A month passed and things of course had to go south once again. Sasuke ended up leaving to join Orochimaru, and now I was impatiently waiting in the hospital for Naruto to recover so I could go see how he was doing. 

Sakura came to visit me earlier this week in tears, and she told me about how she tried stopping Sasuke the night he left. Even if our situations were completely different, I understood how she felt. Ironic how it's over an Uchiha too. 

At least hers had a chance of coming back. I genuinely hoped Sasuke would, for both of their sakes.

Kakashi was the one who told me that he was sent with the medics to go retrieve Naruto and his classmates who tagged along with him. I could tell this was making Kakashi feel guilty since he told me he didn't get there in time. 

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard footsteps approaching me. It was Shizune, she looked completely exhausted. I knew that she and Tsunade were working really hard trying to heal everyone.

"He's going to be okay. His injuries aren't life-threatening and you can go visit him now," She said.

I quickly stood up and walked to his room. He was already awake and was staring out the window. His spirit looked broken. 

"Naruto, I'm so glad you're okay," I said, sitting down on the end of the bed. I had some flowers and set them down on the end table as I sat down.

"I couldn't stop him..." 

Naruto looked outside and I couldn't help but give him a look of sympathy. Again, it's absolutely heartbreaking to see such a happy-go-lucky person like this. 

"It's not your fault," I reassured. "He was too filled with hate to think clearly. You can't change a person's mind once they're in that mindset,"

He looked over at me without a word.

"Please don't blame yourself, Naruto. This isn't your fault at all, you tried your best and in the end, you can't change a person's mind once they're fueled by revenge. Believe me, I know," I continued, my mind drifting off to Nozomi and the vigilantes who wanted revenge against me since they couldn't get to Minato.

He looked down. "I promised Sakura too,"

"And she won't blame you either. She'll know this wasn't your fault," I replied. 

He leaned back into the pillow behind him with a sigh.

"Listen, you're the strongest kid I know. You'll get through this and I'm sure Sasuke will regain his senses one day. He's just lost, considering what happened to his family. You have to let him do this, he'll learn on his own that revenge isn't the option,"

I stood up and walked over to give Naruto a hug. I could tell that this helped him just a little. There was a knock on the door and I saw it was his classmate, which was Shikaku's son.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He asks.

I shook my head. "No. I was just checking on him, I'll let you two talk. I'll see you later Naruto,"

I left after that and shut the door behind me. I saw Sakura walking over to his room and she looked at me and I already knew what question she was asking.

I shook my head and she looked down, completely devastated.

I touched her shoulder comfortingly. "Please try to be there for Naruto. He really needs support right now,"

She nodded without a word and stood against the wall as if she was lost in her thoughts. I passed by Tsunade, who then started talking to Sakura as I left. At least that was one headache done. I was worried sick that he was severely injured. It must've been the Nine-Tails that made him heal quicker.

I went home to take a small nap since I didn't really sleep at all this week and then went to go check on Naruto again. I had takeout from Ichiraku too and hoped that would make him feel a little better.

When I walked in, Jiraiya was in the room with him. It appeared as if Jiraiya had brought his spirits up, which was good. I know Jiraiya would've gotten through to him since he went through the same exact thing with Orochimaru. He told me about it before.

"Hana," Jiraiya said. "I need to talk to you later, so I'm going to stop by your place tonight,"

I was a bit worried, but I nodded. "Alright, I'll be there soon,"

Jiraiya left and I walked over to the bed. "Are you feeling better?"

Naruto nodded, looking determined. "I'm bringing Sasuke back, even if he doesn't change his mind. I'll still make him come back,"

I hoped for his sake, he would come back. "I brought some ramen from Ichiraku for you,"

"Really? Thanks!"

I handed the takeout bag to him and he already had the bowl out within seconds. He was wolfing it down and I even brought some milk for him. Once he was done scarfing it all down, he was telling me how much he missed Ichiraku, causing me to chuckle. 

After I checked in with Naruto, I went home and saw Jiraiya was already waiting on my porch. We both took our shoes off and I immediately went to make tea for the both of us.

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?" I ask, putting the teapot on the table.

"I'm going to have to train Naruto for about two and a half years," He said. 

"Why's that?"

"I've been tracking the Akatsuki's movements and they'll come for him in about 3-4 years from now. We have to be prepared for that," He replied. "And I thought I would tell you because I know you want to protect him too,"

I sighed with frustration at the thought of people targeting him too. 

"Well, they're gonna have to get through me if they want him," I gripped the cup in my hand. "I won't let them hurt him. Even if it kills me,"

Jiraiya sighed. "Don't get ahead of yourself. He needs you and you're his only family left. With my training, he'll have better control over the Nine-Tails,"

"Yeah, I know," I sighed. "Do you really think it can be controlled?"

Jiraiya nodded. "I do. That's why they sealed it inside him, you know,"

I nodded without a word and that brought me to another subject I needed some input on. "Speaking of that, I don't even know when I should tell him the truth. Lord Third was supposed to help me with that, but now that he's gone, I'm lost,"

Jiraiya looked at me sympathetically. 

"And I hate this feeling of pressure I have knowing that it's all on me to tell him. I can't even help but wonder if he'll hate me for not telling him sooner," I looked down at my cup.

Jiraiya poured himself another glass. "He won't hate you. Why not tell him when we get back from his training? It would be too much for him to process if you told him right now since the whole thing with Sasuke happened. He'll handle it much better when we get back,"

I sighed. Two and a half years to prepare for that and I still wasn't ready. I was too scared of the possibility of him reacting negatively and I wasn't ready for all the questioning about his parents. However, it was a lot safer for him to know we're cousins since there's only one person left who wanted to target me.

"When are you planning to leave?" I ask.

"Next week," He replied. 

The room got quiet and suddenly, the urge to tell him about the masked man came to my mind. 

"Jiraiya?"

"Hm?"

My mouth opened to speak, but I couldn't do it. Was I scared of the masked man? How ridiculous. The other half of my brain tried to reason with that and reminded me that there's a possibility that he might be the one who's after me. That did happen after the war, so it was a small chance.

"Uh...what is it?" Jiraiya looked confused.

I snapped out of it. "Never mind. Just keep me posted on your training with him and you better not slack on the Makeout series either,"

He chuckled. "I won't, believe me. I'll be doing a ton of research too,"

"Just don't get slapped again," I laughed, remembering the time when he got punched by Tsunade because I accidentally brought her. "Or get a broken nose like the time when you trained me,"

"Technically, the broken nose was kind of your fault. You brought her," Jiraiya laughed.

Jiraiya finished his tea and left my house after that. I washed the dishes and went straight to bed, with a lot on my mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The chapter after this one will be the last one and it'll be longer.