They'd been traveling nonstop for several days.
At last, the sky overhead cleared.
The ever-present rainclouds of the Land of Rain were left behind, and sunlight streamed down, so warm it felt almost unreal.
Jiraiya stopped and stretched mightily, his bones cracking in a long series.
"I'm alive again! After all those days in the Land of Rain, my bones were about to grow mold."
Tsunade ignored him, though her step was noticeably lighter than it had been the past two days.
Kitahara Kaede walked at the rear and glanced back.
The area around Amegakure was still shrouded in a curtain of dark gray rain.
He looked away and caught up with the others.
They passed through a border town just as the market was opening.
Tempura sizzled in the oil, and enticing white steam curled up from the ramen stand.
Jiraiya's feet took root.
"I'm not going anywhere."
His eyes were fixed on the noodle stand.
"I've been chewing cold rations for half a month. Nobody's stopping me from having something hot today."
Tsunade gave him a disdainful glance, but she was the first to pull out a bench and sit down.
Three bowls of chashu ramen were brought to the table.
Jiraiya bent over his bowl and slurped away, making enough noise to draw looks from the customers at the next table.
Tsunade hadn't even picked up her chopsticks before frowning.
"Could you eat your noodles without making so much noise?"
Jiraiya swallowed a big mouthful and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Delicious!"
Tsunade rolled her eyes and picked up her chopsticks.
Kitahara Kaede said nothing. He picked the biggest piece of chashu from his bowl and placed it in Tsunade's.
Tsunade paused with her chopsticks and looked up at him.
"Eat what's in your own bowl."
Her tone was curt, but her chopsticks were honest; she put the piece of meat in her mouth.
Jiraiya looked from Kitahara Kaede to Tsunade, the corners of his mouth twitching.
He stuck his chopsticks into his bowl, folded his arms, and leaned against the edge of the table.
"I've made up my mind."
"About what?" Tsunade asked without looking up.
"I'm going to write a novel when we get back." Jiraiya looked solemn. "Dedicated to myself."
Tsunade finally looked up.
"What will it be about?"
"A man who silently protects the woman he loves for twenty years." Jiraiya drew a circle in the air with his chopsticks. "But the woman never once gave him the time of day."
Tsunade chewed her noodles and drawled four words in reply.
"That's documentary fiction."
Kitahara Kaede took a sip of tea, the rim of the cup just covering his mouth.
Jiraiya's face fell. He slammed a hand on the table.
"Are you even human? I pour my heart and soul—"
"The noodles are getting cold. Shut up and eat."
Tsunade put a piece of chashu in her mouth without even looking at him.
Jiraiya glanced at the stone-faced Tsunade, then at Kitahara Kaede, who was sprinkling Shichimi Togarashi over his noodles.
Defeated, he buried his face in his bowl.
"Fine, documentary fiction it is. At least I can still earn royalties."
Three days later, at dusk.
Konoha's south gate.
Nawaki squatted at the foot of the city wall, holding half a rice ball.
Three figures appeared in the distance, slowly making their way down the main road.
His eyes lit up. He stuffed the rest of the rice ball into his mouth and sprinted toward them.
"Big Sis!"
Tsunade stopped.
Nawaki ran up and threw himself into her arms.
Tsunade hesitated, then wrapped her arms around him and ruffled his hair vigorously.
"I'm back."
Nawaki poked his head out and turned to Kitahara Kaede.
"Master! You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"No."
Nawaki grinned and gave a contented, silly smile.
Jiraiya stood behind them, watching with envy as he scratched his spiky hair.
"How nice. I wish someone would wait for me at the gate, too."
No one paid him any attention.
"Fine. Once my novel becomes a bestseller, I'll have plenty of beautiful young women lining up to wait for me."
Nawaki turned around.
"Uncle Jiraiya, the soup on your collar's dried into a crust."
Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"You little brat, you're just like your sister—always pointing out people's flaws!"
Night fell at Kitahara Kaede's home.
The stove was on. Wearing an apron, Tsunade stir-fried saury while Kitahara Kaede sliced daikon into thin strips by the sink.
Nawaki was in charge of carrying the dishes, while Jiraiya wandered around the living room, poking his head into the kitchen every time he passed.
"Is it ready?"
"No."
"Is it ready yet?"
"Ask again, and you won't get any dinner."
Jiraiya drew his head back, crestfallen.
The four of them sat around the table.
Saury, Miso Soup, daikon salad, and dressed cucumbers.
Nawaki shoveled rice into his mouth as he animatedly gestured with his hands.
"While you were away, Master, I took on three missions! I almost did something amazing on the third one!"
He held his chopsticks, his face flushed with excitement.
"Something was off about the mission target, but even the Jonin leading our team didn't notice. The forest up ahead was too quiet, the client's story didn't match the surroundings along the route, and someone had clearly tampered with the grass along the road."
"If we'd followed our usual route, the whole team would've walked right into an ambush."
"Thanks to those three months you spent drilling observation skills and wilderness survival into me, I went against everyone's objections and called a halt. Sure enough, we avoided an ambush!"
The Jonin leading the team had stared at me in amazement, then praised me in front of the whole team for having such a great master!"
Tsunade listened, picked out a large piece of boneless fish, and put it in his bowl.
"Quit showing off and eat."
There was none of her usual sternness in her voice, only rare gentleness.
Under the table, while Tsunade wasn't looking, Nawaki shot Jiraiya a quick glance.
He was clutching a crumpled paper ball, ready to toss it over in exchange for a few of Jiraiya's masterpieces.
Jiraiya understood. He secretly opened his hand beneath the table.
Kitahara Kaede lightly tapped his chopsticks against the side of his bowl.
His calm gaze swept over them.
Nawaki's hand trembled, and the paper ball landed safely back in his pocket. He lowered his head and shoveled rice into his mouth.
Jiraiya cleared his throat and turned to study the pattern on the ceiling as if nothing had happened.
After dinner, Jiraiya ate his fill and tactfully slipped away early.
Tsunade dragged Nawaki off to wash the dishes, watching him wash as she complained about how slowly he was moving.
When they had finished tidying up, Nawaki yawned and pushed the door open.
"Big Sis, hurry up. I'm exhausted."
Tsunade gave him a shove.
"Go on without me. I still have something to say."
Nawaki muttered as he went out.
Only the two of them remained inside.
Tsunade put on her shoes by the entryway, her back to Kitahara Kaede.
The night breeze slipped through the crack in the door, gently stirring the loose strands of hair beside her ear.
"Let's rest tomorrow. The day after, we'll report to the teacher."
"Mm."
Her fingers tightened against the doorframe. She didn't turn around.
A few seconds of silence passed.
"About that..."
Her voice was low.
"You said that after the war was over..."
She left the sentence unfinished.
Kitahara Kaede looked at her back.
He stepped closer, stopping half a pace behind her.
"I'll get things ready."
His voice was steady.
"After the meeting the day after tomorrow..."
Her shoulders slowly relaxed.
Her ears turned bright red, the heat spreading down her neck.
Suddenly, Nawaki's impatient shout rang out from the quiet street.
"Big Sis! Are you done yet? I want to get back and go to sleep!"
Tsunade startled.
"Quit rushing me! I'm coming!"
She yanked the door open and hurried outside without looking back.
The door slammed shut behind her.
Kitahara Kaede stood in the entryway, listening as the bickering between the siblings faded into the distance.
Before you continue