Yep, still alive.

I've actually had this chapter almost complete for probably abut a month now, I just needed to finish the last scene. My first mistress, however, had different ideas and I've been spending my time on nothing but Videogames for weeks now.

In all honesty, booting Skyrim back up was probably a bad idea and needing to grind up to endgame so I could be of use to the MMO guild my coworkers were part of certainly didn't help. Still, it's been nagging at me to finish it for a while and a PM from Justaz reminded me, yet again, that I have people depending on me for new chapters.

So I got home today, sat down, and cranked out the rest of the chapter. Luckily ncpfan was available to look it over and was able to get back to me very quickly.

You're all probably eager to continue on to the chapter so I won't keep you.

Thanks, as always, goes to ncpfan for his help.

Let's get started.

Jiraiya groaned, his neck cracking and back popping as he forced his body from the unforgiving ground. It had been, in his opinion, slightly more understanding than the women he had managed to anger, but that didn't exactly mean much.

He was aware that the girl- for the voice that had brought upon him this misfortune was too young for its owner to be a woman- was still standing there waiting to be acknowledged after his latest beating. By the way her foot tapped the ground impatiently he knew her arms were folded before her and chances were she was scowling down at him like Tsunade used to so many years ago.

Pulling into a crouch, he glanced at the one who had ratted him out only to be met with more orange than one should ever consider wearing. Orange skirt, orange top, and orange sandals covering a girl with the bluest eyes he had seen since Minato. The hair, too, was a match, and the chakra he could feel from her made it pretty obvious who she was.

There was, after all, only one clan whose children had that much chakra.

"My, Naruko, is that any way to greet your Godfather after all these years?" He asked, coming to his feet. Gods, was she short- or maybe he had just gotten even taller over the last decade. He'd need to find a few other Genin to compare. "Can't an old man even get a hug?"

She looked him up and down.

"You're Jiraiya?" Well, she didn't have to go and sound all disappointed by it. He was tempted, briefly, to perform his introduction routine but managed to refrain.

"Yeah, kid, I'm Jiraiya. You can't tell me you expected me to be taller." Because, really, he was tall. Damn tall. Especially compared to this squirt.

"I didn't think you'd be so old." He gave her a blank look.

"I'm an S-rank Shinobi who could kick a team of Jounin to Iwa and back before lunch and who was practically a father to the Yondaime Hokage. I may be old enough to have a Genin grandchild but don't doubt for a second I'm still in my prime." His own arms crossed his broad chest as he stared down at his godchild for the first time in a little over a decade. She really had grown in that time, but she was still such a tiny thing. Compared to him, at least. Luckily, he no longer needed to worry about crushing her in his hands when Kushina made him hold her.

Not that such a situation was likely to occur these days.

The blonde gave an irritated huff.

"Whatever, I suppose I haven't met you yet because you've been peeking through fences these past years?"

"No, I've been peeking through everything. That's my job." In more ways than one, really. "And I seem to recall hearing that someone was out traipsing the world these past years."

She looked sheepish at having that pointed out, her cheeks reddening and her hand coming to scratch the back of her head nervously.

"Well, yeah." She mumbled. The sheepish look melted into something more accusing. "But we were only gone a few years, I don't seem to recall seeing you before we left."

It was his turn to scratch the back of his head.

"You've got me there, I suppose. Like I said, I was working, and though I kept trying to track you down when I had free time I never quite managed to before work called again."

"Huh? You tried to meet up with us?" She looked surprised, which had Jiraiya making a facial expression that was very near pouting.

"Of course I did!" He objected the very idea that he might not have made an attempt to meet his godchild and the woman who had married a boy he thought of as a son.

"Ah." She looked a bit abashed at learning that and Jiraiya released a sigh.

"Come on, kid. Let's go visit your family. It's high time we all got re-acquainted." Even as he said that he had reached down, his large hands encircling her waist, and pulled her onto one of his large shoulders. Because of this, it was impossible for him to miss how she tensed when he mentioned meeting the family.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

"Erm, Kyoufu, how much have you heard from Konoha over the past four years?"

Jiraiya really didn't like the sound of that.

"Thank you for your patience." The voice was young, much younger than Ao had been expecting, and the speaker's face was hidden behind the visage of a snarling wolf. Female, undoubtedly, the girl was probably only in her mid-teens.

Despite that, she walked into the room with unwavering confidence, as if she had done this many times before. He other Wolves, guards that appeared much older than she, did not try to stop or hinder her in any way. In fact, they seemed to stand up straighter at her approach, moving close to the walls to provide her all the space her passing would require.

Which, honestly, wasn't much, and there was no real reason for them to move, but the gesture did speak clearly about her authority.

Young or not, she was supposed to be here and the fact that this was a meeting about getting support for a war meant the young woman before him carried much more weight than would have been proper back in his day.

"It's perfectly alright. Back in my day we would have gone to the capital to petition for an audience but Mei was adamant I come straight to you."

"She sounds very direct." He could hear the smile behind the mask. "Tsukiyomi-Sama would appreciate that. He may stick to the shadows, but he likes to get straight to the point."

"Still, it's just not proper to show up unannounced, especially when we're looking for help."

"And that's why they have us, no?" She took the seat across from him at the table, placing several folders and a pad of paper down as she retrieved a pen from somewhere in her clothes. With a click of the pen she prompted; "So, tell me about the situation in Kiri."

And so he did.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that Zabuza may have been more right about these Wolves than was good for the resistance. Even though their eyes were mostly hidden, he could have sworn he felt the hunger of the Wolves in the room as he told them of their plight.

He just hoped that in this case Yagura was to be the flock they would devour, because they couldn't afford more enemies.

When a young woman in a Wolf mask entered the room, folders clutched tightly to her chest, their host was quick to excuse himself and usher her into his office. Kin wasn't too surprised when the Wolf that had been blocking the window moved to follow them and stationed himself against the closed office door to ensure their privacy.

She shared a quick look with her team leader, both of them agreeing to leave it alone without words. It wasn't any of their business and they were damn sure that if Orochimaru wanted them to be spying on their host, one she had made extremely clear was important to her, the snake Sannin would have damn-well told them so. Seeing as she didn't, they weren't about to risk angering the Wolves, their host, and Orochimaru by prying into private matters.

The third member of their team chose that moment to emerge from his own rooms and took a seat at the table where their host had been only moments before. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact and as he poured more tea into their host's half-filled cup they shared another look, pleased that he had not been around while their host was present.

Briefly, Kin pondered the merits of having Zaku attempt to gain entrance into their host's- she really needed to start thinking of him by his name, or at least by some sort of title- private study. If they were really lucky Zaku would be eliminated and both she and Dosu could enjoy a month of relaxation under the graciousness of their host- Naruto- without having to worry about the buffoon doing something stupid.

Then again, Zaku was bad enough that it might anger Naruto to a point where she and Dosu were also on the wrong end of his ire. Which, of course, would mean they were on the wrong side of Orochimaru's ire, too, should they live that long. That was not a good place to be.

She noted that Dosu actually looked between Zaku and the distant door a few times before shaking his head to himself, no doubt having been thinking along similar lines. It was a pity that a team needed three members and that there were so few Shinobi in Otogakure. Were their ready replacements, she knew it would be an easy matter to convince Dosu to help her dispose of the body.

Then again, with the look Orochimaru had shot him before she left- Kin wasn't even going to ponder what it was she was off to go do- it was likely that the Snake Sage would be happy to replace him, too, if that was an option.

Her eyes moved to the guard at Naruto's door and back to Dosu as a thought struck her.

"The Wolves seem to vary widely in range, don't they Dosu?"

"Hm?" He turned to look at her out of the corner of his eye as he considered her question. "I suppose they do."

She hummed slightly, a thinking noise that was more to catch her team leader's attention than any sort of habit. "You don't think that with Orochimaru's alliance we might be able to borrow one, do you?" She looked pointedly at their third teammate who, disinterested in the conversations topic, was completely oblivious.

"Oh?" Dosu seemed to perk up a bit at her words, casting his own speculative gaze between Zaku and the Wolf standing guard. "Maybe. How long did you think you might need one?"

"Oh, if things go well maybe six months or so?"

He grunted in acknowledgement, his eyes glinting in approving amusement at her idea. It was some coincidence that Chuunin exams were held twice annually and that he had managed to get into the last part of this one. Having a Wolf during that time would be just long enough for them to graduate from Genin status and instead become full-fledged Shinobi, free to take contracts with whoever else they pleased.

"Think they'd go for it?"

"Couldn't hurt to try, but I'd take whatever opportunity you can find to butter him up if you intend to ask." His part said, he returned to his tea. She could still see the amusement that danced in his eyes.

"Keep him away." Kin agreed with a pointed look to Zaku. "And I may be able to arrange something."

He grinned into his cup.

"Deal."

"Really?" He didn't quite believe it. "They're coming to us?"

Mai nodded in confirmation.

"They are." A slight frown found its way onto her face. "He even admitted that Zabuza was part of the group and had adamantly argued against it."

"And they still want our help?" He shook his head, his eyes gazing out a window he never had back at his office in the Den. "I don't like it. How bad is the situation? It obviously can't be looking good for them if they would disregard advice from someone like Momochi Zabuza."

Her frown deepened.

"That's the odd thing. According to his words they're in a pretty even deadlock at the moment with Yagura's regime. They understand that they don't have much time before that changes because the Mizukage has more resources at his disposal and will be able to gain the upper hand once he commits more to the bloodline war. At the moment he's using the deadlock to reduce the rebellions actions while he and his village recovers. By the looks of things, they don't have any more than eight months before things escalate again."

"So," He clarified. "Not bad now, but it will be."

"That's correct."

With a sigh Naruto turned from the window and took his seat, his thumb and middle finger coming to massage his temples. "What I still don't get is why they're coming to us."

His hand dropped to his desk, right next to the multitude of folders Mai had brought with her.

"They have very little to offer us at the moment, they know- or at least Zabuza does- that we work according to our own interests, they have time to find the support of other groups, and we would be up against not just an entire village, but the rightful Kage. As long as their Daimyo hasn't declared against Yagura and his regime then I would be in a pretty awkward position as the Daimyo of Nami no Kuni."

"I fully agree, the whole situation is against us."

Naruto shook his head.

"No," He disagreed. "Not all of it." He paused for a long moment.

"Just the rebellion's side of it."

"So you propose..." She didn't want to assume, but she knew exactly where he was going with his thoughts.

"Send out an envoy to Yagura. Scope out the situation to ensure it matches with what we know and, if it does, offer him our services. If the rebellion is right and Yagura is looking for a boost to his strength before continuing this bloodline civil war of his than he may have just found it."

"Of course, should I have notice sent to the Fire Daimyo?"

"No, I'll let him know of my intentions personally during the third exam. "

"Gennin Naruto's not going, then?" There was no advantage at the moment to announcing his identity and so it would remain secret until some benefit was to be had. Still, she would have liked to see him get out for something other than work.

"Afraid not, I'll be with the other nobles. Send word to Hana, if you've the time. As Nami no Kuni's governor I'd like to introduce them. I'll think of something to keep her identity hidden."

"Anything else?"

"That will be all for now, Mai."

"Very well, I'll see to it immediately Tsukiyomi-Sama." She gave a brief bow and turned to leave, pausing only at the sound of her lord's voice.

"Oh, and Mai?"

She turned to face him, a single brow raising.

"Yes?"

"Thank you. If you need a break let me know, I don't want to work you into the ground." She nearly laughed. If anyone would find themselves run into the ground it was him. Less and less he made appearances as Genin Naruto since he became Daimyo and he had spent increasing amounts of time locked away in his study pouring over endless piles of paperwork.

When he had started getting more finished she had stopped taking so much of his own workload onto herself and as time went on she had begun to give him some of her own. She was regretting that lately. Beside his guard, few saw him these days and whatever dream of being a Shinobi he had once possessed had been practically thrown away so he could focus entirely upon his Wolves.

The Major problem with that, which she could see now, was that the Wolves, as a whole, had no defined goal and that meant there was no end for him to work towards. So, instead, he just kept working.

He had short term goals, of course, but he would just find more and more. By providing him with more work he was now under the impression that there was much more to be done in order to provide for the Wolves. Admirable, yes, but not beneficial for him as a person. The worst part was that now, having come to the conclusion that his position had more work associated with it, even if she were to stop sending her work his way he would just make more for himself to complete lest he feel as though he wasn't fulfilling his responsibilities.

As much as she enjoyed using her new found free time to visit Tsume, Tsukuyomi-no, Naruto- was far more important to her. And while he seemed, if not happy, at least content with the arrangement where he had the opportunity to care for his children, she wanted more for him. They were the ones who were supposed to be caring and providing for him, the one who gave them purpose again.

The responsibility of his position lay heavy upon his neck and she resolved to find some way to remove the weight of his burden so he could be Naruto once more, the young man they had all sworn to serve.

She did not, however, voice such thoughts.

"Of course, Naruto-Sama. I'll let you know if it becomes too much for me to handle." She bowed once again but spoke before leaving. "You haven't seen Yugao-San in a while, have you? You should pay her a visit soon, a friendly spar would probably do you good."

He smiled softly at her suggestion.

"Don't worry about me, Mai, I'll be fine. And you're right, that does sound lovely. I'll see if I can sneak away for a few hours sometime soon."

It was better than nothing.

Returning his smile, she bowed quickly once more before knocking on the door to announce her exit, her mask sliding back over her face with practiced ease even as the wooden barrier that had provided their privacy swung away.

She needed to come up with some way to help her lord, hopefully one she could implement before the invasion. Maybe Tsume would have some ideas.

The television was on again, some stupid gameshow Anko couldn't produce half enough effort to understand cheering in the background.

Her favorite jacket- because despite what people tended to think she did own more than one, this one had an extra pocket and a holster for a kunai on either side- was slung haphazardly across the couch and her shoeless feet worked tirelessly to put a groove in her hardwood floors.

Something about her meeting with Naruto nagged at the back of her mind, calling attention to something she couldn't quite identify. Despite the fact that he should have known better to question whether she could work with Orochimaru after what the bastard had done to her he had still asked and she had the feeling that he was disappointed at her answer.

At least he hadn't tried to beat around the bush about it. Her anger at having been asked at all lessened slightly at the fact that he hadn't attempted to hide it at all. She knew, logically, that she would have reacted much worse had she discovered it on her own.

Still, why did he need to team up with Orochimaru at all, and what did that have to do with her. The Wolves were, well, she didn't actually know what they were. Naruto's private army, certainly, but that seemed to be their only purpose. Considering that Naruto seemed more concerned with their wellbeing than working towards any sort of goal she had been able to identify only made it more strange that he would consider working with Orochimaru, especially when he already had her.

Then again, it wasn't Naruto who was working with Orochimaru, but the Wolves under the command of Tsukiyomi. He was doing what he thought was best for those under his command and she couldn't really fault him for that. But what did the Wolves working with them have to do with her? Yeah, they had a tendency to come on missions she took with Naruto, but she really wouldn't consider herself working with them.

In that case, they would just have to not take any of his guards and if that meant they could no longer go on missions together it wouldn't mean she couldn't hang out in his apartment or that they couldn't get together every now and again for a friendly spar.

Files and folders, kept carefully out of her view, briefly crossed her thoughts. Already the matters of the Wolves were kept confidential, but now it would be dealing with matters related to the Snake Sannin as well. There was a team in his apartment when she left, too. Foreigners. Were they associated with Orochimaru? And if so, did that mean there might be others in the apartment from now on who were loyal to her former teacher?

She winced slightly at the memory of the Wolves who escorted her out. Before he had given them the command to do so they had tensed up and they were quick to make sure she left the premise. Spending time in the apartment was no longer an option, it seemed, but she still didn't know why that might be considered working with the Wolves.

Unless it wasn't.

The realization struck in a sudden bolt of clarity she cursed herself for not noticing before.

It wasn't about the current arrangement they had, Naruto had wanted to know if she could work with Orochimaru because he wanted her to work with his Wolves. Whether that was to be an offer of induction into the Wolves or if he was simply saying he wanted her services personally – as she still wasn't sure what his place amongst the Wolves really was, though she had her suspicions- she had been offered a position closer to him.

And she had turned it down.

Anko let out a deep groan as she surrendered at her task of wearing down the floors and instead fell bonelessly onto her couch.

Well, shit.

No wonder he seemed disappointed.

Naruto groaned as he collapsed into the grass, the sun just starting to touch Konoha's gate and a soft breeze kind enough to cool him on its way past.

"I know it's been a bit since our last spar but I was not expecting to be that out of practice." He admitted. She gave a quiet laugh at that before sitting beside him on the grass.

"You should have, do you even train regularly anymore?" She asked.

"Haven't the time." Naruto admitted. He didn't need to see her face to know that one of Yugao's eyebrows had raised in question.

"Haven't the time to train? You're a Shinobi, training should be your life because your life's going to goddamn well depend on the training you've done."

"Other things have come up." He countered. "As it is I'm rethinking being a Shinobi at all."

"What?!" She leaned over him, peering down with narrowed eyes and silently prompting him to elaborate on his statement.

"I decided to be a Shinobi years ago, but things have changed and my priorities have too. Being a Shinobi might not be the best way to accomplish what I need to do."

"And what might that be?"

He was silent for a moment, contemplating, before releasing a gentle sigh.

"I can't tell you."

"Ah." She nodded once in understanding. It was an open secret amongst the Shinobi elite that Naruto had ties to the Wolves and this was obviously connected to them in some way. Most of the Shinobi force of Konoha had their suspicions, naturally, but those higher up knew without a doubt that if you needed the Wolves you should go to Naruto and if you went against Naruto you went against the Wolves.

No one actually knew what his relationship to them was, but it was certainly very important to Hi no Kuni's newest Noble House.

"At least," He spoke up after a moment, breaking the silence. "Not yet. Perhaps when things calm down a bit."

That was interesting, and she found her curiosity peaked. Not only was it the chance of learning more, but he had also said that the Wolves were currently up to something big. They had just taken over a country and become a noble house, so what could they be doing now beneath everyone's noses?

"When things calm down, then." She confirmed.

Naruto smiled softly. Anko might not have been suitable, based on her response, but she wasn't the only one he had been considering.

He was the father of the Wolves, and that was important, but that wasn't all he was and he needed to remember that. His responsibilities were to more than a single group and so he required a group that was also separate if he wanted any chance of making everything work.

"Of course, Yugao-Sempai."

Wading through a sea of grass that came well past his waist- which was rather high considering his stature- with Naruko sitting nervously on his shoulder, he couldn't help but wonder what could have distracted Kushina from taking care of something like this.

She had always done her best to keep the house in good condition between missions and during the first months of her pregnancy and when she got farther along she made sure to have Minato perform the tasks until she was satisfied with the results. Even if she hadn't wanted to return the yard to its former state upon her return- and its upkeep seems to be something she had overlooked- it only took a few minutes to drop off a mission request to have some poor Genin group spend their day doing it for her.

With two courteous raps of his knuckles on the door- to announce his wondrous presence- he stooped low enough to not risk Naruko's head as he entered the home his student had purchased all those years ago to start his new life with his fiancé in.

The inside was more maintained than the exterior, which was to be expected with Kushina, but it still fell short of her usual standards. She never kept thing immaculate, by any means, but the difference was still quite noticeable. Then again, he was a spy, details were second only to air in his duties.

"Alright Squirt, gather the others. I'm sure they both missed me." A dry look crossed her face momentarily as she rolled her eyes.

"Kaa-chan might have, but I'd expect better of her. We've already established that I've never met you when old enough to remember you so how could Naruto-Nii?"

"Bah, details. Even if they don't miss me I'm sure they'd like to visit with the gallant Jiraiya."

She rolled her eyes once more and sighed as she hopped off his shoulder, waving one hand over her shoulder dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, whatever old man. I'll get Kaa-chan."

As luck would have it, there was no need.

"Naruko-Chan?" Came her mother's call, her voice getting louder as she approached from the back of the house. "Is that you? I thought I heard a man's voice-" She entered the room to see someone she had honestly not expected to see. With him out of the village so much, she hadn't actually thought about him in quite some time."

"Hey, Kushina." Grinned Jiraiya. "Long time no see. Miss me?"

Her dry look was exactly identical to her daughters.

"You haven't changed, I see, Ero-Jiji" Her former husband, gods rest his soul, may have seen the man as a father figure, but with his hair and less than proper behavior he had always seemed like a perverted grandfather to her. The fact that it always irritated him was only ever a bonus.

"Of course not!" He protested, puffing out his chest. "I'm as incredible as ever."

Kushina crossed her arms over her chest, the barest of grins twitching at her lips.

"So still incredibly lacking, then?"

"Ouch." Jiraiya grasped his chest. "That tongue of yours is as sharp as ever, Kushina. I'll never understand why you're so mean to me."

"Because someone has to counter your ego and remind you that you're nowhere near what you think of yourself as."

He thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "Fair enough. So, where's Naruto?"

Much like her daughter, Kushina immediately tensed up at the mention of the third family member.

"How much have you heard from Konoha while you were gone."

That was the second time he had been asked that very question and he liked it even less now.

"Almost nothing, really. My job is to bring outside information in, if I'm too caught up with Konoha's affairs I risk missing other important things throughout the Elemental Nations. I did hear about Hi no Kuni's newest Noble House, though. They make their home here in Konoha, don't they?"

Both Uzumaki women winced.

Now it was Jiraiya's turn to fold his arms over his chest.

"Okay, what did I miss?"

"Come, let's go into the sitting room." Without waiting for a response Kushina left the room, Naruko trailing behind. With no other choice, Jiraiya followed them and took a seat on one of the couches. Naruko and Kushina were seated on the other and in another situation they might have found humor in the fact that Jiraiya and his broad build took up almost half of the couch.

Kushina fell silent for a few moments, gathering her thoughts, before she started.

"Four years ago, we were advised by a Medic-Nin that due to having been conceived within a Jinchuriki Naruto ran an increased risk of developing a chakra dependence. Naruko, actually holding the chakra of the Kyuubi in her own seal, wouldn't have to worry about it, but because Naruto didn't have that benefit- his own seal only acting as one wall of the cage- being around the Kyuubi's chakra could disrupt his own developing chakra system and make it almost impossible for him to ever be outside the presence of Naruko or, because my chakra system still has remnants of the Kyuubi's own chakra, myself."

She looked to him to make sure he was following and was met by a frown and a nod, indicating he had heard her and was probably putting things together already.

"The first thing I did was send for Tsunade and she agreed to return to Konoha to take a look, but we had been advised that if he hadn't already developed a dependency that he might at any time. The only choice we had was to limit his exposure as much as possible."

It clicked.

"You- You left him behind, didn't you?" He asked. "That's why I never heard of a young boy traveling with you over the years."

His tone wasn't accusing, he was just looking to make sure he understood the situation correctly. Too often did people assume Jiraiya was completely immature and overlooked the fact that he was an extremely skilled Shinobi, a Master Spy, and possessed seal knowledge exceeded only by one other non-Uzumaki in history, the Yondaime Hokage. Though he often was, a man of Jiraiya's caliber was not to be taken lightly in any situation.

"We did." Kushina nodded but it ended with her hanging her head in shame.

"Tsunade was supposed to arrive the first day of the academy and it would take up to several months for her to make the official call. With Naruto starting the academy, he would be gone all day and we could put some distance between us before he realized we were gone. He never would have let us leave otherwise and I don't think I would have been able to anyway."

"Seems sound to me." The couch creaked in protest as he shifted slightly in his seat. "So, what went wrong?"

"A couple things." Her head hadn't lifted yet. "First, I had reset the compound wards, intending to add only Naruto and myself. I wanted to make sure he was completely safe while we were gone, only I was distracted during the process and never finished it."

Jiraiya winced. "Ouch, that's bound to have caused some problems."

"I had left a letter explaining everything on the kitchen table, but he was unable to get to it. It also meant that he didn't know where to go. I thought he may have gone to Kurenai after I realized I had failed to add him, but Naruko here mentioned that they don't seem to get along as well as I thought they did. Tsunade was here, though, and so was Hiruzen, so I didn't worry too much about him not having a place to stay."

"And other things went wrong too?"

"They did." She nodded again, still not raising her eyes. "Tsunade was late and as I mentioned we needed the distance before Naruto was released from the academy. We couldn't' risk him trying to come home for lunch and discovering that we had packed up and left either, so we left before she arrived. She didn't get here until weeks afterwards and he had already been locked out of the compound. He never knew she was supposed to exam him and she never actually sought him out."

The tears that had gathering in her eyes began spilling silently down her face.

"Four years. We waited for four years, until his Chakra system would have reached maturity, to ensure we didn't end up hurting him because we never heard that it was safe to come back. He needed us and we were gone. I didn't dare write to him, either, because even if we weren't moving about I knew I wouldn't be able to say no if he asked me to come home. I've come to realize that trying to resist returning has been my worst mistake. I thought others might step up to ensure everything was fine in my absence, but I should have come back as soon as I realized something was wrong. "

Jiraiya was silent for a minute after she had finished, mulling everything over. Eventually, he sighed and, with the shake of his head, pushed himself up off the couch.

"Again, everything you did seems pretty sound for the most part, but all it took were a few oversights for everything to go wrong. It's probably not going to be easy to get back into his life, as I'm assuming that's the reason he's not here at the moment, but as long as the three of you draw breath there's still a chance- you just have to keep working towards it. In the meantime, I'd like to pay him a visit. Do you know where I can find him?"

"Old Oak Apartments, near the market district. He's in one-oh-eight." His words, while not an inspiring speech, did serve to reassure her slightly that things could still be made right and she shot him a slightly sad smile. "Please, if you can, let us know how he's doing and, if it's at all possible, let him know we miss him."

"I won't make any promises, Kushina, but I'll see how the conversation goes."

"Thank you, Ero-Jiji."

He gave us a wry smile.

"They don't call me 'The Gallant Jiraiya' for nothing."

See you all next time.