As I got ready for the morning, I was gulping down my second cup of coffee of the day.

I knew what today was. 

Don't get me wrong, I was excited to see Naruto and Jiraiya come back. But I couldn't help the anxiety I was feeling because I knew that I was supposed to tell him the truth about us being cousins. 

I put my mug inside the sink when I finished my second cup. The caffeine really didn't help the nerves either, but at least I was awake.

How was I even supposed to go about it? "Oh hey, welcome home. I'm your long-lost cousin, by the way," No, that wouldn't work. 

I just about had a heart attack when the sound of my doorbell ringing echoed through the house.

I sighed and went to go answer it, but no one was there. I was looking around, trying to figure out what that was about, but I immediately rolled my eyes when I saw three kids running away and laughing. 

Those damned brats. 

This is one reason why I'm glad I don't have kids right now. There are three kids who go to the academy and like to play ding-dong ditch, and my house is one of their targets, unfortunately. 

I looked over at the clock and realized it was about time for them to come back. I better start heading out.

I slipped my shoes on and locked the door behind me as I left. Meanwhile, my heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. 

Multiple ways I could tell Naruto went through my head.

Was this really the best time to tell him? The first day he comes back home?

I guess now or never, right?

"Oh, hey, Hana!" 

I jumped again since I was lost in my thoughts. Damn, maybe downing two full cups of coffee on a day when I'm feeling anxious wasn't the best idea.

I turned my head and saw it was just one of Sakura's friends, Ino. She was a nice girl; I only really knew her because she worked at the flower shop where I went frequently so I could buy flowers for my deceased loved ones.

"Are you alright?" She raised an eyebrow at how jumpy I was.

"Oh, yes, I'm fine," I nodded. "Good morning, Ino. Are you going to the flower shop?"

"Yeah, Mom needed help because we're getting a big shipment of flowers in today, and we have a lot to go through and set up," She replied. "See you!"

She walked towards the shop, and I went back to overthinking as I walked to the gate.

"Hey, I need to talk to you about something."

"Welcome back, Naruto. Can I talk to you about something?"

Damnit, what the hell was I supposed to say? Why was this so hard?

My heart pounded even more when I got to the gate. Izumo and Kotetsu were at the booth in the middle of a conversation. Kotetsu smiled at me when he saw me.

"Good morning, Hana," He greeted. "Waiting on Jiraiya and Naruto?"

"Morning," I smiled at him. "Yup, I kinda missed the kid running around and causing a ruckus," 

I chuckled at a memory I had of Naruto painting the Hokage faces and running away from the angry jonin. 

"They should be back around now," Izumo said. "How have you been? It seems like I haven't seen you around lately,"

"I'm doing alright," I replied. "I've just been caught up on missions. Lady Tsunade sent me on a lot of missions,"

I was actually doing okay, besides the whole Naruto thing. My mental health was in a better spot, and now that I've made amends with Kurenai and Anko, they check in on me a lot. Kakashi even comes with me to visit Obito, Aunt Kushina, and Uncle Minato sometimes.

"Hey now," Kotetsu suddenly stood up. "Is that who I think it is?"

I looked over to the gate and started to grin when I spotted the familiar bushy-white hair.

"Uh-huh, no doubt about it," Izumo smiled.

They both stopped, and Naruto let out a huge grin. "Hey, Hana!"

I was shocked to see how his appearance had changed. He was taller than I was, and I was 5'4. He also had a completely different outfit on, and his voice sounded a lot deeper than the last time I spoke to him.

"Hey, Naruto," I grinned back. "How was the training?"

"It went very well, thanks to me," Jiraiya cut in, crossing his arms. "Hello to you too, Hana,"

"Don't worry, I didn't forget about you, Skirt Chaser," I laughed.

He gave me a look, and I started laughing at his reaction.

"Wow Squirt, it hasn't been five minutes and you're already on that," He shook his head, he still calls me 'Squirt' even though I'm in my mid 20's. It's only fair since I still won't let go of that nickname I gave him years ago.

"You'll live," I smirked at him.

"And I was so nice to even bring you and Kakashi a copy of these," He quipped, digging into his pocket. He handed me a copy of his newest story that wasn't even released to the public yet.

My eyes widened with shock. 

"No way!"

"I'm awesome, aren't I?" Jiraiya chuckled.

"Yes, you're the best, Skirt Chaser!"

"Stop calling me that!"

Naruto snickered at the nickname I had for him. 

"It's a fitting nickname for you, Pervy-Sage!" He joined in.

Jiraiya groaned out loud, making all of us laugh at him. He was muttering under his breath about not being able to catch a break from both Uzumaki kids. 

I walked with them into the village and they were both telling me all about their trip. Naruto stopped in front of a pole so he could get a better view of the village up top. Jiraiya smiled at him as he ran up the pole.

"Always rambunctious," He chuckled. "He hasn't changed one bit,"

"I'm glad he didn't," I replied. 

He stood up there as if he was reminiscing. 

Sakura saw us and walked over. "Naruto? When did you get back?"

He jumped down to talk to her. "Oh, just now. Long time no see,"

"Wait a minute, you've gotten taller than me, haven't you?" Sakura asked, looking surprised.

"I guess I have," Naruto replied to her, comparing their heights. 

Her cheeks started to flush, causing me to raise my eyebrow. Jiraiya and I exchanged looks, and a sly smirk started to form on our faces. 

"So, um," She smiled shyly. "What do you see? Do I seem more like a woman to you now?"

"Are you kidding?" Naruto replied. "Not really. You haven't changed at all!"

Sakura's expression changed immediately as he gave her an oblivious thumbs-up. She turned her head away in annoyance.

I sighed at how oblivious he was.

"Smooth, kid," Jiraiya muttered. "Could you be any more oblivious?"

"Not even I was that oblivious," I shook my head. 

"Hey, Naruto!" Konohamaru shouted.

When Naruto turned around, Konohamaru used the sexy jutsu to change into a woman, causing Jiraiya's nose to bleed. I just rolled my eyes at his reaction.

"Well, what do you think?" Konohamaru asked. "Not too bad in the curves department, huh?"

"Konohamaru," Naruto chuckled. "I'm not that scrawny little kid anymore, and you shouldn't be using jutsu like that either. It's beneath me,"

I was genuinely surprised to see how much he's changed. 

But, of course, that surprise went away.

"I mean, come on Konohamaru. Is that all you've got? Now step aside and get a load of my brand spanking new pervy ninjutsu!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "HERE WE GOOO!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Sakura shouted, then sent him flying with one punch. 

Konohamaru and his friends were now scared and hugged Jiraiya with fear. Even Jiraiya looked scared.

"She's a Tsunade Jr..." Jiraiya grimaced.

I just laughed at the whole thing. 

"H-How could you be laughing at this?" Konohamaru asked me, still clinging to Jiraiya with fear. "She's terrifying!"

"My aunt had the scariest temper, so I'm pretty used to that," I chuckled.

"Don't be fooled, kid," Jiraiya said, looking at him. "She inherited that same temper as her aunt, so this is nothing to her."

"Oh, come on, it's not THAT bad," I shrugged, causing him to give me a look of disbelief. "Okay, fine, but you still have to admit that she probably would've reacted way worse to this,"

Now, Jiraiya and I were both grimacing at the thought of Aunt Kushina's reaction. Once Sakura was finished giving Naruto a "nice chat", Konohamaru and his friends left. 

"We've better go report to Tsunade now," Jiraiya said as Sakura and Naruto walked over to us. 

"I'll see you later then, and uh...Naruto?" My heart started racing again.

He looked confused because I went silent for a minute.

What I should've said was, "I need to talk to you later", but I didn't. 

"Uh...Hana?" He started waving a hand in my face.

"Oh, uh! Welcome back! Nice to see you again!" 

I quickly walked away to avoid any further questioning. When I was at a safe distance, I put my hand on my face and exhaled loudly.

Damnit, I really hate myself.

Why couldn't I do it?

Now he's probably wondering what that was about. 

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The only change I made here is the nickname Hana gave Jiraiya. She calls him Skirt Chaser since my friend gave me that idea while watching Naruto with me lol