"I stand gazing down at death as they say war,

I'll wage war,

I hate war,

They say fight for peace-but what is that?"

-LeeandLie, aLIEz

Konan hummed as she folded the last corner of the paper dog, holding it out for Chibi to see. "It's you." She gave the pointed ears a small tug and watched Chibi tilt his head, his own short ears twitching as he scrutinized it.

She thought he was a puppy when she first found him, another almost-casualty of the never-ending war, but Yahiko said he was just small from not eating enough. Chibi inched forward, giving her creation a brief sniff before he pulled it away with his teeth. She smiled as she watched him paw at it, propping her chin on her hands.

Chibi gnawed at the back legs, the paper drooping as he drooled all over it, but that was okay. She could just make another one. It was a good practice, anyway. She watched him stop suddenly, lifting his head to look at something behind her.

Konan stood—prepared to run if it was someone they stole from, but it was only Yahiko.

"Hey Konan," he greeted, hopping over the sacks of rocks they'd piled in front of the entrance.

If someone unwanted did find their hideout, the sacks were supposed to slow them down for a few seconds, just long enough for them to get away.

A boy with red hair trailed after him, carrying a small girl on his back. He looked at all the crates and baskets filled with half-rotted food, eyes wide.

"This is all stolen?" he asked.

"Yep," Yahiko replied with a grin.

Konan couldn't believe him. Just a week ago he was lecturing her about Chibi being another mouth to feed, and yet here he was with two more. "What happened to the no stray's policy, huh?" she asked, hands on her hips.

Yahiko sat on a crate. "They aren't strays. They're employees. It's different."

The red-head made a face at the word 'employee'.

"Then Chibi is an employee," Konan argued.

Chibi raised his head at the sound of his name, tail wagging in happy confusion.

"Nah," Yahiko leaned back. "He can't help us steal stuff. He's a stray."

"He steals stuff for us all the time!"

"Shoes don't count."

"Why not?"

"We can't eat shoes."

"But it makes him an employee, right?"

Meanwhile, the red-head moved away from Yahiko and put the girl down in the corner. She yawned, curling against him as he knelt next to her. He felt her forehead, then muttered something too low for Konan to hear.

"We can't even wear the shoes he brings us," Yahiko went on. "They're always too big or have holes in them."

"He's trying."

"If he ever got anything we could use, then he can be an employee."

They looked at each other. Konan broke the stare first, covering her mouth to fight off a traitorous giggle.

Yahiko cracked a smile. "Besides, I need their help," he added.

Konan groaned. "Don't tell me you told him about-"

"Ending the war? Becoming a god?"

"A god?" the red-head mumbled.

Konan felt exasperated, "How long have you known him?"

"A few hours."

Konan slapped a hand against her face. "You can't just go around telling everyone that you're going to be a god."

"Why not?" he asked her. "I am."

Konan faltered. She always did when Yahiko got serious. She believed him when they first met and even after all this time he was still the same, with dreams bigger than the world. Yahiko laid back at her silence, staring up like he could see his plans for world domination etched into the ceiling.

She faced the red-head instead of responding. "Hi. I'm Konan."

"Nagato," he replied warily.

Konan wondered what happened to him before Yahiko found him. It made her sad to see that he didn't trust them, even though they were all around the same age. She hated that the trust people were supposed to have in each other had been stripped away bit by bit until only suspicion and fear was left. If—when—Yahiko became a god of peace, no one would have to live like this. Charity wouldn't be met with skepticism. Konan wanted to see a version of Amegakure where people didn't need a reason to be kind, and they could believe that not everything came with a price.

It was why she would follow Yahiko anywhere. To see her own dream become a reality.

"And who's the girl?" Konan asked. "Your sister?"

"Yeah, she's…" Nagato trailed off when he turned and saw the empty space next to him. He stood, "Oka?" He looked back and forth.

Konan kept the panic she heard in his voice to herself.

"Where'd you go?"

Konan helped him look as he moved around the hideout, his pupils small and frantic. She found Oka where she'd left Chibi. She was using him as a pillow, her tiny hands embedded in his fur.

"Aw, Chibi likes her."

Chibi was trying to stay still for her, while snapping at what was left of the paper dog. Konan pushed it towards him as Nagato hurried over, sagging in relief when he saw her. She stepped back as he bent and felt her arm, muttering that she was cold.

Konan sat once he made sure she was okay and went back over to Yahiko, asking about what he was expected to do. It was obvious she was sick from her shivering, the sweat beading on her forehead.

"Ah, I hope you get better," she said quietly. "Yahiko's okay, but it's nice not being the only girl anymore."

She heard Yahiko say, "The same thing you've already been doing. Just more careful. You got sloppy the more you got away with it. If I could follow you, an adult can too."

Konan couldn't tell how old she was. She was like Chibi. Smaller than she was supposed to be. "There are just some things I can't talk about with him, you know?" Her tone was cheerful, but the more Konan looked at her, the more she wondered how Oka had lived for so long in a village like this, where nobody helped anybody.

平和

I stretched a hand out, reaching until the tips of my fingers brushed against the smooth cave wall. I used the other as a makeshift pillow. The wall was bumpy and sharp, shining like it was wet even though it felt dry. I was here before. Or somewhere like it.

It's all blurry, like a dream that faded before I opened my eyes.

My fingers wandered to a part of the wall that was a lighter shade, like someone was coloring but forgot to finish the rest. It was pretty. Chibi squirmed against my back and I went still, listening to him whine and scratch at the ground until he stopped.

What he was dreaming of? Did dogs have bad dreams?

I couldn't steal like the others. Yahiko said I was still too little. I wasn't as fast as them. Not as strong. And I got tired too easily. But Naga didn't want to leave me behind. The hideout was nice and dry, but he didn't trust Yahiko and Konan all the way.

I fell asleep while they argued, and woke up here, as Konan told Naga that this cave was the closest one to the market, that I would be safe until they came back. She said that Chibi would watch over me. I remember Naga making me promise not to leave.

Then I curled up next to Chibi and went back to sleep.

I rolled over, burying my face in his fur. I heard the soft thump-thump of his heart, his chest slowly rising and falling. He was warm and soft. Just like a blanket. I wrapped my arms around him.

"Dream good dreams," I mumbled to him.

I listened to the soft pitter-patter of the rain until it lulled me to sleep.

敵

I was roused by a sweet, crispy smell.

"That was some good work you did today, Nagato," Yahiko's voice drifted in. I opened my eyes as he patted my brother on the back. He was carrying an old sack over his shoulder, heavy and bulging with the fruits of their labor.

"He's not your employee," Konan said, ducking into the cave.

"Okay, our employee. Better?"

"No."

I sat up, keeping a hand tangled in Chibi's fur even as he shifted out from under me, shaking the feeling back into his paws.

"Well, he has to be someone's employee. He can't be his own employee." Yahiko said, stroking his chin.

"That's not what I meant," Konan sighed.

My vision of them was obscured as Naga sat in front of me and opened his own sack. "Here," he said. "I brought you something."

I leaned closer, watching as he pulled out something that looked like half an apple, except it was browner than the ones he usually brought and skewered with a wet stick. I sniffed it. It was strangely sweet.

Naga smiled at my expression, looking at the strange apple. "It's fried apple," he explained.

"You should've seen him," Yahiko said, shaking his head. "I told him it was too dangerous, that there was no way he would grab it without getting caught, but no. He had to get one for you, no matter what."

"You distracted the vendor for him," Konan deadpanned.

Yahiko laughed, scratching his cheek. "Well, what kind of boss would I be if I didn't help my employee out once in a while?"

"Try it, Oka," Naga said quietly.

I gave it another cautious sniff and took a small bite. My eyes widened. It was so good. I leapt at him and Naga twisted, holding his hand up higher as I bit at his fingers. I could see how hard he was trying not to laugh as I tried to yank his hand down.

"She must be really hungry," Yahiko said to Konan.

"No-" Naga started to answer but was cut off as I shoved my weight against his chest and he toppled. He did laugh then, and I grabbed the stick before he could recover, retreating to a corner of the cave.

"She's just a wolf." Naga said from the ground.

For all the effort I put into getting the fried apple, I was too tired to finish it in the end.

"Alright, who's carrying her back?" Yahiko asked as I fought to keep my eyes open.

"I will. I don't have as much stuff as you guys," Konan offered.

戦争

I blinked once. Twice.

From over Konan's shoulder, I saw that the path to the hideout was blocked by a field of bodies. I lifted my head, wiping away drool. I looked left, then right, but there was nothing but smoke and the dead all around us.

Konan shuddered, turning away from it.

"I hate war," Yahiko said through his teeth, hands curled into fists.

Is this war?

I'd only heard the word twice before. Once, when Yahiko found us. And again when I woke up in the middle of the night and Yahiko was teaching Naga about war. But no one had ever explained it to me.

What did it mean to be 'at war'?

"We have to go down there."

Konan took a step back. "No way, let's just go the long way."

I spotted Naga standing off to the side, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.

Why? Why was he sad?

Yahiko took a deep breath. "They might have something we can use." He didn't look back, eyes searching the battlefield. "We need weapons. If we ever get caught in the middle they won't stop just because we're kids."

"Yahiko-"

"That's just the way it is," he said loudly, then jumped down.

"Wait-!" Konan frowned. "What do we do, Nagato?"

Naga stared at the bodies. Then he turned and locked eyes with me. "We have to protect each other," he said, then sat on the edge and slid down after Yahiko.

Konan closed her eyes. "Okay." She tightened her grip around me. "Hold on, Oka."

I looked down. "What about Chibi?"

Konan glanced at the dog at her feet. She scratched behind his ears. "We'll be right back. Stay here," she ordered him, voice shaking. She straightened, swallowed, and carefully made her way down.

I wrapped my arms around her neck as she wobbled, staring at Chibi until I couldn't see him anymore. "Konan, what does war mean?" I asked.

Konan sucked in, but before she could answer, I heard a soft squelch and felt her tense. I peeked over her shoulder. She had one foot deep in a red puddle. It was something I'd seen before. When mama and papa disappeared, there was red all over the floor.

Konan gagged, then abruptly put me down. She stumbled to the side and threw up.

Why was everything so red in 'war'?

I leaned closer to the puddle, staring at the reflection looking back at me. I crouched down as rain hit the surface, making her ripple and disappear. "What's war?" I asked when she came back, only for her to vanish again

I looked back, but Konan was still throwing up.

Why was she so sick?

I could see Yahiko halfway across the field, rummaging through the pockets of a body. Naga was closer, stuffing an abandoned kunai in his pouch. The closest body to me was a woman wearing a red jacket. After making sure Konan was still occupied, I went over to her. Maybe I couldn't steal, but I could help with this.

The ground around her was charred. Grass cracked under my feet. She was facedown. Her clothes were ripped and melted, to the point where I could see some of the bone in her leg. Her eyes were still open.

"Are you war?" I asked, standing over her.

She didn't answer.

I turned around. Yahiko had moved onto another body. His hands were red. Naga's pouch looked fuller than before. I sat and patted the woman down like Yahiko was doing. She looked shocked at her death, like she couldn't believe it.

Was she really dead?

I didn't know. I dug through her pockets and patted down what was left of her clothes, but I didn't find anything. My legs were covered in soot when I stood up again. I tried to brush it off, but it only got on my fingers. Was this what war felt like? Sticky and black and it got everywhere? I held out my hands, asking the rain to wash it away.

I was a few feet away from another body—turned on its side so I couldn't see the face—when someone grabbed my wrist. I looked down. A man wearing a gray jacket stared back, red dribbling from his mouth. He had one eye closed, the skin around it red. I tried to pull away, but he wouldn't let go.

"You," he gasped. "I remember you-" He coughed so hard it made his body rattle.

They weren't dead.

"It makes me happy, you know," he wheezed, falling onto his back. His grip slackened, and I saw a hole in his middle. "That Ame gave you a chance in the end, even when I thought…" Red covered my feet. "Even when I gave up." His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Oka!"

I turned, just as I was yanked away from him. His hand hit the ground and he didn't move again. Naga blocked my view as he put me down, patting my arms and legs. "You're okay?"

I nodded. "I'm okay, Naga."

He frowned, looking around, "Where's Konan? She was supposed to be with you."

I pointed. Konan was sitting where I'd left her, her back to the field. She was leaning down, squeezing Chibi.

Naga grabbed my hand, his eyes going wide at the black marks. He sighed. "I wanted to protect you from this. Pain, death, war. I don't want you to hurt like I do, Oka."

I pulled my hand out of his grip and wiped a tear off his cheek. "Don't be sad, Naga."

He hugged me instead of answering.

友達

"Wait," Yahiko said, eyes narrowing. "Something's wrong."

Naga stopped behind him. I could feel his apprehension in the way his shoulders rose as he looked around the market, his suddenly tight grip around me.

Konan paused in the middle of feeding Chibi stale bread. "There's no one here," she frowned.

I glanced around without lifting my head. The stalls were abandoned. Some had tarps haphazardly tossed over them, but most were left open, free for the taking. There were no mean-faced vendors glaring at us for walking too close, no customers begging to know when the next shipment of fruit or meat would arrive. I could still see smoke coming from behind one of the stalls, along with the faint smell of something burning.

But Konan was wrong. There was someone. A man in a gray jacket stood on a roof, staring at something in the distance.

Yahiko saw him too. "Let's go back," he said quickly, turning around.

Naga and Konan followed suit, running after Yahiko.

I was asleep before we left the market, but it was only a little later that I was woken up by the ground violently shaking. I saw Yahiko stumble, throwing his arms out to keep his balance. Konan tumbled backwards with a sharp cry. Chibi whimpered, tail between his legs. Naga dropped to his knees, grunting as he fought to stay upright.

Then just as abruptly, the ground stilled.

"Naga?" I asked him.

"I'm okay," he whispered as he got up, but he wasn't. The knees of his pants were red.

"Almost there!" Yahiko shouted, beckoning us forward as he took off.

I held on as Naga ran after him, Konan on his heels with Chibi cowering in her arms. She shot me a smile, even though her eyes were wide and scared.

"Not this way," Yahiko said suddenly, backing up. "Go back that way. We've gotta find another-"

A crash interrupted him, and Yahiko threw up his hands as we were showered with dirt. I hid in Naga's shoulder until it was over. When I looked up again, a giant salamander towered over us, facing the other way. My eyes widened. It was bigger than anything I'd ever seen.

"The other way is still blocked," Konan told him, shaking dirt out of her hair.

Yahiko stared at it, then shook his head. "This way." He backtracked, squeezing through a narrow alleyway between two crumbling buildings.

I lost sight of the salamander until we were on the other side. Purple mist coated the area in front of it. I heard a scream, and a man in a green jacket was tossed in the air and swallowed whole.

"Don't look, Oka," Naga murmured.

Is this what war means?

"We just gotta stay low," Yahiko whispered, dropping to his knees as he crawled forward.

The ground shuddered and Naga froze, staring up as the salamander split open the ground and burrowed into the dirt. The ground cracked and bulged as it moved. The shaking started again, worse than before. Yahiko fell. Konan screamed. Naga was thrown to the ground. He lost his grip and I fell hard, the sky and ground becoming one for a second as I rolled across the dirt.

The world finally stopped spinning as I came to a stop on my stomach. The back of my head hurt, and something dripped from my ear.

Water, I thought. But that was silly. Why would water be coming from my ear?

Chibi licked my cheek. He wanted me to get up, but I couldn't focus. A second Chibi stood next to him when I looked up, and they kept blurring together and making me dizzy. Were there always two Chibi's?

One of the Chibi's barked, yanking on my sleeve. I was too tired to move. I laid my cheek against the ground. We could play later, when my head wasn't so fuzzy.

I looked at my hand, turning it back and forth. I had too many fingers, but that was okay. I closed my eyes.

"Oka!" The yell was distant, coming from somewhere far away.

Chibi tugged harder, whining, but it was muffled and subdued like my ears were filled with cotton. I smiled, brushing my fingers through his fur. Then I heard a soft thunk.

I opened my eyes. A kunai was lodged in the dirt a few feet away. It had a scrap of paper with weird markings on it. And the paper was on fire.

"Oka!" It was louder this time, panicked and afraid.

A weight dropped on top of me, and my vision went black as my head hit the ground, a second before everything turned a brilliant white.

A/N: 平和 - Peace, 敵 - Enemies, 戦争 - War, 友達 - Friends