"A secret place for me and you,

Where everyday was fun and new.

A simple time played in our heads,

We'll tell this story again."

- Summertime Record, JubyPhonic

"Sorry, Oka," Naga panted. "I didn't mean to wake you."

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "'Is okay," I murmured.

Tsunade was inspecting the animal at Naga's feet.

She'd called it a binturong.

Tsunade had just found it when I fell asleep. One of its back legs was broken, she'd said, and it was up to Naga to fix it.

"Not bad," she praised, turning the foot back and forth. "Not bad at all."

Naga closed his eyes. He was flat on his back, arms and legs spread out.

I crawled closer to Tsunade and sat beside the binturong. I watched the slow rise and fall of its chest, the twitch of its long tail. It was a new thing, like the fish in the lake. How many animals were hidden around Amegakure that I didn't know about?

Tsunade pulled back its eyelid and I saw that it had red-brown eyes. "You didn't use enough chakra, and you weren't precise enough," she lectured, moving her hand down to its knee. "You mended the break, but it will heal badly if left alone. The patella and fibula still have fracture lines."

Naga's face scrunched up.

She touched the front of its leg. "The tibia is a little better. The bone is healed, but not the muscle or skeletal tissue. Nor did you reattach it properly to the patella or tarsus." Her finger moved down to its ankle.

"But, for your first time, this is good work. You can fix this, and that's the most important part. What would have happened if you used too much chakra?"

"Fused the bones together," Naga murmured. "Or to the skin or muscle."

Tsunade nodded. "If that happened, it would be permanent. Trying to fix that would only cause more damage. Better to leave it as is and accept the consequences."

"It won't. I won't hurt anyone like that. Not ever," he said.

"Of course you won't," Tsunade scoffed. "I would be the first in line to kill you if you did."

I could see a small smile on his face. "Thank you, Tsunade-sensei," he said. "For everything."

"Don't mention it," she said. Though her voice was gruff, her eyes were soft. "But you can't rest yet. There's one more thing I want you do today."

Naga pushed himself up on his elbows. "I can try," he said. "But I'm running low on chakra."

"Not that," Tsunade said with a dismissive wave. "I'll take care of the overgrown rat. But you did waste a frankly impressive amount of chakra each time you used Mystical Palm. You pushed so much of it into the jutsu, but actually used very little."

Naga frowned.

"You lack control. First thing tomorrow, I'm adding more chakra control exercises to your regimen."

His brow furrowed. "I thought I had good control."

"You did," Tsunade said. "In a way, you were lucky. You started training in medical-ninjutsu when your chakra reserves were small and easy to control. But your reserves grow as you do. Only when your body stops growing will your reserves stop too. Until then, you'll have to work harder to maintain the control you once had."

"When you finished with the binturong you thought you healed both the bone and the fractures, didn't you?" she asked.

Naga's frown deepened but he nodded.

"That should've told you how much your control degraded since we first started. You lost any preciseness you might've had before."

"I understand, sensei."

"Yahiko doesn't do exercises anymore. Why does Naga get extra?" I asked.

Tsunade flicked me, hard enough to sting. "Boy-wonder doesn't have half the chakra you two do," she scoffed and I winced, rubbing the spot with my thumb. "He has small reserves, so he has an easier time controlling them. The same way you have larger reserves, so you have more stamina."

"Stamina?"

"We can use more jutsu without getting tired," Naga explained.

"So," I thought. "Yahiko gets tired faster?"

"Not the way you are now. In fact, I doubt boy-wonder would have a problem outlasting you both and having chakra to spare after," Tsunade said dryly. "I'm not about to go in depth about why, so here's the short answer to your next question: It's not about how much chakra you have, but how you use it. He knows that his reserves are a little less than average, so he uses as little chakra as possible in jutsu. There's never a drop wasted."

I looked over. Jiraya was standing on the bank, watching Konan and Yahiko run across the pond. He wanted us to increase our endurance by doing laps, but I got tired, so it was just Konan and Yahiko.

"This is the last thing I wanted you to do today," Tsunade said again.

A scroll was unrolled in front of her. It was unlike any scroll I'd ever seen. Instead of a pattern of characters with a place to summon in the middle, it had two words in red ink, printed side-by-side.

"This is a summoning contract," Tsunade explained. "I want you to sign it, Nagato. As long as you have chakra, you'll be able to summon slugs from Shikkotsu Forest. They'll act as your allies in battle or assist you in healing your comrades."

Naga stared at her, then at the contract.

"I know if you sign it, it'll be put to good use. So, do it already you big brat."

Naga ducked his head, rubbing his eyes with his arm. "Right," he sniffed. "How do I do it?"

Tsunade tapped the empty space next to the other words. "You need to sign your name here, in blood." She tapped the space below the names. "And add your finger print."

Naga froze. "My name?" he asked quietly.

"Just your first name is enough," Tsunade said.

Naga nodded. He bit down hard on his pointer finger, wincing as he broke the skin.

"Mimic the way the other names are written," Tsunade instructed.

Naga nodded and I leaned in, watching him slowly, carefully trace his name into the empty space. He spread the blood to his other fingers and added his handprint below it.

"What's that name?" I pointed to the first one.

"Mito Uzumaki," Tsunade said. "My grandmother."

I traced my finger over the second name. I couldn't read it that well, but I knew it was Tsunade.

"Now what do I do?" Naga asked.

Tsunade held up a hand. "You have to press all your fingers to the ground where you want to summon the slug and apply chakra. You also need blood, but you already have that."

"That's it?" Naga asked.

Tsunade smiled. She dropped her fist on top of his head, ruffling his hair with her knuckles. "That's it. You don't have much chakra left, so don't overdo it. Use as little as you can," she advised.

I could see Naga's smile. I shifted closer to watch.

He placed his hand flat on the ground and took a deep breath. A puff of smoke obscured his arm. When it cleared, a white slug was sitting in front of his hand. It had three blue stripes going down its back.

"Ooh," I said.

"You summoned Katsuyu," Tsunade observed, giving Naga a flat stare.

"Oh," Naga said, then fainted.

"Milady," the slug—Katsuyu—greeted. Its tentacles turned towards Naga.

I looked to Tsunade, but she didn't seem worried.

"Is this the new summoner you've chosen?" she asked in a soft, polite voice. "I didn't expect you to find a new one so soon, milady."

"Well, I wasn't expecting him to summon you, Katsuyu," Tsunade said. "I thought it would be one of the younger ones, like Namekuji."

Katsuyu climbed on top of Naga and sat on his back. "It was quite an unusual amount of chakra that he used," she mused. "If I knew he was so young, perhaps I wouldn't have answered. It's always the young ones that have the worst control."

"You don't have to heal him," Tsunade said. "He just needs rest."

"You care for him a great deal, and so will I, milady." Katsuyu turned her tentacles. "And who's this?"

"His sister, Oka," Tsunade introduced. "You'll see her often. Along with those two." She gestured vaguely at Konan and Yahiko.

Katsuyu followed her hand. "For his sake, I hope I won't," she said. "I won't be of much use to him, I'm afraid, unless you plan to teach him Strength of a Hundred seal as well, milady?"

"Hello," I said. "I've never met a slug before."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said. "Perhaps one day, you'll be our summoner as well."

My eyes widened. "I hope so."

"He's nowhere near ready for that," Tsunade admitted. "Unless it seems like an emergency, just don't answer his call, Katsuyu."

"Very well. I'll see who I can find that will be well-suited to him, milady."

"Thank you, Katsuyu."

"He should wake up soon. Until we meet again, Nagato."

縄

For the first time since Jiraya and Tsunade agreed to train us, I slept in. When I woke, there was enough light coming through the window that we didn't need to use a lantern to see, which meant it was early in the afternoon.

"We should look for them," Konan said as I stretched my arms above my head. She was pacing back and forth in front of the table.

Yahiko sat opposite of her, nibbling on the tail of a fish. He didn't say anything at all.

I padded to the small window behind Konan, peering out at the rain. I couldn't see the cards from there, but I could imagine them, the frog and the slug flipped to the white side.

"I'm worried too," Naga said. "I haven't seen Tsunade-sensei since early yesterday."

"Jiraya-sensei was here last night," Konan admitted. "But he wasn't this morning."

I went to the table and plopped down beside Yahiko. "Tsunade-sensei leaves for days all the time," I said, taking a small fish from a plate in the middle. It was cold, but I didn't mind.

"Yeah, but," Konan frowned. "Jiraya-sensei always trains us in the morning. Always."

"Man, you slept for so long I thought we would have to splash water on you to get you up," Yahiko said with a grin.

"I didn't sleep that long," I protested.

"We should look for them," Naga agreed.

"What if something happened and they left a note at one of our usual places?" Konan asked.

"I could ask Namekuji if he knows anything," Naga said.

I looked to Yahiko, but he was staring at the bones of his fish. He wasn't smiling anymore.

"Yahiko?" Konan asked. "What should we do?"

Yahiko glanced up.

"Were you even listening?"

He tossed the fish down. "Their stuff is gone," he finally said.

Konan stopped pacing. "What?"

I looked around and noticed it too. Jiraya's chest plate and arm guards, which were usually propped in the corner, were gone. He said it was easier to blend in without them.

"Tsunade-sensei kept a lot of stuff in the bathroom," Yahiko added. "All of it is gone."

Naga darted into the hallway and shoved open the door. I could hear him rummaging around and slamming things.

"They wouldn't just leave, would they?" Konan asked.

I waited for Yahiko to answer, but he didn't.

When Naga came out of the bathroom, his face fell. I pushed away from the table and went to him, hugging him as hard as I could.

"They didn't leave," I murmured. "They wouldn't."

It wasn't time for them to go yet. Yahiko still wasn't a god. But, if they had to leave…

Wouldn't they have at least said goodbye?

Yahiko stood. "Let's look for them anyway. In case they left a message."

樹

We found Jiraya standing on the bank beside our pond, staring up at the sky.

"So, you found me after all, eh?" he drawled.

"Jiraya-sensei," Konan said in relief. She turned to Yahiko. "See? You were wrong. He's still here, and I bet Tsunade-sensei is too."

Yahiko only looked at Jiraya and crossed his arms.

Jiraya turned around. A blue headband was tied around his forehead, and I recognized the swirly symbol representing his home, Konohagakure.

The place with the endless sun.

And then he sighed. "I've got some bad news."

"Where's Tsunade-sensei?" Naga asked suddenly.

I took his hand.

"Yeah," Jiraya began. "About that." He paused, rubbing the back of his head. "Tsunade left for Konoha late last night. She received an urgent message from the Hokage a few days ago, but only got around to opening it yesterday. Her little brother was killed in the war. If I wasn't there when she read it she wouldn't have told me either."

Naga squeezed my hand hard enough to hurt.

Because of war.

It was all because of war.

How much did the war need to take before it was full and sick of death?

Mama. Papa. Chibi. Tsunade's brother.

"What's his name?" I asked.

Jiraya closed his eyes. "Nawaki. His name was Nawaki."

Konan sat heavily on the sand. She dropped her head in her hands. "Is it too much to hope you're staying, Jiraya-sensei?"

"I hate to disappoint a lovely lady, but I received a missive too. I'm needed back home, and it's an order I can't refuse."

Yahiko was right.

"You can't," I said, because we needed them. We weren't strong enough to stop the war. Yahiko had only just started learning a water jutsu. I took a step forward. "You can't," I said again.

"With or without me, Yahiko will become a god of peace. I just know it," Jiraya said. He picked up a bag at his feet and slung it over his shoulder. "And you will all help him do it. Even you, little princess."

Naga turned his face away, gritting his teeth.

Jiraya's smile was sad. "I'll tell you a secret," he said. "I want to stay. I was finally starting to feel like I found my destiny here, but duty calls."

He turned around and lifted a hand. "Don't be sad. Be happy, because I'll see you again once you've achieved your dream. See you later."

I took another step forward, but Yahiko grabbed my hand. He shook his head.

"Oh, and I left a little something back at the house. Think of it as my goodbye gift," Jiraya said. I watched him walk away, and it hurt. It hurt so much. I clutched the front of my shirt and squeezed.

Naga's fists were clenched. He was breathing hard. Konan wrapped her arms around her legs.

Jiraya's silhouette disappeared.

"Why does everyone always go away?" I asked.

"Not everyone," Yahiko said. "You'll always have the three of us, little princess."

I frowned. "I'm not a princess."

"Of course you're not a princess," Yahiko said. "You're our princess."

He smiled like everything was okay, and I felt a tiny bit better. He turned. "Come on. Let's head back. We've still got a lot of work to do."

Konan raised her head. She wasn't crying, but her eyes were red. "But Yahiko—"

"You still believe in me, right?" he interrupted her. "Remember? We're going to end the fighting and make it so no one will be threatened by war ever again." He held out his hand.

Konan stared. "I remember," she said softly. She shook her head, slapping her palms against her cheeks. "Right! No one will have to be afraid anymore, when we're done." She grasped his hand.

Yahiko's grin was radiant. He held his other hand out to Naga.

Naga turned further away. He was trying not to cry.

I looked across the pond. He deserves better, I thought. There was something there, deep inside me. Something dark and nasty that grew bigger the more I thought about how much Naga's heart hurt. At least Jiraya said goodbye.

"A long time ago, I told you that we would make the world better together," Yahiko said. "But I can't do that if you're always crying. I need you with me. It'd all fall apart if I had to do it all alone."

"You wouldn't," Naga sniffed, shoulders hunching. "Konan would never let you be alone."

He deserves so much better than this.

"Maybe," Yahiko admitted. "But I would feel a lot more alone if I lost one of my best friends."

Naga's head jerked his way. He stared, but Yahiko only smiled. After a moment Naga nodded and wiped his face. "You always know what to say," he murmured, taking the offered hand.

"You didn't know you were my best friend?"

"I knew," Naga said quietly. "But I felt so bad I forgot. I just needed you to remind me."

Yahiko slung an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. "I wanted them to stay longer, too," he admitted. "But I'm glad they stuck around as long as they did. It'll be hard on our own, but we'll do it like we always have." He shook his head. "I don't know if I can forgive them for hurting you two so much though."

Naga discreetly wiped his eyes again.

Yahiko looked apologetic as he looked over at me. "I wish I had another hand, Oka."

I smiled, shaking my head. "You made Naga happy again, so I'm happy."

Konan let go of Yahiko and moved to stand beside Naga. She took his hand. "Now your hand is free. I need to have another talk with Nagato anyway," she said sweetly. "Remind him of something."

Naga paled. I took Yahiko's hand.

"We won't go to Konoha," Yahiko said. "But I'll find you an even brighter sun, Oka. I promise."

I nodded. If he said it, then it would happen.

Yahiko tilted his head back. "We're going to change the world!" he shouted.

Konan cheered, and Naga nodded, smiling. "We will."

A/N: 縄 - Rope , 樹 - Tree

Every day, the Ame Orphans break my heart a little more.