the boy could be focusing his chakra in such a way and not even realize he was doing it. He had come far in such a short time.

Naruto flushed adorably. "Yeah, no help from you!" he grumbled, peeling the leaf off. "Charlie ended up helping me more than you did! She explained all about it!"

A mild flicker of panic came over Minato, though outside, he merely flicked the boy's ear. "Don't be rude," he uttered.

The damage was already done as Kakashi's cold, analytical gaze swept over him. Minato knew all too well that Kakashi was a troublesome brat to try to deceive. Nothing ever really got past him. "Is that so?" he hummed thoughtfully.

Minato shrugged nonchalantly, and channeled his inner Charlie as he said, "Yeah, well, all you have to do is think about it a little. It wasn't that hard to figure out." His eyes crinkled as a grin brightened his face. "Sooo, did we pass your test?"

"Test?" Naruto parroted blankly.

Minato rolled his eyes. "Well, if we couldn't figure out this much, I'm sure Kakashi-sensei would've looked elsewhere for students. Right?" Amber eyes met the stormy gray of the man before them. There was an echo of truth to that- Minato figured it really was a test. Less a test to find the best students, however, and more a test to try to escape teaching them.

He knew his student very well.

Kakashi gave an eye-smile. "Of course. Well, I'll see you both this Sunday- I've got a three-day mission I'm leaving on tomorrow, so I won't be able to meet up until then. Continue training your chakra. I'm sure Charlie-chan will be able to help you out, Naruto-kun." The second part was added with a disturbingly heavy lilt.

Minato said nothing as the jounin shunshinned away- so he had been the real deal, this time.

"That guy," Naruto noted with a scowl. "Where do you find these people, Charlie?"

Minato just shrugged. "Want to go get Ichiraku's? I heard they're open 'til 11..."

As the blond dashed off, Minato blew out a breath and jammed his hands in his pockets. He needed to figure out that seal as soon as possible, preferably before Sunday. Frustratingly, it seemed that Kakashi was already onto him. It hadn't been his knowledge of the chakra exercise- that man had been onto him from the moment on that monument yesterday.

Perhaps the fault laid with him, for bringing attention to himself, or maybe for not acting the way Charlie would've. He wouldn't regret reaching out to him- it was in a sensei's nature to worry about his precious students, after all- but if Kakashi ended up finding out about who she really was, it would be very, very bad. As much as he wanted to tell his student everything and get rid of that pesky suspicious attitude he had, doing so would be disasterous.

'Damn,' he thought, biting his lip. 'Sorry, Kakashi-kun, but you'll have to be in the dark.'

In his quiet, dark apartment, Kakashi flopped face-down onto his couch.

The developments of today had been... interesting, to say the least. There was definitely something off about that girl, and the Hokage hadn't done a great job of trying to hide it. There was very little information about her, and damn it, he'd looked everywhere for it. All he could find on her was her hospital immunization record and the little backstory she'd given upon entering the village.

It was maddening, to say the least. The story she gave- about being a runaway from a household outside of the Land of Fire- sounded too convenient, not to mention cheesy. The way she acted today was a far cry from the way she'd acted when they'd first met, too- she seemed much too mild, walked as if she owned the place, and held herself tall and confident with practiced ease. Then, of course, there was the matter of her chakra.

When he first met her, she hadn't had any. He could assume that she didn't have chakra at all- chakraless people were few and far between, but they existed- except for the fact that when he met her on that cliff, she was suppressing it rather than altogether not having it. In fact, she had given off that feeling of immense presence, like she was someone he ought to know and be aware of, like she was someone dangerous.

Why did she suppress her chakra? It had to be exhausting to constantly monitor that sort of thing. How such a young girl was able to conclusively hide it away, too, was awe-inspiring- hell, if he let his guard down, sometimes even he had trouble hiding his signature.

Which brought the question of why again. Frustrating, she was completely and utterly frustrating. A baser part of himself, the ANBU part of himself, wanted to haul her off to T&I and find out what he needed to know the old fashioned way. Even if he would be able to get over the moral hit it would take to do that to a little kid, though, the Hokage would never allow it. The old man wouldn't have let her into the village if he didn't trust her, and it should've been a comfort.

It wasn't. He hated not knowing.

It bothered him even worse because he felt like he should know her. She felt familiar to him, in one way or another. The clear and concise way she spoke, the expressions she made, the look in her eyes every time she caught his gaze. It was achingly familiar, and he couldn't figure out why.

'Ah, then again. Perhaps I'm overanalyzing.' Even that didn't seem appropriate. He always trusted his gut, and his gut said that something was amiss with her.

He sighed as he pulled down his mask and untied his hitai-ate. A tired hand ran over his eyes. He would continue watching her, he supposed, at least until he found out her secrets. It was his duty as a ninja to examine all threats.

Real or perceived.

Nerdcat21: Thank you lovely! Mizuki in particular was such a rat bastard so I agree with you there. I love angry dad Minato, he's cathartic to write.

silverfoxkurama: It'd make the pairing real awkos if they didn't have separate bodies so for MinaChar's sake I agree with you lmao! Thanks for reading and reviewing :D

GreenTea2102: Was kinda neck-and-neck there for a minute between Shika and Minato so I've let it run for a while lmao. No worries, to be honest I'm all for writing what everyone wants to see! Thanks for your review friend :)

salokii: That is also a very real possibility. Imagine 5 year old Naru-chan going up to Hiruzen and saying "I wanna be Hokage! Academy now!" Adorable.

Lyrigami: Charlie casually stealing Minato's brand by using all of his signature jutsus XD I hope I'm living up to expectations with Minato and Kakashi's interactions, I'm trying to demonstrate Kakashi's easygoing manner but also how perceptive and coldblooded he is/was/can be. And I'm sure Charlie's already cooking up a plan for Sasuke in her plotting little mind :) Thanks for your review and support!

GalaxyaCheetah26: That's what I'm going for! Part of the reason I wanted to write this story was because it'd be so different from regular OC-in-Narutoverse stories, so I'm glad you're enjoying. Thank you!

Zerelda: I love the heck out of you! Thanks for the review and support!

T01: Thank you! I think they're pretty good together too, but hey, who knows what the future holds? Besides Charlie, of course... :D