"How's it dangerous? 'nd you're already gettin' beat up - but you have me now so that's not gonna happen anymore." He grew pensive at those last few words. His friend didn't look too happy, even though she was talking about her family. Was her uncle a person who just lost things a lot? But maybe she meant the other kind of loss. He didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't too sure.

"...You're not going anywhere 'cept to school to learn how to do ninja stuff." Tentatively - very tentatively - he asked his last question. "Is he afraid that you're not gonna come back?"

His voice dropped down to a whisper. "The Other Dad used to come here a lot. Mom said he trained here every day to become a better ninja. But that's not why it's my favorite."