A long, gentle breeze swayed the leaves on the trees, making them dance free from their captors and fly free through the air. A passionate sunset hidden behind the forest line left the sky in a crimson red. A young woman, seemingly in her thirites, stepped out of the forest with three figures behind her. The woman's black hair waved gracefully behind her, and her piercing crimson eyes matched the canvas above her.
Without a single glance behind her, she began walking in a slow manner across the field they entered. "From here on out we can relax. We're home, Team 8."
With that the three teenage figures behind her nodded. "Yes, sensei." The words rang through this so-called Sensei's ears, and brought back memories of years before. One memory in particular stood out. She looked up into the painted sky and muttered a familiar name.
"Been a while since then, eh?" the male figure to her left asked.
"Yes. A very long time. Even now its hard to believe that he's gone." replied the woman.
"Sensei..." replied a soft voice from behind the woman.
"Well, enough reminiscing. We must get back to the village immediately. Hokage-sama will be wanting the details."
Once more, the three students nodded in unison.
Break
"...and the mission went smoothly?" asked a woman, seated at a desk in front of windows. The sun shone through them. The woman was easily distinguished by her bright blonde hair and chesnut eyes, not to mention the teal mark on her forehead. The woman, by appearance in her late 40's, took a pen and signed a sheet of paper, then proceeding to stamp it. "Well done."
"With all do respect, I think you may have gone fairly easy on us, Hokage-sama." A gruff voice announced. His looks were well hidden by a long green coat and circular glasses, like the other three on the team he bore a forehead protector with a leaf-like shape engraved into it. "Reason being?" he asked.
"Hmph. Shino, I admire you willingness to go on missions beyond your limits; however, soon enough you, along with Kiba, Hinata, and Kurenai, will be joining with Team 7, which consists of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Sai, and Hatake Kakashi." she took the previously stamped paper and placed it in a folder, then grabbing the folder and filing it within her desk. She folded her hands in front of her face. "The reasoning behind this is clear. You will all be assigned an important mission. I'll give you the details later. For now..." she handed the black-haired woman, Kurenai, a folder, "...Kurenai will be in possesion of the details. These are to be shared with Kakashi." She looked down. "Dismissed."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." replied Kurenai.
The three of them proceeded to leave the Hokage Manor, a large red building, to their homes.
Break
The smell of Sake drifted through a small apartment room. Flowers adorned the window sills, pictures and paintings lined the walls, yet the room was fairly spacey. Kurenai took a small sip of her Sake, set the cup down, and leaned on her elbow into her hand. With her cheek squished into her palm, she made an awkward sigh after glancing at one particular picture in front of her. It was a man in his late thirties smoking a cigarette. There were three others in front of him in the picture, but attention focused on the man.
A tear fell from her right eye, across her cheek, over her palm, and dripped into the meager amount of Sake left in her cup. "Asuma."