After dinner, Uchiha Tonan took the initiative to wash the dishes. Once the necessary clean-up was done, he didn’t leave the kitchen. Instead, he carefully wiped the oil stains from the floors and around the cooking area, and cleaned up the dirt and grime from every tiny corner.
It took him three hours to do all this, but it wasn’t over yet. The sky had already darkened and the Sarutobi clan district had turned off the lights to call it a night.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was sitting in the drawing-room, felt sleepy too. He came to the kitchen door and coughed lightly, “Tonan, it’s very clean now. You don’t need to mop anymore.”
Tonan turned his head. His forehead was filled with sweat but his eyes were bright. He looked at Hiruzen with a serious look, “The kitchen is a place to cook, so you must ensure its hygiene. Wouldn’t it be a problem if you get a stomachache or get sick?”
As if to make his point, he used his finger to scrap out a mass of dark oil from a corner and said to Hiruzen, “These things easily attract insects, so they must be cleaned thoroughly.”
Hiruzen looked at the stubborn Tonan and nodded helplessly. He then glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and pointed out, “It’s already very late.”
Tonan wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm and said with a smile, “It’s alright, Hokage-sama. You can go and rest now. I know my way home, I’ll be alright.”
Seeing Tonan so well-behaved and sensible, Hiruzen’s heart softened. In a daze, he was reminded of Shinnosuke and Asuma and their images seemed to appear in front of him, gradually overlapping. Shinnosuke’s earnestness and steadfastness, and Asuma’s stubbornness and persistence, seemed to all come together and reflect in Tonan.
Hiruzen gently looked at the boy who had the traits of both his sons, “Tonan, it’s too late. It’s time to sleep now.”
Tonan appeared to be momentarily stunned realizing just how late it was. He pursed his lips and put his hands on his knees, bowing to Hiruzen, his eyes full of guilt and self-reproach, “Hoakge-sama, I’m sorry, I delayed your rest time. I’ll go back now.”
Looking at Tonan’s current state, for some reason, Hiruzen felt as if he had done something wrong. Feeling a little unsettled in his heart, he walked to Tonan and rubbed his hair, “I don’t usually sleep at this time, you don’t have to worry. The sky is already dark, and the Uchiha district is far away. Why don’t you stay here for the night?”
Hearing this suggestion, Tonan raised his head, and his eyes seemed to have many tiny stars in them. He asked with joy, “Can I, really?”
Hiruzen smiled and nodded, “Go to sleep, you can do these things tomorrow if you want to.”
……
Late at night, the rain constantly pattered against the windows. The wind howled through the trees beside the pond in the backyard, bending the trees so much they looked as if they would break at any time.
Tonan slept on the bed, but his face was covered with sweat. His expression looked very painful.
“Don’t… don’t…”
His muffled voice, filled with fear and grief, grew louder. Gradually, it broke through the sound of the rain and reached Hiruzen’s room downstairs. As a Hokage-leveled powerhouse, even though he was old, Hiruzen had instinctive vigilance toward his surroundings at all times.
His eyes suddenly opened and Tonan’s voice from upstairs entered his ears. He frowned and muttered, “Is this child having a nightmare?” Thinking of all the work he had to do the next day, he turned over, ready to go back to sleep, when he suddenly heard…
“Asuma… where are you…”
Hiruzen immediately opened his eyes again and sighed deeply.
“Shinnosuke-senpai… I understood… thank… you…”
“… don’t go… don’t go to the Fire Capital.”
Once again Hiruzen was reminded of his time together with his two sons. The scenes from the past appeared in his mind rapidly. He also recalled that when Shinnosuke was a child, he would easily get nightmares on rainy days.
Since his wife wouldn’t be home most of the time, usually, it was Hiruzen who accompanied Shinnosuke at the time. Hiruzen felt a little sympathetic in his heart. He got up and habitually tiptoed to the second floor.
His footstep was subconsciously very light, so as to not make any noise and disturb Tonan. He gently pushed open the door. In the dimly lit room, Hiruzen saw that Tonan had already kicked the quilt away, and kept talking in his sleep.
“Don’t leave me…”
“Father… don’t go… father…”
This child… Hiruzen’s eyes were melancholic and he felt he and Tonan were fellow sufferers. One lost his parents, and the other lost his sons.
He immediately walked over to Tonan and knelt down lightly, gently pulling up the quilt to cover him. Looking at his face, Hiruzen spaced out recalling Shinnosuke when he was by his side.
Hiruzen reached out his hand and gently stroked Tonan’s face. The pain in his heart began to spread again and he frowned. Just then, Tonan grabbed Hiruzen’s hand, and said in an almost pleading tone, “Father… don’t go…”
Hiruzen was startled. He covered Tonan’s hand with his hand and gently coaxed him, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave.”
As if he could hear Hiruzen’s voice, Tonan relaxed. He turned over and pulled Hiruzen’s hand under his head. His fear just now seemed to have become nonexistent and a smile gradually spread across his face like he was seeing a very sweet dream.
Tonan rubbed his head against Hiruzen’s hand and muttered, “Father… Hokage-sama…”
Hiruzen looked at the unguarded Tonan, sleeping peacefully, and his heart that had been solid as a rock melted. He had a strange feeling. The fatherly love that had been clogged up because of the death of his two sons rushed out as if a floodgate was opened.
The more he looked at Tonan, the more distress, and love he felt for Tonan. Early the next morning, the sun shone through the window, covering Hiruzen and Tonan with a layer of soft golden light.
Two people, one kneeling with his heart filled with love, and the other immersed in dreamland, made a very peaceful picture. Hiruzen, who had not slept for the entire night, reached out his free hand and gently rubbed his temples to relieve some of the stress.
When he looked at the sleeping Tonan who was hugging his hand tightly, a thought suddenly flashed in his mind.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if Tonan were my child!? He’s well-behaved, sensible, modest, hard-working, honest, meticulous, tolerant… He’s so perfect.”
Tonan opened his drowsy eyes, not fully awake yet, and rubbed them, muttering, “Father…”
As if it was the last straw, this address broke through Hiruzen’s defense. He almost couldn’t control himself and hugged Tonan to take good care of him.
