Hey guys! Chapter 6 is finally here! Sorry that it took so long but, I injured my back at work and between all the doctor appointments, meds, and Physical Therapy I haven't really had all that much time to write so I'm sorry it was delayed for so long!

I want to thank all of my wonderful reviewers who give me the drive to keep working on this story. You guys are the best! And I really hope you like this installment.

I still have no beta so any and all mistakes made are mine and mine alone.

I still don't own Naruto. I never have. I never will. And I still cry about that... T^T

Now off to the story!

The next day Naruto woke up in a foul mood. He was still annoyed with Yamato for interrupting his talk with Sasuke, who had finally seemed willing to speak to him about what was bothering him. But then Yamato had interrupted and everything had gone to hell.

The blond laid in bed for a good ten minutes after waking before finally deciding to push his irritation aside. He needed to focus on Jiraiya at the moment. He had to find a way to return Ero-Sennen's memories to him so that they could bring him home to Konoha. It was imperative that he set aside his burning curiosity to learn every little thing about Sasuke-hell he needed to bury his feelings for the Uchiha period. Yet, he knew that such a thing wasn't possible. So, instead, he resolved to temporarily bury his feeling and focus on the coming mission.

He could not, under any circumstances, fail this mission.

He would bring Jiraiya home.

After a brief goodbye to Kaede, and a promise to return on their way back home, Naruto and his team left the Speckled Hen behind them and continued on their journey to Grass.

The rest of the trip was surprisingly uneventful, and so it really came as no surprise that they arrived at their destination a full day earlier than Naruto had speculated.

Their first encounter with Jiraiya was, well... quite frankly there are truly no words to fully express the encounter...

Naruto and his team had arrived in Grass and had immediately met up with Gaara's envoy upon their arrival. Curious about his rather cryptic message to the Kazekage about the situation being rather 'delicate' he, of course, immediately set about questioning the jounin. The man had merely shaken his head and stated that mere words could not express the situation they found themselves in. That it was necessary to see the Sannin to truly understand.

The jounin also emphasized the necessity of keeping their presence concealed and just watching him from afar.

Naruto's first glimpse of Jiraiya in two years had been an interesting one indeed.

They had gone to a temple, of all places! And Jiraiya was dressed in monk robes!

Upon this realization, the blond had shot the Suna jounin a look of disbelief. The man had gone on to explain the circumstances surrounding the Sannin's presence at the temple.

Apparently, Ero-Sennen had been found by a wandering monk who had been on a journey to spread goodwill and good fortune by traveling around and assisting those in need. One day, on his return journey home, he stumbled upon Jiraiya and chose to bring him back to the temple to heal. When Jiraiya had awoken without his memories, the temple offered him shelter. With nowhere else left to go the Sannin had accepted their offer gratefully.

As time passed, and his memories did not return the Sannin became rather fond of his new refuge, and decided he wanted to contribute. Now he was in training to become a monk.

Naruto was eternally grateful that they had made it before Ero-Sennen had taken the vows that would lead to his head being as bald as a baby's buttocks. If they did not return his memories soon then Jiraiya would never forgive the blond for being unable to save his cherished mane, as the man had an irrational love for his hair, and would be forever scarred were something to happen to it. Ero-Sennen could be diabolically creative when the situation calls for it and he could already see the many, varied, and creative ways to make him pay for his lack of foresight.

After catching his glimpse, Naruto decided it was best to go and formulate a plan to execute their mission. So they took their leave to re-group.

Once they returned to the inn, after thanking him profusely, Naruto dismissed Gaara's envoy so that he could make his journey back to Suna.

As the man took his leave, Naruto sunk bonelessly onto his bed. He silently started down at his hands trying to think of their next move all the while drawing a complete and utter blank.

"Life is certainly playing a great joke on Lord Jiraiya," Yamato murmured, a bit of the hilarity of the situation leaking into his voice.

The blond let out an amused snort. "He certainly isn't the monkish type," he agreed.

"I take that to mean he would never choose such a profession for himself?" Sasuke queried.

Naruto and Yamato shared a look of amusement.

"Imagine Kakashi training to be a monk instead," the blond intoned rather dryly.

Sasuke stared. "That bad?"

"Do you remember the books that Kakashi likes to read?"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. "What about them?"

"Ero-Sennen wrote them."

Visibly startled by this revelation Sasuke merely stared at him.

Naruto stared dejectedly down at his hands once more. "So, now you understand how lost I am on what needs to be done to successfully complete this mission."

Sasuke sighed. He honestly hated seeing Naruto like this. He sat down on the bed, beside him, and put his hand on the blond's back where he absently rubbed soothing circles to comfort his friend.

"You'll think of something dobe. You shouldn't expect to instantaneously know what to do next. More often then not, the best laid plans are ones that take time to think over. You know him best. You'll know what to do when the time is right."

Naruto sighed and gave a tired nod as he relaxed back into Sasuke's soothing ministrations. He leaned back into Sasuke like a cat desperately seeking the touch of it's master, startling the Uchiha who finally realized what he'd been doing.

But, he didn't stop.

Yamato cleared his throat. "I'll take this opportunity to excuse myself," he muttered quietly, not wanting to startle Naruto who was beginning to nod off.

Sasuke gave him a resolute nod.

When Yamato left the room he once more turned his attention to his blond dobe who had slumped over, his head falling onto Sasuke's shoulder. The Uchiha carefully laid him down on the bed before crawling in next to him and pulling the covers over them both.

He and Naruto needed to talk. It was time to lay his cards out on the table, so to speak.

Everything would be revealed in the dawn of a new day...

Edited: 6/22/2016