Three months was the time it took for Naruto to completely heal and when he was back on his feet, Jiraiya came to collect him to take him away on his travels. Naruto was raring to go, excited to learn directly under Jiraiya though I warned him time and time again to not let that perverted geezer anywhere near his money and to not pick up on any of his crude habits. "And you're to eat your vegetables, get plenty of sleep and for the love of Konoha, do not go getting into bar fights or anything like that! If I find out you're causing trouble then I'll come after you and personally drag you home, ya hear me?!" I told him sternly before dragging him into my arms for a bone crushing hug, not wanting to let him go at all. This was perhaps one of the hardest thing I had had to do. Sasuke had left without saying goodbye and that had been painful enough but here, I had to physically let Naruto leave my side.

"Aw come on Yume! You're killing me here!" Naruto complained but I held onto him a few moments longer, memorising his smell, his height, the feel of his hair on my cheek and the signature of his chakra. I was going to miss his next birthday, possibly the one after that too. I've never missed a birthday before. What will I do when that day comes? Get a cake and eat it myself? I'll make myself sick! "I have to go already, pervy sage isn't going to wait forever ya know, and you don't have to hug me so often! Sheesh, you've been hugging me every five minutes for the past two weeks!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry but I just can't help it." I sniffled, wiping my eyes as I drew back slightly, struggling to hold back the flood. "But hugging you is my way of saying 'I love you' without saying it out loud, and I love you lots, ya know." We grinned at one another, Naruto shouldering his pack as I then handed him a bento so that he could eat on the road. "I packed your favourites. Please, take care of yourself Naruto."

"When I get back, I bet I'll be able to finally land a hit on your aunty, so you better be ready!" He told me, giving me a grin before running off to the main gate to meet Jiraiya. He paused however, stopping dead in his tracks before racing back to me and flung his arms around my waist, embracing me tightly. "I love you too, ya know. I'll miss you." Lifting his head he grinned at me the way only Naruto could. "Mom." My breath caught and my heart danced as I stared down before finally I recovered. Smiling peacefully I placed my hands on his back and leaned down to kiss his head, closing my eyes to hold him one last time.

"I'll miss you too." I murmured before finally letting him go. Watching him disappear I waited until he was out of sight before I then turned my attention to the chakra signature lingering in the shadows. "Jiraiya." My voice was deadly serious, eyes facing forwards as I spoke. "You now carry the life of my precious nephew in your hands." Turning, my eyes blazed like brilliant polished jewels, hard and cold to the eye though Jiraiya did not flinch away from me. "Do not take that responsibility lightly. If anything happens to him, I'll kill you."

"I got it, don't worry. The boy will be safe with me. He's Minato's son after all, he's like my grandkid." He said as he stepped forwards, coming to stand before me whereby I softened, giving him a smile.

"Well, he is your godson." I reminded him and Jiraiya grinned. Nothing more needed to be said between us, however as Jiraiya passed he stopped with a hand to my shoulder, faces looking away from each other though I could hear him with perfect clarity.

"You did a great job raising him, Yume, but you can leave the rest to me now. Your role is done." His words were bittersweet and as he let go, I felt their stinging coldness shoot through me. Yes, I had done a good job raising him, but Naruto didn't need me anymore. He needed a fatherly role model, someone who could teach him things that I could not. I had always known I couldn't do everything for him but it made it no less difficult to accept. Still, I must keep my head held high. I am still Naruto's guardian until he turns eighteen, therefore I must stand strong and not embarrass him in front of others.

However when I entered the house, it felt incredibly large for the first time since I moved in there. Large…and empty. Just walking inside I could feel that I was completely and utterly alone which made me feel even worse so I shut the door and remained outside for the time being. There are things I need to do anyway, plus Tsunade will have a mission for me by this point. She mentioned something about Sunagakure and the new Hokage so it's bound to be important. Daydreaming as I walked I lost my way twice before finally reaching old granny's office where I knocked and entered, sensing Sakura inside. "Yume-san!" She instantly brightened upon seeing me and I smiled as she quickly finished up her work to come running towards me, giving me a floral scented hug in greeting. "I managed to heal a fish today! You wouldn't believe it but you were right, I finally found what I'm good at and it feels amazing!" She gushed excitedly, making me chuckle as I ruffled her hair.

"I'm proud of you Sakura, you're doing a great job. Keep working hard though, only the best ninja are those that keep on training and working no matter how much natural talent they possess." Seemingly newly inspired Sakura hurried back to her studies as Tsunade observed from her desk, a bottle of sake sitting next to her as I walked up. "Granny Tsunade, you shouldn't drink whilst working ya know, it's bound to have its repercussions."

"Pft, don't nag at me woman, I'm still older than you no matter how I look. Plus my chest is bigger." She stuck her tongue out at me and I supressed the urge to laugh, trying to be the mature one in this situation though she could see the mirth in my eyes and she smirked at it. "Guess you're here for your mission scroll. You'll work alone as usual, but this mission is more diplomatic than covert. I trust you'll be okay with that?"

"Anything you need Granny." I answered her and she clicked her tongue at the title of address I gave her.

"I'll let you know, you were not the first choice for this mission and Danzo seemed heavily against the idea of you going to Suna, but you were requested rather explicitly and no one else would have been accepted. It seems you have allies in the desert, Yume." I frowned slightly, confused as to what she meant but Tsunade just smiled and waved her hand. "It's all in the scroll, just make sure you don't screw up whilst you're out there, and watch out for that sun. With your complexion you'll burn to a crisp. I can't wait to see you when you get back, it'll give me a laugh." Tsunade sure wasn't anything like old man Third, but she was definitely refreshing and very upfront. I was glad that she spoke her mind and you always knew exactly where you stood with her. In fact, I think we were even friends as she had invited me out drinking several times. One time I had actually accepted but ended up with the bill, so I made excuses every other time she asked me.

"It will be done." I assured her, turning and winking to Sakura before leaving. Guy and Kakashi were out on their own missions so I didn't really have anyone to say goodbye to. Well, not quite. I took the time to head over to the cemetery where I then stood before two headstones, reading their names over and over before crouching down. "I know it's a little early for Naruto's birthday, but I thought I should tell you everything that's happened recently. He's actually gone out on a long journey to grow stronger with your former master, Minato. At first I didn't want him to leave the village but he and Kakashi talked me round it, those two have me wrapped around their little fingers." I smiled at the graves, crouching down and pulling up any weeds.

"Many things have happened since we last talked, some good and some bad but we're all pulling through the best we can and the village is beginning to get back on its feet. Granny Tsunade is really something special, I really respect her a lot but don't tell her I said that, it'll go straight to her head and in my defence, she has plenty of vices too. She drinks too much and gambles away all her money, she never wins a bet." Pondering a moment I chuckled softly. "Naruto eats plenty of varied foods though his favourite is still ramen, I do my best to get him to eat his vegetables and sometimes I catch him trying to slip them out the window when my back is turned but I always catch him. Also, I've started to like someone in a non-platonic way. It's a little strange and I wish you could give me some advice Kushina because I'm very confused about it, but I think you'd be happy with the guy that I have feelings for, you too Minato. I won't tell you his name yet, I'll keep it as a surprise for my next visit so that I definitely have something to tell you."

Exhaling softly I reached forwards and placed my hand on my sister's gravestone, feeling the rough stone underneath my hand and cleaned it from the creeping moss before doing the same for Minato's. "I miss you both so much. Sometimes I wish I could turn back time and change places with you because you two would have done a much better job than me. Maybe if you were still Hokage, Minato, we wouldn't be having these problems with the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. I know you could beat him easy, but I guess that task is left to the rest of us now." Smiling as I leaned forwards I finished sprucing up the graves so they stood out a little better. "So lend me your strength, yeah? I'll make sure the village stays safe until Naruto comes home. After all, I think you chose to seal the Kyuubi away inside him for a reason, am I right?"

They didn't answer me and only the breeze made a sound as I listened, wishing I could reach toward them beyond the grave and ask them a thousand questions and listen to their advice. Sighing regretfully I stood up, my hand remaining upon their gravestone before I turned away and proceeded to my mission, silently promising to visit them again when I returned.