A/N: Welcome to this new fic. I've posted the first two chapters as an intro. Let me know what you think, feedback always welcomed. Sidebar, not trying to make this OC overpowered; just trying to have an interesting take on this type of story.

Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

Charlie was a smart girl.

Always had been. Even in elementary school, she was the six year old in the fifth graders' class. She was a workaholic, too, from pretty much the womb. Well, at that time all she'd worked on were her mother's nerves, but you get the point. She was smart. Equally, she was a sophomore in college, and liked to think herself an adult by now (though really, she was still only 17).

An adult. One who didn't have irrational visions, stupidly vivid dreams about someone she'd once enjoyed watching on the television when she was in middle school. And certainly one who didn't find themselves in the belly of a shinigami with him. Yet, here we were.

It had been a sudden thing, really. Charlie hadn't died or anything. In fact, she was in a hospital job shadowing, so if she had even been ill, she would've been treated for it by now. But it was sudden; one moment, she was asking the radiologist what it was like to be a radiologist (boring, she suspected), and the next, her eyes were snapping open to a blank whitish-yellow void.

And then there was him. Staring down at her with impossibly bright eyes, asking her if she was okay, like she hadn't just popped into existence. She recognized him, though of course, how could she not? Her eidetic memory recalled everything she'd ever seen, including the embarassing cartoons she used to find entertaining.

So maybe she wasn't an adult, then. Maybe she wasn't as smart, or as grown as she thought she was, because certainly smart, grown people don't fantasize of being locked up in a void with Minato Namikaze. Or maybe she'd hit her head and all her brain cells had flown the coop. Either way, there was no way in fresh hell that what was happening was really happening.

Ignoring him, Charlie set to bashing her head against the ground she lied on, hoping it would jostle something and send her back where she came from. It did nothing, of course, but make the cartoon guy stare owlishly at her.

"Um, what are you doing?" he inquired gently, tactfully as if this happened all the time.

"Trying to go back," Charlie replied, the 'obviously' implied in her tone, before smashing her head into the floor again. Her brain was starting to pound against her skull, but maybe that meant it was working.

"I don't think it works that way," the man replied. His hands were ghosting the air in front of her, like he was trying to stop her but too scared to at the same time.

"It's gonna have to work that way." She turned onto her stomach, intent on working the front half of her skull, but was finally pulled up onto her knees by the man.

He had a sheepish expression on his face. "Sorry, but I would've been out of here a long time ago if knocking myself into a coma had worked," he stated, a half-smile on his handsome face. "My name is Mina-"

"-to Namikaze. I know. And that's exactly why I'm trying to wake myself up here, so if you'd excuse me-" Charlie made to jerk out of his hold, but his grip on her shoulders clamped down like a vice.

"Why do you think you're asleep?" Minato asked curiously.

"Because you're not real!" Charlie burst, irritated beyond belief. If they hadn't moved her body to a gurney by now, they would soon. "And I'm in the middle of a job shadow! I don't know why I passed out, or how I ended up here, but I'm going back! I have a life, you know!"

The girl threw herself out of his arms, reddish-brown hair slapping him in the face as she swiveled on her heel and stalked some distance away. The man just sighed, and knowingly sat down to wait her out.

Okay. So maybe banging her head didn't work. That meant pinching herself was out of the question, because she definitely could feel the pain, but what else would work? Sleeping?

She humphed, maybe that could be her ticket. Charlie curled onto her side, closing her eyes meaningfully against the penetrating gaze of her roommate. A few tense minutes past before she turned her back to him. And then she lied on her stomach. Her back...

"Goddamn it would you stop staring at me!" she screamed in his direction, only to lose steam as she noticed that he wasn't looking at her at all. In fact, his eyes were closed.

Well, were closed. "I've never been able to fall asleep here," Minato confided, now meeting her dark auburn eyes with his own. "Perhaps you should look into a different theory other than being asleep," he added.

"Very helpful, thank you," Charlie retorted sardonically. He did have a point though. What else was there besides being passed out though? Could she really have died or something? "I didn't die," she said resolutely, more to herself than anything. She would've remembered it, just like she remembered everything else.

"Maybe you didn't. Though that's how I ended up here," Minato replied.

"I know, shut up. I'm trying to think," she grunted, clenching her eyes shut in concentration.

Her mind opened up to her, like it always did. The great labyrinth of her memories, and she strolled through it like she did every day, knowing the way as well as the back of her hand. Memories flashed in front of her eyes, the two days namely. She remembered waking up the day before, calling her mom, going to class, going home, studying, working, never eating of course because that interrupted her brain function, and then sleeping. She remembered waking up today, going to class, job shadowing a boring radiologist for her stupid biology project, sitting in the x-ray room. She remembered spinning in the swivel chair next to the man, her Converse squeaking on the linoleum, the fluorescent lights above her. She remembered his voice when she asked him what, exactly, he did, and she remembered the last words she'd heard, which were, "-and then I coordinate with-" And then nothing.

Her eyes snapped open again. "I didn't die," she reiterated, now certain. "I felt no pain, I had no inclination anything was wrong, breathing rate was normal, I had adequate sleep, I-"

"So maybe you ended up here because someone put you here," Minato cut her off. "Perhaps you're here for no reason at all. But I can assure you that despite what you may think, this is real, and though I'm a ghost I'm still a part of reality. And so are you. This is no vision, this is a separate plane. By whatever means, you're stuck here."

Charlie's throat felt stuffed full of cotton as she stared at him. She could feel her bottom lip jut out petulantly before she spun around, not wanting him to see her expression. There was no way in hell. It... it felt real. She didn't feel like she was in a dream, or a separate plane, or whatever. She just felt normal, solid, and... fine. Despite the circumstances.

Abruptly, she stood, and began sprinting forward. "What are you doing?" Minato called in confusion, though she kept running until he was just a speck on the horizon. She wanted to see if there was anything else, if there was anyone else, though a growing part of her was beginning to believe that it was her and Minato and nothing else.

"Damn it, how big is this place?" Charlie yelled, and it echoed as if to mock her. It seemed to go on for an infinity. She felt herself start to panic, the way she always did when faced with something she couldn't understand, and rubbed her shaking hands on her jeans nervously. It scared her. This scared her. Whether it was her mind conjuring it or real, she was terrified now. Terrified of not being able to escape, of being here for... for forever.

Reluctantly, she turned on her heel, marching back to the young Hokage like a stick had erected itself in her ass. The man in question had a concerned expression on his face as she returned, forehead scrunched. "I was about to come after you. Once you lose sight of me, it will be very hard to return, and I don't think you want to be alone." He came a little closer to her.

Charlie found herself staring at him like he'd grown a third head, or like she was finally hearing the words coming from his mouth. He ducked his head down closer to her height, as he kind of towered over her. "Are you okay?"

Shit. Maybe he was real. Maybe she'd been an asshole to him for no reason. Maybe she had no hope at all of getting out of here.

It was on very rare occasions that Charlie found herself in situations she could not help. But when she did, she always panicked. She always ran. The only difference now was, there was nowhere to run to.

Maybe it was only logical that the moment her breath caught up to her, she started to sob hysterically.

Minato seemed to panic too, not used to crying women probably, and flitted around uselessly for a bit before nearing her hesitantly. She had fell to her knees on the ground, legs folded under her and arms covering her face from his view. There was no mistaking the teardrops on the lap of her jeans though, and so he gingerly mimicked her position, his knees barely touching hers.

"I can't understand how you're feeling right now, not exactly," he said quietly, "but I do give good hugs."

Charlie unabashedly threw herself at him, and he fell backwards with her caged in his arms. He let her lie on him, holding her tight as she cried her eyes out like the big baby she really was.

So maybe Charlie wasn't really an adult after all. That was fine. At least one of them had a handle on himself.

A time later, once her tears had dried and left her cheeks stiff, she untangled herself from him and sat up. "Sorry for being a jerk," she said roughly.

Absurdly, he had a cheeky grin on his face. "It happens."

"This doesn't, though," she mumbled, sitting back on her bottom and pulling her knees back to her chest. "This is a strange situation. I hate to admit it, but I'm not sure how to handle this."

Minato scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I've never seen anyone else here, either..."

Charlie breathed in deeply through her nose. 'C'mon, think! There were no signs that you'd done anything to cause this, so it was some outside force. Perhaps this is still your mind playing tricks on you, that would be the most logical explanation, but if so, the issue will resolve itself. Therefore, you should proceed with-'

Something thunked her forehead.

Wide hazel eyes snapped up to meet electric blue. Minato lowered his finger, the same stupid smile on his face. "Steam was coming out of your ears," he fibbed.

She glared at him. "Perhaps you don't understand what I'm doing here. I'm trying to figure out a way to get out of here. It won't come to me chit chatting with you. If you're lucky, I'll find a way out for you, too." Though that was highly improbable.

Minato seemed to think the same. "Not gonna happen. Though," he sighed, "even if I haven't talked to another soul in years, I suppose I can try to help you out of here. Since it seems you're here by mistake."

"I don't think it was a mistake on my end," Charlie said, "I wasn't doing anything. In fact, where I'm from, we don't even have the ability to do seals like this."

His eyes widened and he leaned uncomfortably far forward. "Eh? What do you mean?"

Telling him wouldn't hurt anything, she supposed. Not when he couldn't really do anything with the information besides grill her for more. "Where I'm from, chakra isn't a thing. And you, and all your people, are a TV show. It's like... like a book, kind of?"

"A... book? And... wait, how do your people function without chakra then?" Oh, great. She had forgotten that Minato was one of those genius knowledge-sponge types, and from the way he was looking at her... he would be grilling her, indeed.

Charlie leaned back a bit from his intensity. "Yes. We have technology to get us places and to communicate over far distances."

"And what does this book cover? You knew my name..." Minato was blushing.

Charlie chuckled. "Not about you, really," she said, just to burst his bubble. He wilted a bit. "It's about your son," she added.

That got his attention.

The questions that poured from his mouth stumbled over eachother in a heap so tall that Charlie couldn't tell one word from the next.

Irked, she instinctively covered his mouth with her hand. "Yes, Naruto. It's about his life, and how he becomes a ninja and helps the village and such. I know almost everything there is to know about it, I've watched the whole series." She sighed at the look in his eyes, and glanced away. "You should be proud of him," she added quietly, "he's an excellent person."

She could feel his smile under her hand.

Over the next few countless hours, she revealed all she knew to him. She felt like she had a duty to; after all, he was his father. It wasn't fair for him to be so disconnected from the world he'd saved in the first place. She told him about his childhood, the good and the bad, and his journey to become the Hokage. She told him about his friends, his teachers, his bravery, his strength. Charlie wanted him to be proud; he deserved it.

Minato had a serene looking smile on his face as he listened to her recount many of his escapades. All his little adventures on his way to coming into who he was, and all the big adventures too.

Eventually, Charlie found herself lying on the strangely cool ground of the void that contained them, fingers laced behind her head neatly. Her tongue had grown tired of speaking, so she lied in silence, listening to the calm static of nothing. Minato was silent on his part as well, choosing to lean back on his elbows and stare thoughtfully out at the nothingness.

"You think highly of Naruto," Minato noted suddenly. Charlie's amber eyes opened halfway. "I can tell. I'm glad," he noted, giving a wider-than-usual grin.

Charlie fought down the sheepish blush that coated the tops of her cheeks. "It's hard not to like Naruto. Or at least to feel for him a little." Charlie shrugged. "Honestly, knowing all I know about him and how he's suffered, I would take his pain on myself so he could walk freely." She swallowed, redirecting her gaze to the blank space above her. "Then again, maybe that pain is necessary. Maybe it taught him to fight hard so that no one else would hurt as he did."

Minato was burning holes into the side of her face with the intensity of his stare.

'Ah, but couldn't he have had one friend?' her brain mumbled sullenly. Maybe if Naruto had had a companion from the beginning, if he had had at least one person to look out for him, he wouldn't have felt so utterly alone. If she could, she would do it in a heartbeat.

"Eh?" Minato suddenly blurted.

Charlie turned to stare at him in confusion.

"You're glowing," he pointed out.

Indeed she was. No, more like, the pale yellow swirls of energy around them were gathering in her, setting her skin ablaze. Though it did not hurt. Instead, she felt... invigorated. Like she could run a thousand laps around the sun. Energy was bursting through her skin now in little sparks, and it kept getting brighter, brighter, brighter-

Vaguely, she heard her companion's shout before the light consumed her.

Charlie was face-down on the ground.

She could tell, of course, by the scent of dirt in her nose, the feel of damp moss against her skin. Speaking of skin, she apparently was showing a lot of it, because the breeze that washed past her chilled her from her toes to her nose. 'Naked! I'm- naked!' she gaped, and sat up abruptly. Amber eyes wheeled wildly as she took in the area around her- a forest, from the looks of it, with trees as tall as skyscrapers and just as thick around. The air was murky, somehow, but fresh enough.

She glanced down at herself, then, and gaped. Not only was she, yes, naked, but she was also teeny tiny. She had been 17 when she'd disappeared, but somehow, someway, she was as flat as the day she was born, and about as curvy as a straight line. Her arms, legs, everything was small. How had that- why had this-?

'What happened? Where am I, where's Minato?' Because the last thing she remembered was him getting swallowed by the light just as she had.

Nervously, she got to her feet, the forest floor rough on her bare feet. This place was also unfamiliar to her- the trees looked comically big, and it had been nearing winter in Pennsylvania. Here, even the gigantic trees couldn't blot out the heat. "I don't even think I've ever seen them this big before," she mumbled aloud, craning her neck as far as it would go to see the branches that almost covered the sky. 'Then again, maybe they look so big because I'm so small,' she thought sourly, looking down at herself again. Her body couldn't have been more than 10.

"Hello?" A voice called, disembodied but somewhere to her left. Charlie's eyes widened, and she dove for the cover of a tree trunk, crouching low and breathing hard.

"I know you're there," the voice called again. It was a boy's voice- if she had to put an age on it, probably under ten.

Charlie held her breath as his footsteps drew closer. The last thing she wanted was to be caught naked in some random forest.

Just like that, the boy came into view. Charlie peeked from around the tree, and repressed a gasp as she saw just who had come around to see her.

He did look rather young, to her. He was in his orange and blue jumpsuit, though the green goggles around his neck told her that he hadn't graduated yet. He seemed to be older than she was, but only by a year or two perhaps.

"C'mon, I heard you..." Naruto muttered, squinting as he looked around.

Charlie grimaced. Should she out herself? She really did need clothes, and it wouldn't do to just waltz into his village wearing nothing. Besides, it was Naruto- he wouldn't do anything.

"Uh," she grunted, flushing in embarassment as his eyes locked on her. She hid most of her body behind the trunk, only allowing her head to peep out from behind the thick wood.

Naruto pointed at her. "There you are! I knew I heard something! Hey, why are you out here all alone-"

Charlie held a hand up as he started to advance towards her with his usual carefree grin. "Ah, sorry, I'm uh- I'm kind of-"

The blond froze in his tracks as he caught sight of bare hip. He gaped. "Wh-where's your clothes?!"

"I... I don't know." Charlie's face was beet red as she explained her situation, not daring to look the kid in the eyes. "I j-just woke up here," she continued, "I don't know w-where I am, or where my clothes are..." She finally managed to give the kid the most embarassed smile she'd ever given and said, "W-would you be able to find something for me to wear?"

He gave her a weird look before eventually nodding. "J-just... wait here?" She nodded, and he ran off.

Charlie sighed. 'What a first impression I've made,' she thought, sliding down to crouch on the forest floor. The last thing she remembered, she had been talking with Minato, and now she was here. None of it made sense, not a damn thing. Not the Minato situation, and definitely not this situation. 'Maybe someone slipped me shrooms.' Not that she knew what being on shrooms felt like, but it had to be something. This kind of thing didn't happen to normal people like her.

'Maybe something was triggered when you started talking about my son,' said a voice in her head.

The girl found herself nodding; that did make a little-

"H-HOLD ON!" she gasped out loud. 'Who the hell are you?!' she thought furiously, because that definitely hadn't been her voice in her head.

'Minato,' Minato said, sounding amused. Charlie failed to see what was so humorous about this.

'Why the fuck are you in my head, Minato?' she grouched, grinding her palms into her eyes in her frustration.

'I'm- not sure, actually,' Minato confessed, 'But I can see through your eyes, kind of, if I try. And hear through your ears.

'That's weird. Are you still... in that place, though?'

'As far as I can tell. But I can hear your thoughts now...'

That was going to to be weird as shit if this continued.

'Um, okay, awkward. Is it only when you focus, though?'

So far, yes. I'm meditating to communicate to you. It's... strange, to see the forest again after so long.' His voice was wistful now, and the girl found herself scanning the forest slowly to give a better view.

'I really don't know how to feel about this, Minato. Any of it. And I'm- I'm younger now. In a kid's body.'

'That's stranger still. We'll have to bide our time, I suppose.'

Charlie's ears perked as she heard footsteps approaching. There was only one person it could be. 'Ah, Naruto's back,' she thought, getting to her feet and wiping the dirt from her hands.

"Um, naked girl? I have clothes?" Naruto called from the trail he was on, sounding every bit as awkward as she felt. Indeed, there was a black bundle in his arms.

'My son,' Minato said, pride coloring his voice.

"It's Charlie," she said from behind her tree, peeking her head out to look at him. Naruto made his way through the waist-high bushes to hand her the clothes, a blush coloring his cheeks cutely.

She found herself grinning. "What's your name?" she asked as she unrolled the bundle. It was a simple black hoodie and what looked like a spare pair of his shorts.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he grumbled, refusing to look even in her general direction. The girl smirked a little as she tugged his shorts on, though her form drooped a little as she noticed that his shorts were way too baggy. She tied the strings as tight as they would go, but the shorts still hung low on what little hip action she had. Resolving to fix that issue later, Charlie shrugged the hoodie on, happy to finally be marginally warmer.

"Naruto, I'm decent," she voiced, emerging from behind the tree.

The blond boy glanced warily at her before turning fully. "S-so you said you don't remember why you woke up here?"

Charlie shook her head. "Where is here, by the way?"

Naruto shrugged. "You're just outside the walls of Konoha. You... do know where that is, right?"

The redhead squinted. "Yes." And then she realized she should probably be nicer to him- he had helped her out, after all. "Um, thanks for letting me borrow your clothes by the way," she added, scratching her cheek sheepishly.

Naruto nodded wordlessly. 'He's quieter than I'm used to,' she thought absently. "Hey, not to intrude or anything, but would you be able to take me to your Hokage? I think he might be able to figure out more about... this."

"Uh, yeah, follow me." Naruto began to lead her through the woods, hands behind his head nonchalantly.

"So, how come you were outside the village, Naru-chan?" the redhead inquired casually.

Naruto's cheeks predictably flushed at the nickname, and he whipped his head around to stare at her. She merely gave him a close-eyed smile. "I was skipping Academy," he mumbled finally, looking away.

Charlie could feel Minato's outrage pounding in the back of her head. She sighed. "You do need to attend to graduate, ya'know..."

Naruto shrugged petulantly. It struck her how... childlike he was.

"Naru-chan, how old are you?"

"Ten..."

Charlie grinned widely. "Same," she said, though she didn't really know herself. "But anyway, you really shouldn't skip school. The others will get ahead of you!"

Naruto shrugged again. "As long as I don't have to hear Kuboyashi-sensei talk again." 'That must've been his teacher before Iruka.'

Charlie pouted, then checked herself into her normal serious expression. It seemed even her brain wanted to act like a child. "Once I get my situation figured out, I'm definitely dragging you to class by your ears," she threatened, offsetting it with a small smile.

Naruto made a noise similar to a squeak before dashing forward.

Charlie couldn't help the small smile curling her lips. Perhaps she began to realize why exactly her day had ended up like this, but if she did, she didn't voice her thoughts.