Three days now she has traveled with Naruto and her father. But Juuri was still at a crossroads. She always just touched him to get his attention. She didn't know what she should call him. But she knew beyond any doubt that he was someone she could trust no matter what was going on. And she already loved him.

'But what do I call him?' She sighed as she dropped her head sitting on the porch of the house that they used. That was the only thing that was bothering her right now.

"Hey what's up? Why the down face?"

Jumping the smiling when it was Naruto she sighed. "It is nothing. Where is…Jiraiya?"

"He went off to the town to get something to help me with my training or so he says." Naruto then looked at her with an odd and confused look. "Why don't you call him dad yet?"

Dropping her head she sighed. "I have tried but every time I try to call him dad or father it just doesn't seem right to me. I don't know what to call him. That is why I don't say his name either. I don't want to hurt him."

With a sigh Naruto smiled at her. "Before she did what she did what did you call your mother?"

"I called her Mama."

Laughing Naruto closed his eyes as he looked at her. "Well then why don't you try calling him Papa?"

Blinking as she looked up, Juuri thought for a moment. "Well she used to tell me that when Papa came back that he would make me strong."

"How did it sound when you said that?"

Laughing as she blushed she looked away from him. "It sounded natural for me to say it. So do what do you think he will say when he hears me say it?"

Putting his hands on the back of his head as he fell back to lay on the porch, Naruto laughed. "Well he will love it I am sure. But he will probably go all red and then act all embarrassed."

"But you really think he would like it?"

"I know it." Naruto smiled at her as he sat up. "Hey whenever he goes into town on one of these little trips he is usually gone from anywhere between a couple of hours to a few days. Do you want to get some training in?"

Gasping then dropping her head she sighed. "I am not that good."

"Come on. We will start with one of the first things that I did. Walking up a tree."

Blinking as she jerked her head up to look at him with shocked eyes she didn't know what to say at first. He earned how to walk up a tree? "Wait like really? That was one of the first things that you learned?"

Nodding with a laugh Naruto closed his eyes. "Yep. Sasuke and I were both really bad at it, and Sakura was awesome. But by the end of the first night, both Sasuke and I were able to master it."

"Who is Sasuke Naruto?"

"He is a friend of mine that is being a pain. He left the village and won't come back. That is part of the reason why I am training with your dad right now. So I can get strong enough that if he doesn't want to come back I can knock some sense into him."

"I see."

Standing up and shocking her making her blush, Naruto smiled down at her with his blue eyes meeting hers. "Come on. You will fall at first but I will be right under you to catch you okay. Let's shock your dad."

"Right then. If you say so."

X

"I did it! I did it Naruto!"

Catching her as she slipped from the branch, Naruto smiled at her. "You did. You got it faster than I did. You are awesome Juuri."

Standing up as he sat her down, Juuri smiled at him. "Thank you Naruto. For everything. I can't tell you how much you have helped me the last few days. And I am not talking about just training."

"No problem. Come on let's go eat." Taking her hand and leading her back to the house Naruto felt her shaking through her hand. Stopping and looking at her with her head down, tears dripping from her face he blinked. "Hey are you okay?"

Covering her mouth with one hand, holding onto Naruto's with the other she nodded. "I am. I am not crying now because I am sad. It is just. That from the day I was five years old I had not seen anyone other than my mother. And even then that was rare." Stepping closer to him she tried to wipe her eyes free of tears. "Even before that, there were no kids my age. I have never been close to anyone around my age before now."

With a smile as he hugged her, Naruto laughed. "Don't worry about it Juuri. By the time we get back to the Leaf next year, I will make sure that you meet all my friends. You will have more friends and people to look up to that you could imagine."

"Thank you Naruto."

"Now let's go eat."

X

"Jiraiya. It has been a long time my friend. To what do I owe the honor of you in my home for today?"

His dark eyes serious, Jiraiya crossed his arms as he met his old friend's eyes. "That is simple. A few towns back, three days travel from here, I met up with Akiko."

"I see." Housuke gave his friend a half scowl. "Still skirt chasing I see."

"This started out like that. But ended in meeting my fourteen year old daughter Housuke."

Gasping as his old black eyes went wide, Housuke didn't know what to say to that one! "You have a…..a….a daughter!?"

"I do. I doubted it at first, but then when I laid eyes on her, there is no doubt. She is a female version of me, with ice blue eyes and ice blue stripes." Jiraiya then dropped his eyes to look at the floor. "Akiko treated her like an animal and caged her from five to fourteen. Nine years in a cave. And it was Akiko's fault she had it in the first place."

"Had what?"

Looking up into his friends eyes with very serious ones of his own, Jiraiya took a deep breath. "Two kekkei genkai that have come out in one person. But not like yours Housuke. She can use the two differently."

His eyes now serious, Housuke crossed his own arms. "Which two kekkei genkai did she get?"

"Ice and Crystal."

"I see. Do you know the natures already?"

"Earth, Fire, Wind and Water."

Standing Housuke walked over and looked through the books he had on the wall. "I see. So you are here to see me to figure out how she can come out with her own unique style then right?"

"That's right. You are after all the best kept secret of the Second and Third Hokage. The only child of a Uchiha father and a Hyuga mother. With a mixture of both for your own unique style of jutsu."

"Indeed." Housuke sighed as he lifted several books from the shelves as he smiled. "However your daughter is not the only reason why you have come here is it?"

"What?"

Smiling as he turned around, his black eyes now streaked with white and silver, Housuke smiled. "You have the son of the Fourth with you. I must say he looks just like his father."

Laughing as he nodded, Jiraiya rubbed the top of his head. "Yeah he may be Minato's kid but he acts nothing like him. He has that same stubborn and hardheadedness of his mother Kushina."

"I see." Housuke then turned and dropped the books in a bag. "I would very much like to meet him and pay my respects to the Fourth's son."

Nervous now, Jiraiya laughed as he jumped to his feet. "Um you see there is the thing Housuke. He doesn't know who his parents are. He knows he has the fox inside him. But he doesn't know that it was his mother who had it before him, or that it was his own father that sealed it inside of him. He knows the Fourth did it, but not that he is his dad."

Blinking, Housuke looked at him then looked down at the bag. "However, he must learn the truth and soon. You see. When is that going to be corrected then?"

"Corrected?

"When do you or the other village higher ups plan on telling him who his family is so he can really get down to training."