Tsume wrinkled her nose as he scrubbed her clean. She'd forgotten how it felt to be five. He was apparently determined to remind her. She batted at his hands, and when he stopped for a moment she settled down again and presented her face, looking elsewhere while she waited for him to go back to cleaning.

"I dodge jus' fine. An' 'sides, if I hated everyone that hurt me, I'd hate lots of people!" She reeled back, arms flailing as she dragged up one sleeve and pointed to a jagged scar along her forearm. "See that? Kuromaru did that when I was... was..." She couldn't remember. Her thoughts chased themselves for a moment, then finally wound down like a top. When they settled, the answer came. She smiled. "Fi'teen! I was stoppin' a fight." She shook her head sadly. "He hated my genin team, too..."

As if just then remembering her arm was bare, she lifted it again and pointed once more. "Took eight stitches! And Ma told Waki-sensei that it was a stray dog, not Kuromaru, 'cause it gets complicated when ninja attack ninja, or summons attack ninja, and he's not quite either under law, so..." She trailed off.

She'd had a point.

A good one.

She dug a gently curved nail into her scar, watching skin dimple. Oh yeah! "Eight stitches." Had that been her point? It was probably close enough.