[b]Yūdai Shadan and Yūdai Suishō[/b]

It was theirs again.

Their self constructed house, a project taking years of their life, was just like they had left it. Suishō was uncharacteristically happy, given that she had little faith their house would have remained unscathed. With no hesitation, she swung the door open, a small cloud of dust racing out into the wind, her smile vanishing quickly. Suishō hated disorder and despite the pristine outside condition of her home, the state of the interior was completely unacceptable to her. A thick coating of dust could be seen on every surface, including the now shriveled, black flowers that had been in the vase on the table. 

She let out an angry sigh, immediately grabbing a clean cloth from a small cabinet and began wiping surfaces down.

Shadan grabbed her hand, "Calm my dear. There are other things we must do first."

It was uncharacteristic for him to be serious, so Suishō didn't protest, unlike usual.

"You're right," she replied, letting the cloth fall onto the table she had been wiping down before following Shadan out.

Recapturing Konoha had separated them from their children, who were still in Suna. Most of the messenger hawks would be busy, but both of them knew of one that wouldn't. Shiō's hawk would be at the Nara compound, near their friend's office. Shiō had sworn by the bird many times, despite its temperamental attitude towards most. However, Suishō wasn't going to let an angry bird get in the way of getting her children back.

The walk was short, only minutes away at a casual pace. Upon entering, like they suspected, Hiyō sat on one of the branches of the trees in one of the courtyards in the Nara compound. Surprisingly, she was able to coax the bird down easily with a small bribery of food. Suishō partially suspected the bird sensed the urgency and was not going to play games with her in this instance. Passing the bird to Shadan, who looked rather odd with it given his size, Suishō scrawled a quick message onto a scroll and slipped it into the container on Hiyō's back.

[i]We have retaken Konohagakure. Please let your grandmother know so she can bring you back. Your father sends his love.

Love,
Mom[/i]

It would still be awhile before she would see her children, given the journey, but she now knew they would return to her. Much of the weight of the campaign had been lifted. There was still an Empire to topple, but she was home and her children would be home with her soon. Shadan shared the sentiments, the task at hand done, the hawk now in flight towards Sunagakure, and returned to his more cheerful demeanor.

"Now you can clean," Shadan nodded, patting his wife on the back.

"You mean we," she replied, walking back, her head resting lightly on his arm.

Shadan only smiled in response.