A/N: Hey howdy. Another update. More angst, but I think you will like this one :) Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 22

Minato kept his eyes closed.

Obviously.

He kept his head down, his eyes closed, and his lips pressed together against the physical onslaught. Unfortunately for Takeru, he was quite used to such things. One did not become Hokage by being weak in body or mind.

It appeared as though he were a person weathering a hurricane, rounded shoulders and crinkled face. What battered him was not wind or rain, but for a person like him, it all became the same to him. Easy to separate one's mind from one's body. Pain was only painful if it had to be.

The interrogator was roaring questions at him. Questions of loyalty, where Charlie had come from, what her intentions were. And each time, the answers were the same.

"I would never harm Konoha."

"I come from a compound on the edge of Fire country. I don't remember where I was before that, but I was kept as a servant."

"I want a safer world for all of us."

Noble goals. A noble shinobi. He was one. And he knew Charlie would one day grow into the goals she'd set for herself. 'If only people like Shimura Danzou didn't exist.' Truthfully, he'd half-expected this outcome. The admission process for ANBU was a rigorous one. First was the physical aptitude test- one which, evidently, she'd passed. And then, the mental aptitude test- he assumed this was the bastardized version.

And Charlie had known, too, that Danzou didn't trust her. But to go this far- Minato had to doubt that they were in a genjutsu right now. In fact, he very much doubted it. He didn't sense the fog that usually came with those techniques. This was... reality. She'd leave the room filleted, if she left at all.

"Why don't you just tell the truth, you little brat?" Takeru ground out, pulling back Minato's hair with one tight fist. He grimaced. The bruiser was losing his patience. "No kid shows up out of nowhere, naked, just to let the village jinchuuriki find her and become her best fucking friend! What the hell did you do, huh? Gave him a smile, and he worshipped the ground you walked on? Is that it?"

Minato could smell his breath, and knew he was only inches from his face. "No self-respecting brat would defend him. That's what gave it away, you know. You're too smart to put yourself next to the village's most hated person."

Minato chuckled. Blood trickled from his ear, from his nose- it tickled. "He never gave me a reason to hate him," he said. "I'm too smart to decide a person's character based on other's opinions."

Takeru gave an annoyed growl and slammed Minato's face into the table. Something cracked, and it ricocheted all the way to the back of his skull. "You've got a sharp tongue. ANBU would train that out of you in a heartbeat. Hell, maybe I should train it out of you now!"

There was a tearing sound, and warmth rushed down his arm. Minato said nothing, and it only pissed the man off more. He held the blade to Minato's neck, his voice now low and dangerous. "Maybe I should just kill you instead. It would be easier, wouldn't it?"

"If you were going to kill me, you would've done so already," Minato replied, sounding exasperated.

Takeru barked a laugh. "You got me, kid! I only get to kill you if I'm sure you're some sort of plant. Unfortunately, you haven't given me much to work with."

Minato slowly raised his head against the force of the man's arm trying to pin him down. He faced straight ahead, expression still blank as ever. "I'm sure you would enjoy killing me, but unfortunately for you, I am a loyal ninja of this village and even the likes of you wouldn't scare me off." A quick smile on bloody lips. "If you would, please untie me. My shoulder is starting to ache."

The man let out a low grumbling sound. "You're not in the position of asking me for anything. We still haven't decided your loyalty yet." But, he did withdraw himself from Minato's person.

He raised his eyebrow. "Oh? Have you decided torture won't get you the answer that you want?"

Takeru snorted, and Minato heard the sound of his footsteps again as he rounded the table. "No, but this truth serum will." A small schick, and a deep burning sensation in his thigh. Minato startled, already feeling the thick spread of the serum like molasses as it travelled up and down his leg and into his abdomen. His leg spasmed, and then his stomach, muscles constricting painfully as if he'd been shocked.

When it travelled to his throat, Minato mildly worried that he wouldn't be able to breathe, but that thought faded away as the serum loosened his thoughts and his tongue. 'Shut the hell up,' he told himself warningly. 'Just keep your mouth shut, and Charlie will be fine.'

The girl hadn't spoken once since he'd shoved her back there, and he wondered if she was unconscious or if she was purposefully ignoring him.

He'd never been subjected to this drug before. He'd used it, of course, and he'd seen it used. But it was truly terrifying to have to clamp down on his own thoughts and not let them fly away. That was how the drug worked; it turned your consciousness to mush. Until you were nothing but a shell with all the answers the interrogator wants. It was scarily effective. 'But it won't be on me,' Minato reaffirmed.

He could feel the burn of Takeru's eyes on his face, and let his features relax. Perhaps if he thought him more pliant, he would believe what he said.

After what felt like an eternity, Takeru's voice filtered into his ears much more calmly than he'd been before. Almost like he was a different person. A master manipulator. "Who are you?" he asked simply.

"Shimizu Charlie," Minato replied evenly.

"How long have you been Shimizu Charlie?"

'Neve- no, eighteen years- no, how old is she here?' "Twelve years." A short breath through his nose.

"Where do you come from?"

"The Land of Fire." The truth. He liked telling the truth. It was easier. His tongue felt like lead in his mouth.

"Where in the Land of Fire?" Takeru pressed.

"T-the edge. Not sure where." Hadn't they written in the report that it was the outskirts of the Land of Fire?

"How old are you?"

"Twelve years."

"Do you like Konoha?"

He smiled blissfully. "I love Konoha." He loved, loved, loved Konoha.

A slap against his cheek shook him from his thoughts, and his smile fell. "Do. You. Like. Konoha?" Takeru bit out.

"I love Konoha." It could be his affirmation. His way of getting through all of this suffering. He loved his village. Charlie loved his village. Charlie loved their village. It wasn't a lie, not at all, because Charlie loved Konoha too!

"Are you loyal to Konoha?"

"Yes," Minato hummed. He almost, almost opened his eyes, but refrained. He thought about Charlie instead, about how she was probably pissed at him for taking over her body, and about how she was relying on him now to get them through this situation. A bucket of cold ice, that was what it was. He could see it in his mind's eye, the disappointed look in her auburn eyes. He never wanted to see that.

He forced his head straight from where it was lolling backwards. He was lolling backwards. It felt like he was constantly falling backwards, even though he was sitting straight- no, he was slumping backwards again. Damn it, focus.

"Are. You. Loyal. To Konoha?" Takeru sounded annoyed again.

"Konoha is my village. My home. My only home." Minato had to say it twice, because it was so damn true. He loved his village.

"Who is Uzumaki Naruto?"

"My best friend," Minato replied. But his brain said, 'My son, my son, my son, he's my son!' And his lips trembled with the force it took to keep it back.

"What is Uzumaki Naruto?"

"My best friend," Minato repeated.

Another slap, this one rattled his teeth. "I didn't say who, I said what."

"Naruto is my best friend! We love each other!" Minato exclaimed. What the hell was he trying to get him to say? He was telling the truth!

Takeru sighed in annoyance. "Who are you loyal to?"

"Hokage-sama. And Naruto-kun. And Kakashi-kun." Oops, he'd said -kun.

Luckily, Takeru didn't seem to notice. He decided to focus on something else. "Not Danzou-sama?"

"Danzou-sama is not loyal to me." Minato's knee was bouncing violently, he just realized. He stilled it, but the moment his mind was distracted, it started again. Sweat built on his neck.

"But you respect Danzou-sama, surely?"

"Mhm!" is all Minato can get out, because he's screwed his lips shut from saying something he'd regret. He tries again. "Danzou-sama is a village elder."

"That didn't really answer my question. You don't respect Danzou-sama, do you?" The man's voice sounds poisonous.

"One respects village elders," Minato replied. That wasn't what he should've said.

Takeru was near him again. He could feel the warmth of his breath on his face. "You don't like Danzou-sama, do you?"

Minato laughed hysterically. 'Charlie, Charlie, Charlie,' he reminded himself. "If Danzou-sama told you to do this," he said, carefully navigating through the fog of the drug to speak clearly, "then I do not like Danzou-sama. And I don't like you, either."

And that was a truth he'd say sober.

The man laughed cruelly. "What a smart mouth."

His fist slammed into Minato's nose. A crack, more blood. Broken twice. "Smart mouths don't belong in ANBU. Talking back, neither."

Minato's voice was nasally, and he almost choked on the blood sliding down his throat and churning his belly. "Is Danzou-sama watching?" he wondered out loud.

"Danzou-sama doesn't have time to concern himself with the likes of you, girl," Takeru hissed. "Tell me what you know!"

A smile drifted onto his lips. His head was feeling woozy, this time not from the drug. He was going to pass out, and soon. "I don't know anything," he forced from between his teeth.

"Can a Yamanaka confirm that?" The interrogator's voice was dubious, mocking.

"A Yamanaka already has," Minato replied easily, before his head hit the table and it was lights out.

Hatake Kakashi set his half-lidded gaze on the unassuming ANBU building, and felt something like apprehension.

His student was in there, somewhere. Probably suffering. Initiation was... difficult.

"Kakashi-sensei~!" Naruto sang, galloping towards the man with a wide grin. Kakashi's lips flickered up. The boy had regained his good cheer after a few days, and with plenty of reassurance from Charlie. Now, he was so happy that he was bouncing.

"Ugh, slow down, Naruto," Sasuke grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets. He and Sakura took up the rear at a much more reasonable pace, the boy with a bored expression and the girl making eyes in his direction.

Kakashi had been unable, thus far, to bring out the ninja in the doe-eyed girl. He wasn't really used to teaching such a kunoichi- Charlie was a focused, hardworking individual with... direction. Goals. Kakashi had yet to figure out what drove Sakura besides the fact that she was teammates with the Uchiha. 'Surely there was something that made her sign up for the Academy.' He wanted to bring that out. The girl who wanted to be a ninja for herself, for her own reasons.

He'd had more luck with Sasuke, surprisingly. He'd had rather low expectations of him- not that he wasn't skilled, because he was, but in every other category. Cooperation, for one. Speaking with other people without scowling at them, for another. He could remember back then, a short month ago, when they'd first introduced themselves.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi," the jounin said, crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto had a playful smile on his face. Sasuke, the angry one, merely met his eyes with a blank expression. And Sakura, predictably, stared at the boy with red cheeks. "My likes and dislikes... I don't feel like telling you. And my dreams for the future..." He paused for a significant moment. "I have a lot of hobbies. Naruto-kun, you go first."

The children slumped in exasperation, though Naruto let out a laugh as if to say, 'as expected'. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" the boy started, causing his team to cringe at the volume. "I like ramen, training, and my friends! I dislike the time it takes for ramen to cook, and mean people. My hobbies are comparing different types of ramen, gardening, and training with Ch-" he caught himself with a wince. "... And my goal is to be the greatest Hokage, so that people will treat me like I'm somebody. Somebody important!"

Kakashi's throat bobbed. "And you, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke removed his steepled hands from his mouth to speak. "Uchiha Sasuke. I like a few things. I dislike a lot of things. My goal is to rebuild my clan and to kill a certain man."

The jounin sighed a little. He hated that dark glint in his eye, the one that hungered for chaos. He was sure he once had that very same look. He couldn't let it repeat this time. He had fought his way through the darkness for far too long to let any student of his wallow in it, too.

Besides. Charlie saw something in him. And she was seldom wrong.

Kakashi finally turned towards Sakura. "And... the girl."

Sakura smiled nervously. "My name is Haruno Sakura. My like is... I mean, the person I like is-" she cut off, giggling. Kakashi winced. "I dislike NARUTO-" who then frowned, shooting her a hurt look but not saying a word. "And my dream for the future is-" she cut herself off again, squealing.

The silver-haired man sweatdropped.

After that, it became obvious that Sasuke was the 'avenger' type. But slowly, Kakashi believed that they had at least managed to get him to open up a little more. Kakashi had had more than a few conversations with the boy regarding his goals, his relationships with others.

And he hoped. God, he hoped it would get through. He didn't want the kid to walk the path of blood and ash that he had. He almost wanted to ask Charlie how the kid would end up; would he be happy? Would he become as accomplished as he could one day be?

"Kakashi-sensei, what sorta mission are we doing today?" Naruto asked, breaking the older man from his musing as the squad entered the Hokage Tower. The main floor held the mission assignment center, their current destination.

The jounin gave the kid an eye smile. "I think a few D-ranks will do your body well, don't you agree?" he hums to himself, taking malicious pleasure as all three students rounded their shoulders in woe. He could almost hear Naruto grinding his teeth.

In the brightly lit room, the Hokage sat behind the assignment desk, Iruka by his side. Naruto waved cheerily to the both of them, a wide grin on his face. "Give us something good, okay?!" he exclaimed. "Like a B-rank? Pretty please?!"

The Hokage smirked as Iruka's eyebrow twitched. "You're as vibrant as ever, Naruto-kun," the old man said kindly. "Let's see here... we have, babysitting the Daimyo's niece, picking vegetables for the Higurashis, sorting books for the library-"

"NO WAY!" Naruto shouted, shaking his head in firm denial.

Iruka's limited patience broke. "NARUTO! You will speak to Hokage-sama with the respect he deserves! The reason you aren't being assigned higher ranked-"

Naruto turned to his teammates. "So, guys, what do you think of tonkatsu ramen? I was having an argument with Teuchi-san the other day and-"

"-could be killed! You never know what kind of deadly- HEY!"

"-but he said that pork chasu is really fatty and- what?" Naruto turned, along with the two teammates who had been listening to his ramen spiel intently.

The chuunin's face was an interesting shade of red. "WHY YOU-"

"I'm a ninja, dattebayo! I want a real mission! Not chores!" Naruto harrumped, sitting cross-legged on the ground. He refused to move for a D-rank mission. Refused.

Kakashi's amused grin was carefully concealed.

Iruka looked ready to burst a blood vessel, but the Hokage raised his withered hand. "It's fine, Iruka-sensei. Naruto-kun is a real ninja now, and he wants a real ninja mission."

The boy leaned forward onto his haunches, looking much more excited than before. "Does that mean-!"

"We'll give you a C-rank this time around. How's that? An escort mission, to the Land of Waves."

Naruto jumped to his feet, clenching his fist. "That's what I'm talking about! Who are we escorting- a princess? An important ambassador? A-"

"Hold on there, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi chuckled. "Tazuna-san," he called, raising his voice so that it could be heard into the hall, "come in, please! I've got your escort team."

A few moments passed, before an old, drunken, potbellied man stumbled into the room, blinking blearily at them. Then, his expression fell into one of distaste. "This is my escort team?"

Naruto turned to the Hokage, a protest already rising on his lips. "Hey, jii-chan! What's the big deal? We have to escort this old dude?!"

Kakashi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose again. This... would be a long day.

Charlie woke up in control of her own body, thankfully.

She was in a hospital bed, though the walls around her were the same slate gray concrete as always. Her body felt stiff and painful, and she had a migraine that beat in her head like a drum. 'Fuck, dude!' she thought rather crassly, lifting her hand to her forehead to block out the fluorescent lights.

'Minato, you're lucky you don't have a real body that I could strangle,' she said as memories floated back into her mind. Perhaps she had been conscious during that time, after all.

She could see it: Minato, charging forward and body snatching her. That dude, Takeru, beating him mercilessly, drugging him- 'Oh, God,' she thought, bile rising dangerously in her throat.

There was a conveniently placed trashcan by her bedside, and she found herself retching into it, eyes burning. Her stomach curdled at the memories of- why did they-

"You see why I didn't want you around?" Minato finally spoke, and it made her headache even worse. His voice was softer, softer than she'd ever heard it.

Yeah. Yeah, she saw. But- but he- if only they knew-

"That's the point. That they don't know. They can't know. I was so close to-" Frustration colored his voice. "But I didn't. They no doubt are asking Inoichi-san about us, now. I think... I think we're in the clear."

The redhead spat into the trashcan, arm trembling with the effort to keep herself up. She slowly lied back against the pillow, closing her eyes again. They were safe. For now, they were safe. 'Somewhere else...' she thought, panic creeping up into her mind again. Despite the fact that she was safe, she didn't feel that way. 'I need to be...'

They didn't speak for a while.

Like always, they didn't need many words.

He could read her stream of consciousness as easily as a book, and for some reason, she didn't really care about that now. She knew what kind of man he was. She knew what he strived for, what he valued. She knew his worth.

His arm was a heavy weight around her shoulders, but his side felt warm against hers.

"I wish I could bring you somewhere else," she said abruptly. Her voice was raw, and her throat painful.

Minato made a hum that said, 'go on, I'm listening.'

"The pale expanse of yellow and white," Charlie clarified. "Tired of seeing it. Why can't we just meet in a coffee shop, or a library?" He must've been so sick of it.

"You've never complained about it before," the blond remarked mildly. "Why now?"

"Maybe I'm in the mood to complain." It was going to be a snap, but it came out as just... blunt. "Maybe I'm just tired. Aren't you?"

"You can lie down, if you're tired," he offered, stretching out his long legs.

He knew what she meant, but she took the opportunity to use his lap as her pillow anyway. He didn't turn to look at her, and so she set about studying the underside of his chin, the tanned skin of his throat. His fingers thread through her hair as his free hand undid the hair tie holding her braid together.

"It feels like everything is going wrong," she whispered, closing her eyes as another painful memory flashed in her mind. God, wasn't she being a spoiled brat though? She had no room to complain. Not after- not after-

Was pain the only thing this world knew? Hadn't it dealt her enough of it? Hadn't it dealt him enough of it? Why was she so tired-

"Could be worse," Minato hummed, interrupting her spiralling thoughts effortlessly. His smile was bareboned as he inclined his head to look at her. She glanced up just in time to see it. She wondered how, after all that had happened and how exhausted he looked, he could still have that shine in his eyes. "Still alive, aren't we?"

Her face fell, though there wasn't much there to begin with. "I don't know how we'll get through this situation. I've run it over countless times in my head, and I always draw blanks. I've planned for everything- everything- but this... this is the part I can't predict. And if I die- then we both-"

His lips on hers were a shock. Yet another thing that brain of hers couldn't predict- somehow, he'd managed to surprise her. But there they were, soft, smooth like velvet. Hers were probably cracked and dry and-

"Sometimes, Charlie, I really think you think too much," he told her, stopping her thoughts again. His face was a hair's breadth away from her own, irises a kaleidoscope of color and soul. Breath mixed.

Before she could form another coherent thought, his hand moved to the back of her head, tangling into the tresses as though it belonged there, and he was kissing her again. The gentleness of a hummingbird, but still, an aching fire spread across her skin.

It was strange, to be fair. It was very seldom that her mind was completely silent, and yet- the buzzing static of an empty radio channel filled her ears. It was just the two of them, two pained lives intertwined in ardor. Her hand found his jaw, the same one she'd been tracing with her eyes, and her fingers followed it back to the hollow under his ear.

It lasted perhaps a minute or two, but it could've lasted hours for all she knew.

Minato pulled back slightly, hand migrating to her cheek as she gingerly rested on it. He had infected her with his tranquility. "Whatever happens next- whatever happens next," he told her, "I've got you. So just hold on for me, okay?"

And despite all of the messes they were in, despite the bitter fear in her heart, despite everything- a smile trickled up onto her lips. "Okay."