Sooo...that didn't last as long as I thought it would. I'm sure you've noticed that i removed my notice. That's because after a very beautiful PM from stealthbomber, and a lot of talking/brainstorming with a close friend of mine, i've decided to try and continue. I've got a better idea of how the story is going to play out now and am currently working on actually writing it all down so I don't loose it.

I feel really bad about jerking you guys around like this. I can be a very indecisive person and really hate that it comes across so much here. I really appreciated all the support I got from you all when I decided to drop the story. I had been certain that there was going to be a lot of upset comments, but most of you were really supportive. So I thank you all for the support and hope you stick with me through the end!

I can't promise a solid updating schedule at the moment. I'm going through and doing minor editing to the chapters as well as planning out the rest of this fic. Until that's done i'm not sure when I'm going to end up having new chapters out. I'll definitely have at least one a month, maybe one every two weeks but i'm not sure.

So, in summary, I'm continuing, you all are awesome! And thanks for everything!

Hope you enjoy,

Trouble1
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! ! ! !A FEW HOURS LATER! ! ! !

I was, once again, sitting on the hospital bed, feeling a little better than I did earlier, But I was still pretty upset about everything. It hadn't taken the ANBU much longer to find us, at which point we were lead back towards our own hospital rooms. If the faint shuffling of shoes and light breaths coming from the other side of the door meant anything, I probably had a few ANBU keeping guard as well.

I let out a frustrated huff that blew my bangs up for a moment before they came back down to tickle my nose. I was just thinking that it was probably time for a haircut when I heard a very familiar voice ask my guards to let him pass. I perked up, turning towards the door as it opened up and Jiraiya entered.

"Hey kid," he greeted as his footsteps made their way across the room and his weight settled on the end of the bed. He sounded older than I ever thought possible, as if the last few days had aged him considerably.

"Hey."

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

"Better than earlier," I replied honestly.

"I tried to tell the elders you should be at the funeral, but they didn't want to hear it," Jiraiya said, a guilty tone in his voice. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," I said with a shrug. "Plus, I ended up seeing it regardless."

"Is that why there's four guards outside your door?"

"Probably." I shot him a small grin that made him chuckle despite the circumstances.

"I should have known." I heard his hear swish back and forth as he shook his head. "You're too stubborn to take no for an answer."

"That word has no meaning to me."

"And yet you can still use it in a sentence."

"Um…it has no meaning if anyone else says it. I can use it just fine."

"That's good to know," he said a small smile in his voice.

"Uh, sensei?" I said, not continuing until a questioning hum come from his direction. "How are you holding up?"

"Well considering my sensei was killed by teammate, I could be worse."

"I'm sorry," I said after a moment of silence.

"For what?" he asked, confusion coloring his voice.

"I'm sorry you had to lose your sensei. That has to be hard, no matter your age. I mean, I couldn't imagine what would I would do if you or Kakasensei were killed, let alone if one of my teammates did it," I said. "So, I'm sorry."

He was silent for a long while, making me think I had said something wrong.

"You're a good kid," he finally said, ruffling my hair as he spoke.

"Thanks?"

"How would you like to join me on a mission?" He asked, startling me even more. I stared at him slack jawed, trying to figure out where that had come from.

"Are you joking?"

"No, I wouldn't joke about something like that," he said, his voice sounding slightly offended for a moment before continue. "I have a very important mission that the Third trusted me with before he died. I think it would be a good idea for you to come with me."

"Why? What would we be doing?"

"Fetching the new Hokage, of course."

"Really? That sounds awesome!" I exclaimed happily, sitting up a little straighter at the thought of going on such an important mission. "But why would you want me to come? Wouldn't you want an ANBU or, at the very least, a Jounin to protect the new hokage on the way back?"

"Security won't be a problem, trust me," he said with a laugh. "If anyone needs protection for this mission, it will be us and from her. She won't exactly be willing to take this post, let alone come back with us."

"You mean she's not even in the village?" I asked in confusion. "Why would they choose someone for Hokage if they're not even here?"

"Because the person we're fetching is Tsunade, my old teammate. The Third himself nominated her for the post. He knew she was the best person for the job, regardless of her personality quirks."

"What about you?" I asked, making him burst out in laughter.

"No way gakki," he said around his laughter. "Me? With that amount of responsibility? The council would rather streak through the village naked then have me take the hat. And, truth be told, I completely agree."

"…I don't want see that," I said, almost glad that if it did happen, I wouldn't be able to see it.

"Neither do I, so we better go fetch Tsunade before they start stripping."

I nodded vigorously, making him laugh once again.

"So you'll come? Good. We leave in three days. Make sure to pack for a long mission."

I paused for a moment as I felt him stand up from the bed, remembering something that Rin said when I last met her. That I only had a certain amount of time before I had to go to her again if I wanted to keep the pain away.

"Wait. How long?" I asked, feeling a little nervous.

"Not sure. Could be anywhere from a week to a month or two," Jiraiya said simply.

He continued on, but I wasn't exactly listening. Instead I was doing the math in my head, trying to see if I had enough time before that next visit to go on the mission. She had said two months, and I had already spent one of them prepping for that stupid exam. If the mission really did take more than a month to complete then the pain would be back before we even started back.

"On second thought," I said, interrupting whatever speech Jiraiya was on this time. "I should probably talk to Kaka-sensei about it first. Get his permission and all that."

"Why would you need that?" he asked, sounding almost insulted. "I'm your sensei."

"Temporary sensei. Kaka-sensei is my official one, and if I disappeared without his permission I'd get in serious trouble, no matter who I disappeared with."

"Fine!" Jiraiya said with an exaggerated sigh. I heard his feet turn on the tile floor as he headed back towards the door. "Go talk to your 'real' sensei. I'll be looking for leads while you do."

"You mean peeping on bathhouses."

"I'll have you know you can get a wide variety of information from bathhouses. And a lot of it is very useful."

"Sure, whatever makes you feel better ero-senin," I smirked as I heard the door creak open as he muttered something about disrespectful brats. "Um, ero-senin?"

"You want me to tell Kakashi you want to talk to him, right?" he asked from the now open doorway.

"Since I can't leave, yeah."

"Very well. I'll let him know if I see him. Can't promise he'll get her in record time though," he said, his voice fading a bit as he turned away from me.

"If he did, then we should start planning for the apocalypse."

"Agreed," Jiraiya said with a chuckle. "See yah, kid."

"Bye," I said with a wave. The door shut with a small click, leaving me alone in the room once again.

I frowned, thinking that it probably wouldn't be so boring if the Kyuubi wasn't sleeping at the moment. He claimed he needed to recover from the exertion I put him through but compared to the amount of chakra he has, we used next to nothing. Though he hasn't used very much since he was sealed in me, maybe even longer, so maybe he just wasn't used to using it anymore. Either way, he's been sleeping since the fight, only the occasional snore letting me know he was even still there.

I guess I was kind of annoyed, but then figured that maybe he had the right idea. After all that running around today, a nap sounded like an awesome idea. It wasn't like Kakashi was going to be here for several hours, so I had the time. Laying down, I got as comfy as I could on the poor excuse for a bed before falling into an almost immediate sleep.

! ! ! !SEVERAL HOURS LATER! ! !

I awoke to a pile of fabric connecting with my face.

"Time to go," a voice said from somewhere to my left. I sat there for a moment, trying reorient myself.

"Kaka-sensei?" I inquired as I sat up, moving my goggles for a moment to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"Yup, and I'm here for your jail break," he stated, a smile in his voice. "So get dressed so we can go."

"Jail break?"

"Unless you'd rather stay here."

"No!" I exclaimed as I immediately began fighting with the stupid paper shirt, struggling to get it off.

"You know, your Chakra Echoes would work wonders."

"Shut up," I muttered, turning them on regardless. After that, it wasn't long before I switched shirts and was on my feet, ready to leave.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked as I pulled open the door. I turned towards Kakashi, as he stood in the middle of the room, seeming to look out the window. When he finally turned to face me, I raised a questioning eyebrow that made him chuckle.

"Someone's impatient," he stated as he followed me out of the room. The ANBU's that were at the door earlier were gone now, probably leaving as soon as they heard I was being released.

"I've been smelling nothing but antiseptic for three days. If I don't get out of here soon, I'm not sure I'll have much a nose left."

"Why do you think I wear the mask?"

"Because your face scares children," I answered without pause. I shoved my hands into my pockets as my sensei placed a hand over his heart as if he was offended.

"How rude," he stated, his voice way too dramatic. I rolled my eyes as I shook my head at his antics.

"I'm totally right, you know it."

"I'll have you know I'm actually quite handsome under this mask," he said. "In fact I wear this mask to keep from accidentally seducing the general public."

"Your boasting has reached Jiraiya levels right now," I said flatly as we exited the hospital's double doors. I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding as we reached the outside. I then breathed in the smell of clean air and nature that I couldn't get on the inside.

"Speaking of Jiraiya, I heard he offered to take you on a mission with him," Kakashi stated, expertly changing the subject. "I also heard you all but said yes until hearing the length of the mission."

"He said it will probably take at least a month." I shuffled my feet forward, kicking a rock down the street. "And you know what happens in a month."

"Yes, I remember," Kakashi replied, his voice becoming more serious.

"So I can't go."

There was silence between us for a while as we walked down the street. It wasn't until a few minutes had passed that he spoke.

"Question," he stated, getting my attention. "Do you want to go?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning towards him.

"If you didn't have to worry about missing your appointment, would you go?"

"In a heartbeat." My answer was instantaneous. "It's a really important mission; I'd love to be part of it."

"Then go."

"It's not that simple," I said with a huff of annoyance.

"Yes, it is," he stated. I opened my mouth to say something, but he continued talking as if I hadn't. "Think about it. It's a mission to fetch the best medical nin this village ever produced, maybe even the best in all the Elemental Nations. If you end up having trouble, then who would be better than her to fix it."

"Oh yeah, that will go over well. 'Hey Tsunade-san, I know we just met and we were sent to bring you back to the village probably against your will, but can you fix my eyes before the pain gets so bad that it cripples me and everyone sees that I'm-'"

Kakashi cleared his throat, cutting me off as another ninja passed us on the street. Kakashi nodded towards him as I could almost feel the odd look he was giving us. We didn't say anything until we had moved out of earshot of the other ninja. Once he was gone, Kakashi pulled me to a stop.

"Somethings are worth the risk, Naruto," he said. "You don't exactly have the luxury to sit around and wait for Jiraiya to bring her back on his own. This village is full of eyes and ears just waiting for someone to spill their secrets close enough so they can obtain them."

"But I was fine all month."

"The exams distracted anyone that would want that information. Unfortunately, they're over." He was quiet for a moment as if waiting for a response, when I didn't give one, he continued speaking. "You won't have the chance to ask her about it unless you're outside these walls. Otherwise all the wrong people will find out and look to use that information before she even has the chance to fix it."

"But…It hurt," I murmured, my face aimed towards the ground. "It hurt so much. I don't want to feel it again."

"I understand," he said, just as quietly as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I've had my fair share of eye problems so I get it. But it's ultimately your choice to make. I can't make it for you, only give you my advice."

"I know. Thanks," I said, giving him a small smile in response. He ruffled my hair briefly before dropping his hand back at his side.

"Well, I believe this is your stop."

I frowned for a moment before taking in the surroundings, a little surprised to find myself at the base of my apartment building. I started heading towards the stairs when Kakashi called to me.

"Will you be alright?"

"Yeah, I got this," I answered, waving away his concern with a hand over my shoulder as I kept walking. "You can go check on the rest of my teammates now. I kinda want some time to think anyways."

"I'll stop by later to see what you've come up with," he said. When I didn't answer, he continued. "I'll bring Ichiraku's."

I stopped mid-step, turning back towards him before smiling.

"Sounds like a plan," I said as I finally put my foot down on the step. "But I swear, if you don't bring it, the pranks I pulled on Jiraiya will look like child's play."

"Duly noted."