"Father..."
Asuma never thought that his voice would become so thin and cautious. Even Third Hokage was a little surprised. He raised his head and looked at his son whom he had not seen for a long time.
It has been a long time since I last saw him. Although there are occasional photos, this is the first time to see him in person since Asuma left Konoha.
"You're back--" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was also very soft and thin, but also had a hint of age that was hard to detect. But as a child and a ninja, Asuma captured this very keenly.
But he didn't know what to say, and Third Hokage didn't know what to say either. They looked at each other in silence, and finally Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke.
"Do you want to go home and sleep tonight?" he asked softly, his eyes full of expectation.
But Asuma rejected his expectations. He shook his head and replied, "I plan to stay at Huangmei's place tonight--"
"You should go home and sleep." Hiruzen Sarutobi whispered.
In the past, his tone should have been very strong, but today his tone was particularly soft, with a hint of pleading in it.
This attitude shocked Asuma. In his memory, his father had such a look before. He looked at his father's face again, and the face was not the same as in his memory.
He has also seen photos of his father more than once, seeing how high-spirited he is in the position of Hokage, how his back is getting more and more curved, his stature is getting shorter and shorter, and the spots on his face are getting heavier and heavier.
Somehow, he agreed by mistake, sat quietly on the sofa, and watched his father finish the last work, put the documents into categories, sealed them with Sealing Technique, then turned off the lights, closed the door, and walked home side by side.
It was already late at night, everything around was quiet, most of the villagers had gone to bed, and the remaining few were probably yawning and lying on the bed.
The electric lights are still on faithfully, but the kerosene lamps or lanterns and candles have become flickering.
Third Hokage does not live in the clan. For convenience, he lives not far from Hokage Building. It is a not luxurious house. Occasionally, servants from the family will come to clean it for him, but most of the time, he is the only one living here.
Insert the key and open the door. In the shoe cabinet on the left, it seems that there are more than just Hiruzen Sarutobi's own shoes.
He is already old enough. If he wears his previous shoes, they will inevitably become baggy and awkward. However, Asuma is in his prime. He is already much taller than his father, so his shoes are naturally much bigger.
There were also his shoes prominently displayed in the shoe cabinet, some of which he had worn before and had not had time to take away with him when he left Konoha, and some of which he had never seen before and seemed to be newly purchased shoes.
Asuma took off his hat and robe for Third Hokage, and then put on his home clothes. Looking at the scars on his old father's body, his movements couldn't help but slow down.
"Hurry up, don't dawdle." Third Hokage seemed not to adapt to this strange interaction and urged.
Asuma opened the wardrobe, which also contained his clothes, and went to wash up with his father. There were even his toiletries in the bathroom.
But when we arrived at the restaurant, there was only one dinner on the table.
Third Hokage naturally cannot cook by himself. His dinner is made by someone in the family and placed on his table every day. There is only one meal in the evening.
He came home late today and his food was already cold.
"I ate it in the office. You can eat it and I'll heat it up for you." Third Hokage seemed to sigh and said softly.
"No, no need. I had a late-night snack at Sister Huang's place and I'm not hungry at all now." Asuma waved her hand in a hurry and refused.
But the next second, the two people acted exactly the same. They couldn't help but raise their hands and cover their stomachs, trying to block the sound coming from inside.
One has been working overtime since the afternoon, and the other has been hiding here and there since entering Konoha. He doesn't want to be seen by others. It's not that the father and son are not hungry, but that they are miserable.
They looked at each other's embarrassed faces, lowered their heads at the same time, and said at the same time, "You can eat."
The father and son had never had such a tacit understanding, and they suddenly felt awkward. In the end, it was Asuma who took the lead to avoid this strange embarrassing situation. He stretched out his hand and opened the refrigerator.
But the refrigerator was empty, there was nothing left, and the only edible food at home was the cold food on the table, and the food was only enough for Third Hokage to eat alone.
He turned his head, looked at Third Hokage, and said, "I'm going to see if there are any stores open."
Then he seemed to have thought of something and continued, "Well, don't worry, I will be back."
Third Hokage did not answer immediately. Instead, he was stunned for a while, then nodded and agreed to Asuma's proposal.
"I'll heat up the rice and we'll eat together when you come back."
Asuma put on his shoes again, took the spare key hanging by the door, put on a windproof robe, and pushed out the door.
And Third Hokage stood at the entrance, watching the door close little by little, making a clicking sound.
Then he suddenly held on to the wall on the side, took two deep breaths, stood up, turned around and walked towards the restaurant.
He still wanted to heat the rice, but looking at the cold food, he became worried again. He was proficient in all kinds of Ninjutsu and dealt with various affairs in the village every day, but he had never heated the rice. In the past, even if the food was cold, he would simply eat it cold.
On the other side, Asuma Sarutobi, the moment the door was closed, he also held his waist, his body was slanted, and he felt extremely embarrassed after just a short period of time together.
It had been many years since he had gotten along with his father like this, but the feeling just now made him feel a little warm.
He clenched his hand and remembered his mission: to buy food.
But looking at the moon in the sky, it was already very late. There were probably only a few izakayas open in the whole village. They were the favorite places of the elders Chunin and Genin, and sometimes Jonin would go there to have fun.
It's just that most of the products sold there are drinks and some snacks that are not enough to fill the stomach. How can I buy this for my father to eat?
But he had no other choice. He had no choice but to open the door of the izakaya, which was still lit, and unexpectedly found that it was already full of people.
"Asuma!" The girl sitting closest to the door exclaimed when she saw the person pushing the door open.