After leaving Jiraiya behind, I searched for the blonde knucklehead in the direction he pointed, but a place with many trees only a vague direction made it difficult to find a specific spot and for the very same trees I could climb one and check from above.

And while I could yell her name, I didn't want to interrupt her concentration or her teammates'.

So that left me silently walking through the trees. It was rather relaxing to take my time in my search as the silence and the natural sound of wind and the occasional chirping of birds were perfect, but that changed when my ears picked up rather odd sounds that were out of place from the melody of nature. There were no doubts when I headed in that direction the sounds intensified as they became clear enough for me to deduce that those sounds were in fact products of intense fighting.

I quickly assumed that it was a sparring session, it was a good thing that I found them that fast and didn't waste time inside the forest.

However, something passed, barely scratching me, right in front of my eyes before hearing a crashing sound against a tree, causing a small curtain of smoke.

That cloud of dirt managed to blind me for a couple of seconds but it didn't stop me from acting. I had to force my eyes to ignore the pain and watch the scene, yet the shock was stronger than my discomfort.

In front of me was a blonde girl slowly getting up from the ground and trying to clean her black tank top from the dirt.

"Naruto?!" I didn't waste a single second to reach her and help her to stand up and dust off her clothes.

I ran up to her and immediately looked for any kind of injury on her. Even if she had crazy regeneration, the heat of the moment made me ignore that little yet important fact.

Naruto remained still for a moment, but she grabbed my hands and stopped me from continuing. "Is okay onii-chan."

"You just got sent flying!" I exclaimed, trying to understand her. No sparring sessions could be that brutal, at least not in the regular Konoha.

"She was asking for it." But a new voice came from behind.

I turned around to see the voice's owner. My eyes widened when I met with a pair of orange eyes and short green hair. "Fu?!"

My feelings went into disarray. I couldn't even find what words to say. My throat formed a knot, leaving me only to stare at her with my mouth hanging open.

Slowly I stood up and straightened my back without breaking away from her gaze, after several seconds the knot slowly loosened and words slowly filled my head to express myself, I always wanted to gather more information before coming to a conclusion but the little I had was enough for me to start with a harsh tongue lashing.

However, from behind, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and held me tight. "Don't be mad at her, it is my fault."

Her words alone froze me in place, despite her being the one who was stopping me from moving.

My hand slowly reached her head and carefully pushed her away but was momentarily met with resistance as she tightened her arms around me. "Just start the beginning, I won't do anything."

Only then she finally released me from her grip.

I turned back to meet with her head low and her gaze staring at the ground exactly like a dog that knows it did something wrong.

Out of instinct, I turned to see Fu again, who only shrugged and walked away towards the nearest tree, which she used to lean on for a rest. In that short frame of time, my mind was in a calmer state which gave the time to quickly see that Fu was dressed in the same fashion as Naruto.

But her silence bothered me a little.

My attention returned to the blonde girl, who already gathered her strength to look at me. "I couldn't watch you suffer and stress yourself every night. I know I did something wrong and you are doing so much for me and I only bring you more problems than you already have so I hoped to fix at least one for you."

Her words struck a chord in me. It took me back to all the nights I had been staying up late for reading bills and other miscellaneous work. But at the same time, I was carefully writing down my plans regarding the upcoming Chunin exams, after which it completely left Naruto in the dark.

For her, I looked overworked out of necessity to fix every problem as soon as possible.

Even as a shinobi, she was a kid.

And kids shouldn't be concerned with adult stuff.

My hands reached her shoulder and pulled her in for a long hug, which she quickly replied in kind.

"You aren't a burden, none of you are. You made a mistake, and you are willing to rectify it, that's what matters. Just don't beat yourself, you can always talk to me or others."

"Okay." She muttered.

We stayed in a tight hug for a little more before she finally pulled away and then she shined a warm smile.

I replied in kind and ruffled her hair a bit causing her to giggle, trying to get away from my hand.

However, our sibling moment was cut short as another girl cleared her throat loud enough to shift my attention.

I turned to see Fu standing with her both arms crossed glaring at us, in my mind clicked my mistake as I was showing favoritism again and of course I couldn't give her all the attention while the other jinchuuriki under my wing was feeling left out in this whole bonding moment.

I didn't know what to do or say so I only opened my arms wide open, which she quickly ran up to me and hugged as tight as Naruto did moments ago.

Our moment which lasted for a couple of seconds.

After she pulled back, it was time to ask her questions.

"So can you explain?"

"We tried to solve our differences." Fu calmly proclaimed.

I looked at her in silence, then my gaze shifted to Naruto, who averted her gaze.

It finally added up the location and a powerful sealmaster.

"That explains why Jiraiya was around, but you shouldn't fight. Naruto, your...tenant is more inclined to manipulate you to do its bidding when you get emotional." Yet I couldn't even consider it a fight as Naruto only looked to be the one who was being thrown around like a rag-doll.

And while it could help to vent the frustration and anger Fu held towards Naruto I highly doubted that it would help in any way and not brew more resentment in the future. And I have yet to discover what happened to cause that rift in the first place.

"I'm sorry." Naruto finally managed to mutter a single sentence.

I frowned, but quickly dismissed any thoughts. "Don't be, your intentions are pure but the method isn't the correct one. You aren't sworn enemies, you can talk this and I'm willing to listen and be the middleman to solve your differences but you must talk to me." I looked at the sky thinking of my next line as well as allowing the breeze to massage my skin for a short while. It was enough to gather my thoughts better. "I know what transpired back at our home wasn't the best impression and is no excuse to act the way I did only because I got angry that's why I'm sorry to both of you."

Fu nodded along with Naruto.

The green-haired jinchuuriki stepped forward with a pained expression. "But I'm not ready to talk about it. Can it be tomorrow?"

"If that's what you want I will respect it." I replied, carefully watching how her expression released her tension. My attention turned to my adoptive little sister. "Is it okay for you, Naruto?"

She took a deep breath. "Yes."

I was making an assumption in my head again and there was a little feeling that I might not like Fu's explanation, but I pushed those thoughts aside since it was a problem for my future self.

My lips broke into a smile. "Besides, you can't just be all bruised up for your visit to Hinata. Soon they will discharge her and will need her friends to be with her."

Naruto gasped as her eyes widened. "Oh shit! When is Hinata-chan leaving?!"

"I believe tomorrow morning." I answered.

She ran up to me and grabbed my shirt, slightly pulling it. "We should get a gift or a cake, anything!"

I let out a long sigh. "You really forgot, didn't you?"

"Sorry." She sheepishly smiled.

My hand reached for her head and ruffled her hair once again. "There is nothing to be sorry for, we all went through rather complicated things in the last couple of days."

"Can I go as well?" Fu coughed to catch my attention.

"Who said you couldn't?" I extended an open hand to her. "Don't feel left out Fu, I always welcome you."

Fu looked at my hand, then at me, before her expression turned into a bright smile and took my offer.

"Let's go home, I will make pizza for everyone."

I slowly made my way to my beautiful apartment with my adopted little sister on each side.


AN: I will be quite honest here, the other story got a lot but a lot more attention and popularity so my priorities instantly shifted while kind of dick move it was reasonable to do so but either way I'm sorry for it but hey at least I finally got a chapter and I hope you enjoy it.