"Dad..?" A young, and awfully distant yet so familiar voice calls out. "I was waiting... Where's mom?"
(120607) Senju, Suzuri says: ...
(120607) Senju, Suzuri says: .. You have a visitor, Sir.
Kobayashi, Matsuo says: I do.
Kobayashi, Matsuo asks: I thought your mother would be there waiting for me. Did she never get across to this place?
(120607) Senju, Suzuri thinks: ... A reunion...
(120607) Senju, Suzuri moves a little bit away, staring back into the flames. She was waiting for a different someone, a different someone altogether.

"... I miss ya', Koto." She'd smile, shaking her head left and right. "This is hard."
Saito looked around curiously. Looking at him, he really was a younger version of Matsuo, wasn't he? The perfect mix of Uchiha and Kobayashi traits. A beautiful harmony of Nozomi and Matsuo.

The boy shook his head and chuckled proudly, as if oblivious of what happened.
"I think I'd see her. I got it, dad, I got mom's eyes! I'd see her from miles away."
(120607) Senju, Suzuri says: He's right, Matsuo - Koma... He didn't see her, either.
Saito says: I'm sure she'll be here any minute now. Just like you! It's been twenty minutes or so, I think.
Kobayashi, Matsuo nodded to the kid, wearing a smile as he did; one that wasn't stopped by duties, lack of emotions and merely being a Shinobi. It was.. Completely different from what most people had seen out of the man. He could finally be himself, free and without any second thought.

"She should have been here quite a while ago. I'll have to ask Koma what he thinks of it. Anyway, what'd you get your eyes all red for?"
Saito grinned from cheek to cheek. He rubbed at his nose and looked at the fire.

"They got me, dad." He spoke like a stubborn boy. "Koma was there, so I think it all ended up all right! He spoke to me a little by the fire and said the mission was a success, so at least we didn't lose." He let out a soft chuckle. The chuckle of a boy who'd spent years waiting for his parents without realising. "What about your mission?"
Kobayashi, Matsuo says: I've had many.
(120607) Senju, Suzuri thinks: Those thousand things are going to have to wait, Matsuo - This is way too precious to interrupt.
Saito says: Tell me about your biggest.
Kobayashi, Matsuo tapped on the bench next to him, inviting the boy to come closer. "Your mom and I even got real difficult missions to go through. We fought the third Hokage-- Your mom made sure that I would become the fourth no matter what."

He gestured at the cloak he wore.

"But I bet you wanna hear more, right? Some other S-rank missions like infiltrating Iwagakure and taking care of an evil noble who wanted to kill Kotone. You remember your big cousin Kotone, right?"
Saito walked over to the bench and sat down on it, a little closer to Matsuo than Suzuri. His eyes stood in full display now, a beautiful red with a single tomoe. They trailed to the cloak, and he was mesmerised. A single, audible 'wow' ushered.

"You became Hokage?! No way!" He grinned innocently, oblivious of the burdens that came with it. Oblivious of the path Matsuo had to walk to achieve it. "Yeah I remember her. She passed academy too, huh? Glad I beat her to it. Tell me about the evil guy!"
Kobayashi, Matsuo says: Well, he was a real bad noble. Wanted to kill Kotone because she was involved in a mission where his daughter died.
Kobayashi, Matsuo says: He came to Konoha and tried to show us up. The Sandaime gave Koma, your mother and me the order to take care of him. In the end he didn't die but he could not blame us anymore for anything because someone saved his life when a building came down on him.
Saito yells: Oh... Well, I'm sure she didn't mean to. Kotone never seemed like someone who'd kill someone like that! All tough but I knew she was kind when she fixed my jacket because I tore it during practise. You remember that, don't you? That was the one you gave me for my birthday!
Saito asks: I'm glad it all worked out in the end, though. Maybe he didn't deserve to die?
Kobayashi, Matsuo says: Maybe so.
(120607) Senju, Suzuri says: Your kid is super cute, Sir.
Kobayashi, Matsuo yells: Anyway, there's much more to tell..!
Saito asks: Cute?
(120607) Senju, Suzuri says: Yup.
Saito yells: I was top of my class!
(120607) Senju, Suzuri says: Oh..? I trained a little girl who was in the top of her class, too.
(120607) Senju, Suzuri says: She was my favorite.
Saito thinks: Bet she wasn't eight, though!
(120607) Senju, Suzuri thinks: Fourteen ain't so bad..
Kobayashi, Matsuo went on to explain pretty much every mission that had been sent out rather openly thorough the night. From A to Z. There was no doubt there was a lot left to share and catching up with his son seemed definitely important to the man.
(120607) Senju, Suzuri diligently listened and began to tease and even grow a little appreciative of this kinder Matsuo, not to mention his son. Suzuri finds... That maybe waiting wasn't going to be so hard. A smile graces her features.
Saito would nod along with everything the man said, offering some input here and there. Mostly, he was impressed with his father's deeds. The boy was happy he could talk to his dad again, so much so that he didn't even mind that Suzuri was here too.

He'd always hoped he could go on those missions, too. Unfortunately it was only his first on which he had met his fate. This boy had been a prodigy in all regards, a perfect Shinobi, but even for those people death is an ever-present threat. That didn't bother him now, though. Now, by the fire, he was just a kid happy to see his dad again.

"Man, a snake?!" He grinned. "That's so cool." He gave the man a warm hug, clutching him tight. "Mm... Do you think mom will be here soon, or should we go ahead without her? I want to go back to Konoha!"
Kobayashi, Matsuo returned the hug that was given to him with a smile, thinking for a few seconds about the kind of response that had to be said before offering some wisdom.

"We can wait a bit longer. I'm sure Koma's bound to be around soon enough and we can figure out where your mom went after that."
(120607) Senju, Suzuri says: He told me he went to go get purgatory hotdogs... Whatever that means...
Kobayashi, Matsuo says: I hope he got some for all of us, then.