"Why were you spying on us, Jiraiya? Did Iruka put you up to it?" I asked with a frown. "Hey, hey! Take it easy, Haru! I wasn't spying on you! Then again..." Jiraiya grabbed my hand and began rubbing his face against it like he was a cat begging for attention.

"Who wouldn't spy on an attractive woman like yourself?" He complimented as hearts danced around his face. I sighed while closing my eyes. "If you'd like, I'd be happy to pleasure you a hundred times a day, my lady." 

An irk mark appeared on my head before I swung my leg up, kicking Jiraiya under his chin. He landed on his back with a hard thud as I crossed my arms over my chest with an unamused look on my face.

"You never change, do you, Jiraiya? No doubt, you're up to your perverted antics again." I said. "Uh... Mom? Who is this guy to you again?" Naruto asked. "Let's just say Jiraiya is a bigger pervert than Ebisu," I told him before sighing.

"If you're done spying on us, can I get back to training my son?" 

"Your son?" Jiraiya repeated. He looked at me, then at Naruto, then at me again. "But that can't be right. He looks nothing like you."

"Of course he doesn't," I sweat dropped. "I adopted this cute little spunky kid," I said as I ruffled Naruto's hair, in which he chuckled and pushed my hand away. "Anyway, let's get back to work, Naruto."

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed. "Jiraiya, I could use some assistance in training Naruto, if you don't mind." I requested. "Oh?" Jiraiya asked. "Eh? But I thought you were gonna train me, Mom?" Naruto whined.

"I am going to train you, silly. With Jiraiya's help." I mentioned. "Are you serious?! What can this pervert teach me?!" Naruto yelled. "You'd be surprised." I mentioned.

"What do you mean?"

"Believe it or not, but I was once Jiraiya's student."

"No kidding?!"

"It's true. However, I was only able to learn a few things from him because I left him." 

"Left him? Like, he stopped teaching you?"

"No, not quite. You see, I asked him to stop training me because... Well, it's kind of a long story, and I don't feel like talking about it right now. But seriously, Naruto. There are some techniques Jiraiya can teach you. Even techniques that I don't know."

"Yeah, right! I bet the only thing he'll be able to teach me is how to spy on naked girls!" 

"Hey, I heard that!" Jiraiya yelled. "Now, boys..." I said, trying to stop a fight before it could start. "I bet it's true! What, do you spy on girls all day or something!" Naruto yelled. "You brat! Why I outta...!" Jiraiya yelled back. 

I sighed and hit both of them on top of their heads. "Ow!" They both yelped. "No fighting, please." I requested, calmly. "Yes, ma'am." They replied at the same time while rubbing their heads.

"But come on, Mom. I have complete control of my chakra now." Naruto mentioned. "So?" I asked. "So, I'm sure I'll be able to master your techniques! Plus, if I get into any real trouble, I can always use those techniques! Like if I ever fight that Orochimaru creep-! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

I interrupted Naruto as I grabbed his ear and tugged him away from Jiraiya so we could talk in private. "If you'd excuse us, Jiraiya..." I said as I pulled Naruto away. "Of course." He said. When we were out of Jiraiya's hearing range, I let go of Naruto's ear. 

"Listen to me, Naruto. You may have full use of your chakra now, but let's not forget you also have the Nine-Tails sealed inside you." I whispered. "So what?" Naruto whispered back.

"Think about it, silly. We haven't tried communicating with the Nine-Tails, let alone tried contacting it. If I were to teach you what I know and you got angry, using the Nine-Tails' chakra, something terrible could wrong." I explained. 

"Oh, yeah? Like what?" Naruto asked, frowning slightly as his arms were crossed over his chest. "I don't know what. I'm only thinking of the worse that could happen." I replied. Naruto hummed to himself, thinking about it before sighing. 

"Okay, I get it. But why do you need help from this guy?" Naruto asked, pointing at Jiraiya. "Because Jiraiya can teach you techniques that will help you in the finals," I answered. "And besides, my techniques won't be enough to help you to win." 

Naruto looked past me so he was looking at Jiraiya, then back at me. "Are you sure this guy's teaching will be able to help me win in the finals?" Naruto asked.

"You should never underestimate the teachings of a Sanin. His techniques will definitely come in handy. In the finals and whenever you're in danger." I said with a closed-eye smile while raising a finger at him. "Just give it a try. I assure you, Jiraiya isn't all that bad." 

"Hmm... Okay. I guess I'll give it a shot." Naruto said. "That's the spirit." I replied, ruffling his hair again. I heard the sound of a camera taking a picture, causing me to turn around. I spotted Jiraiya with a camera in his hands with a cheeky grin on his face.

I sighed, letting the picture slide for now. "Jiraiya, if you'd be so kind to help in Naruto's training, I'd really appreciate it." I said. "Oh, I don't know about that, Haru." Jiraiya said. He shot Naruto a quick frown, in which he stuck his tongue out at him. 

"Not even for me?" I asked in a pleading, almost seductive, tone. "Didn't you promise me you'd help me with anything that may come up in the future? Or was that just a lie to get me to believe anything you say?" I said, trying to seduce him. 

I looked at Jiraiya and saw him blushing red. "Oh, how can I refuse a request from a beautiful lady like yourself, Haru? Sure! Of course I'll help you! I'll do anything for you!" Jiraiya said as he took my hands in his. 

"Thank you so much, Jiraiya." I said, smiling at him. "Stay away from my mom you creep! Or I'll demolish you! Believe it!" Naruto yelled, pushing Jiraiya away from me. Jiraiya glared at him as Naruto glared back. "Now that we're all friends, let's get started, shall we?" I suggested with a closed-eye smile. 

(Time skip)

After a month of training, Naruto was more than ready to compete. I've taught him everything I know while Jiraiya taught him a few things. So, I'm certain he's bound to win against his opponent in the finals. 

Training Naruto was a bit difficult because he was constantly getting into a disagreement with Jiraiya. And he wasn't making the argument any better because he'd just argue back. 

Eventually, I had to break up the fight by hitting them on top of the head. In the future, I really hope they start getting along a lot better. 

I was doing some house cleaning as Naruto was taking a nap on the couch. I smiled at him, then looked at the clock. 'He's going to be late.' I thought. "Oi, Naruto. Wake up. You're going to be late for the exams." I said, shaking him awake.

He yawned and turned on his side. I sighed, then poked the back of his head with the end of the broom. "Naruto, wake up already. You're going to be late." I said. I was finally able to wake him up after tugging his cheek. 

"Why did you wake me up, Mom?" Naruto whined. "Because you're going to be late for the exams." I said, pointing at the clock. "Gah! I'm gonna be late!" Naruto said as he started to freak out.

"Calm down. We still have some time to get there. If we hurry, we should be able to get to the exams in time." I explained. "All right, then let's go!" Naruto yelled. "Right." I nodded in agreement. 

We quickly headed to the finals and made it with five minutes to spare. "Good luck out there, Naruto." I said. I kissed his forehead and he ran off to compete. As I was heading towards the audience, I heard someone say, "Nanny."

I turned around, spotting Gaara in the distance. "Hi, Gaara. Nice to see you again." I greeted with a smile. "That boy I saw you with... You never told me who he was." Gaara said. "Huh?You mean Naruto. Well, you never asked about him, so I didn't say anything." I explained. 

"Who... is he to you, Nanny?" 

"He's my son, Gaara."

His eyes widened slightly. "Oh... I see..." He said, quietly. He lowered his head in disappointment, his eyes softening before looking back at me. "And your husband? Who is he?" Gaara asked. 

"Huh?" I raised a brow at him in confusion, then started giggling. "Oh, silly. I'm not married. I simply adopted Naruto." I said. "Adopted?" Gaara repeated. "Of course. I only adopted Naruto." I explained.

"But... why?" He asked. "Why?" I repeated. "Why... did you adopt him... and not me? It's like you completely forgot about me," Gaara lowered his head as I could see the hurt in his eyes. "You abandoned me, Nanny. You left me all alone." He said.

"Oh, Gaara. It's not like I wanted to leave you. But I didn't have a choice. Your father no longer needed my services as your babysitter." I replied, feeling guilty. Yes, I've always wondered why I was relieved of my duties of taking care of Gaara, but I never bothered asking Gaara's father why.

Even to this day, it still concerns me. "But... I'm sure your father had a good reason to why he let me go. Maybe he-"

"Enough!" Gaara snapped. I paused as he was now glaring at me. "You have no idea how painful it was for me to watch you leave! You have no idea how many times I had to cry myself to sleep all because you left me!" Gaara gritted his teeth as he closed his eyes tightly. 

"Every time I close my eyes, I can see you leaving with that smile on your face! And every time I saw that I smile, I just wanted to run into your arms! But I couldn't because you were gone!" He yelled. "Gaara..." I whispered. 

I had no idea he was suffering that much after my departure. Oh, Gaara...

What made my heart break into two was when I saw a single tear shed from Gaara's closed eyes. I walked over to him and hugged him close to me. Gaara's eyes opened, his face filled with shock. "Oh, Gaara. I'm so sorry." I apologized. 

Gaara closed his eyes again and tightly hugged me back.

"You were my light, Nanny. You were the only one who could pull me out of the darkness back then. You kept me away from the depths of darkness. But after you left, I just kept getting pulled in. I wanted you to marry my father so that we could be together forever. I wanted you to stay by my side and sing to me like you used to." He said as he started to cry. 

"I'm sorry that I abandoned you, Gaara. If only I knew how much pain you were in. Just thinking about all that suffering you've been through brings tears to my eyes... and I'm sorry." I said. Gaara looked at me as my eyes began to water while they were filled with sadness and guilt.

"Nanny..." Gaara hugged me again and I did the same. "I'm here now, and I'm not leaving you again. I promise." I said.