Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.…-Tap.

Quiet, peaceful noises were the only sound to be heard from the inside of the large estate. If it were not for the repeated tapping that filled the air on *most daily base one would estimate nobody was at home. The atmosphere was beautifully serene and both inhabitants present enjoyed the comfortable silence of each other's company.

Tip. Tap. …-Tip. Tip. Tap.

Today, especially the older one was grateful for not being intruded by work or visitors… - or the third and more troublesome female inhabitant for that matter. He had had a rough night previously coming back home from a long mission and being dragged right into the next pub by his team mates instead of going home and taking a good rest. Thus, he sported a serious headache and was wary of everything ingestible except for the mug of lukewarm tea which he had been nursing throughout the early afternoon.

…-Tap. Tip. …-Tap.

Even his moves suffered from him not being able to think straight due to the aftermath of the 'Reminiscence-of-the-good-old-days'-drinking-bout he had been too willing to participate for his own good. So he placed the pieces rather sluggishly on the board needing a lot more time th*ually to squeeze a reply to his opponent's moves out of his foggy brain as he was slouched in a crouched position on his comfy cushion lazing around.

Although he felt as if he had been thoroughly chewed and retched out right now he did not regret reliving the adventures of the great 'Ino-Shika-Cho' team with his two fellow troublemakers and countless cups of sake all night long… However, he had to admit, those wild days were definitely over: he was not twenty anymore, he could not recklessly go binge for days, plot some silly trouble to annoy their superiors out of boredom and check out what presented itself in Konoha with his two companions and live their 'bromance' to the fullest anymore. He could not even hold his liquor like he used to in his teenage days.

Tap. Tip. Tap.

Groggily he scratched his stubble in fuzzy thought. The independent stag had been tamed through time. But so had the wild boar and the soaring *erfly. None of them could pretend the world belonged to them anymore.

"Why?"

The interruption of the silence between him and his opponent was abrupt and out of the blue. So his still overhung mind had to process that he had been addressed at, at all, first. Licking his dry lips with his heavy tongue which still felt furred and tasted as if some rotten vermin had destined it to be its deathbed he blinked at the younger man in front of him. "…Why what?", he managed finally to convince his mouth to work and articulate words.

Tip. Tap.

"The reason you married a troublesome woman like mom", his son specified concentrating again on the game. The younger one's skills seemed to have improved greatly over night for he found it even harder to counter the moves – though, probably it was more due to his irksome migraine that he could barely keep up with his genius of a son the morning after. He sighed and again rubbed the well trimmed goatee while pondering. "I guess, there is some truth to it…", he murmured at last as he had to watch helplessly how his heir finally took his knight with a promoted pawn and inevitably caused tsume.

Tap.

"What truth?", the promising young strategist inquired eyeing him curiously from his relaxed position on the floor. Before answering the more experienced one scratched the back of his head where the pain was a little duller and yawned, then crossed his arms and cracked a wry smile as he shared his wisdom: "The far jumping Knight falls prey to a Pawn."