Sometimes, Jiraiya likes to imagine that there is redemption for shinobi. (Even though he knows there is none. Not even for the shinobi who tried to be moral, to be good and kind, outside of their jobs.) Sometimes he closes his eyes, and when a breeze cools his face, he lets the wind carry his wishes. Sometimes, he imagines that the naive fools who are shinobi and idealists are the result of his air-borne wishes touching them.
And then he wishes that he had never breathed those stupid wishes, because all they do is create more optimistic idealists. Like Dan. Like Nawaki. Like Minato. And he knows how those stories ended.
Jiraiya knows he's being irrational.
Sometimes, he fears that Naruto is the result of another one of his wishes. But just this time, he dares to hope, just a little, that it will be different. Maybe this time, idiotic determination and unceasing hard work will be enough. Just this once, Jiraiya thinks to himself that he'll stick around and see how things will go.
