Jiraiya sat at his desk in the inn and sighed. It had been almost a year since he'd returned to the village permanently and although he had all the inspiration he needed to write a new romance novel, for some reason it just wasn't enough this time. He'd snuck into the ladies spa day after day studying each woman closely. Even so, he just wasn't into it right now. He glanced over his shoulder and eyed the bed behind him dreamily. It would just be so easy to climb in bed and take a nap but he was determined to at least jot down some notes for a new story. Right now though, he had no idea where to begin. He slid the chair back from his desk and stood to his feet. He stretched out his arms and let out a loud yawn before walking over to the window. He spotted Naruto sitting under a tree writing something in his journal.

"Hey Naruto! Shouldn't you be somewhere training?" he hollered.

"Aye, pervy sage. I'm just not in the mood right now," he muttered. Jiraiya sighed and shook his head. Ever since they'd returned from their last mission without Sasuke, Naruto had been acting stranger than usual. He had even started tkeeping a journal of some sort and though tempted to steal it and read from it, Jiraiya could never stoop so low as to read his pupil's private thoughts. Jiraiya leaped from the window of the inn and landed softly next to Naruto. He sat down on the ground next to him and stared up at the sky.

"Pervy sage, how's your smut coming along?"

"Not too good Naruto. I just…even though you and I got loads of pictures and dialog the last time, for some reason I can't get into it anymore."

"Maybe you should try writing about something else other than straight smut." Naruto never looked up but continued to write in his journal, pausing only momentarily to dip his quill in some ink.

"Any suggestions?" Jiraiya asked. His eyebrows rose curiously towards the handsome blonde.

"Well…I'm no expert at smut but why don't you write something that appeals to all in terms of sexuality?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto let out a laugh before closing his journal.

"I mean yuri or yaoi. Yes, I know this idea seems gross to you but you didn't have a problem using my harem jutsu that I taught you to make out with women in the hot spring last week. You may be a man but you were in a woman's form so don't even try to talk yourself out of it." Naruto folded his arms across his chest glaring defiantly at his master. Before long, Jiraiya let out a loud laugh.

"Wow Naruto. And I thought I had a sick and twisted sense of humor. Just who in this village would read and buy such a thing? There are no rainbow freaks in this village," he said trying hard not cry from all of his laughing. When he finally managed to stop laughing, he realized that Naruto looked insulted, almost sad even. "Hey. Naruto, I was only kidding. I know that some of the guys in the village are…you know. Iruka has been that way for years yet he's been in denial all this time."

"Oh…yeah," Naruto said laughing nervously. He leaned back against the tree and stared up at the sky. "Hey pervy sage?"

"Yes?"

"What's wrong with me?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. He wrinkled his brow as he eyed the young blonde curiously. Here he goes again….acting all strange…

"Am I that…unlovable?" he asked softly.

"Huh? Whoa! Time out Naruto…What do you mean by 'unlovable'?"

"I just…" Naruto sat up and stared at his sensei. He had been longing to tell someone his real feelings for ages now but who would understand? He hoped that he was making the right decision by opening up to his sensei but this was really wearing heavily on his chest and there was no one else.

"Go ahead Naruto. As your sensei it is my job to do everything I can for you and protect you no matter what. What's been going on with you? Ever since the last mission failed, you have been acting weirder than usual. There's nothing wrong with being the quiet, mature Naruto that we all wish to see, but at the same time, being that nerdy, knuckleheaded ninja is what makes you who you are."

"Sensei, I…I think I am in love with someone or someones rather and I think that someone is in love with me, but for some reason I don't think my love is enough to bring him home." Naruto lowered his head, letting a tear roll down his cheek in the process.

"Not enough to bring him…wait a second! You don't mean that you…you and…but you two HATE each other!" Jiraiya said frowning. Boy, I wasn't expecting this. So he's bi after all…

"That's the problem sensei. When he left the village the first time, I honestly didn't know what to think until I woke up in the hospital."

"Huh?"

"Well…he left me alive. He let me live. He was supposed to kill me but he didn't. Well, he did kill me but he never finished me off."

"I see where you're going with this Naruto but there's just no way Sasuke could be in love with you. Everyone knows he has a thing for Sakura…"

"Bullshit. He told me himself he never liked her," Naruto huffed. "In fact, Sakura knows this which is why I've seen her and Ino hanging out more frequently."

"Whoa! Are you…? Are they…" Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against the tree. "Well…never mind them. What about Sasuke? Are you in love with him?"

"I…don't know," he answered softly. "I do know this: something is wrong about his situation with Orochimaru. I never told you and Sakura this but Sasuke and I were alone in that cave for quite sometime."

"And you still couldn't defeat him?! Even after all that we've done?"

"No! I mean, I don't know! Look, he said…some things that made me wonder…I can't explain this to you right now alright! Maybe it was a mistake opening up to you." He stood up to leave but Jiraiya pulled him back down to the ground.

"Stay here and talk to me. I wasn't…I didn't mean anything by it. All I want to know is the truth. The way it sounds to me Naruto, is that you let Sasuke go." Naruto continued to stare at the ground and moments passed before he finally answered.

"Hai…I let him go," he whispered.

"Oh…well…it's ok."

"No, it's not ok," Naruto cried, choking back tears. "It's all my fault that Sakura is suffering and it's my fault that Orochimaru…"

"No it's not…" Naruto jumped to his feet and sprinted off towards the forest, leaving Jiraiya behind. The sanin stood to his feet and was about to go after Naruto when he noticed that the small notebook that Naruto had been writing in had been left behind.

All doubts about not reading it had long vanished after his conversation with Naruto.

"Let's see what's going on with you and Sasuke." Jiraiya sat back down under the tree. He leaned back and opened the journal. March 5…

AN I was going to make this an angsty/humorous ONESHOT but I can actually make a pretty good story off of this, but I dunno. It depends on you people. You review and tell me what you think and I might continue. Anyway, I got the idea after watching Naruto re-runs, more specifically "Th Valley of the End" when those two finish their battle. Yes, there may be slash in this but don't expect it to be great. I'm no expert at slash but I am about to find out if I can do it. Also just because the heading says it's Sasuke/Naruto does NOT mean they will end up together so don't get all pissy when they don't. Anyway...review...flame...whatever. We welcome all xD