Word Count: 913 Words.
Story Title: One Last Breath.
Summary: Spoilers. Read at your own risk. Asuma reflects on his life and the people important to him. Kurenai tries to explain a difficult subject to her son. Two-Shot.
Pairing: None.
Warning: Spoilers, Character Death, Angst,
Disclaimer: By any means, Naruto belongs to the genius Masashi Kishimoto – not me. I, however, know this story that I've written for your entertainment.
Author Notes: Like whoa - first one-shot that I'll be posting ever. This idea came from no where almost – I was listening to my play-list on my Windows Media Player and came across the song, "One Last Breath" by Creed [which is in the fic. And all the sudden – I thought of Asuma. :\ I loved him and his character and I'm so disappointed that he had to die. So here it is! This is set in Asuma's point of view. This may turn into a two shot.
So this was how it felt? That cold sensation before you slipped into a cold and dark slumber forever without ever seeing the faces of those you loved when you woke up to the sun in the morning. I was going to miss waking up to my wife's face in the morning and every time I came home from a long day's work. Her smile … her laugh… how beautiful she was, everything about her – she was my reason to returning home, my rose, my world, my everything. I remembered how we met in the Academy, I had the biggest crush on her .. I always acted like an idiot around her. I finally came clean once we had known each-other for awhile once I become a Jounin. .. Then we got married a few months ago.
Please come now I think I'm falling,
I'm holding to all I think is safe,
It seems I found the road to nowhere,
And I'm trying to escape,
I yelled back when I heard thunder,
But I'm down to one last breath,
And with it let me say,
Let me say.
But this time, I wasn't going to be returning home to see my wife's face. I know once the news broke – that smile will disappear forever from my wife's face. What pained me more ... I was never going to see the child she was having grow up and becoming a ninja like me. That broke my heart. I was never going to see my son or daughter .. and they were never going to meet their father. The only way they were going to bond with me is through the stories that others will tell them.
Hold me now,
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking,
That maybe six feet,
Ain't so far down.
I suddenly remembered what my father's funeral was like. The Great Sarutobi, the Professor, the Third Hokage. All my friends… my family – lined up to grief over the lost – to see them all crying and heart-broken. And now, they had to deal with that again. I thought of my nephew, Konohamaru – now he was going to lose his uncle. I don't know if that boy can handle another lost … after this, he wasn't going to have anyone else. I already can see the boy's sad and teary face, sobbing his poor heart out. It is gut-wrenching.
I'm looking down now that it's over,
Reflecting on all of my mistakes,
I thought I found the road to somewhere,
Somewhere in His grace,
I cried out heaven save me,
But I'm down to one last breath,
And with it let me say,
Let me say.
My team – they were like my own children almost. I watched them grow up, training hard to be ninja like their parents, despite the challenges and emotional journeys – they were always happy, all smiles and he was glad to have them as his team. But now, they were to force to see their friends… their second father to die here, the three of them all crying and pleading for me to stay awake and stay with them, to stay with Kurenai. I told them that couldn't promise that. They didn't understand. They continued to plead. It was time that I have to leave the world. At least I went out the way I wanted – going out fighting like any ninja should. I was going to die with honor – that mattered. My father died with honor fighting that scum Orochimaru and I was going to go out the same way, I always wanted to die this way.
Hold me now,
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking,
That maybe six feet,
Ain't so far down.
I was proud. I finally was going to join my father. I still grieved over loosing the last family member I had, I lost my mother years ago .. and my brother. I had no one but my wife and my friends. I wish I could see their faces one more time. One more time – I wish I told my life how much I loved her … and tell my friends how much I loved them, too and how they were like family to me. Sadly, I couldn't do that.
Sad eyes follow me,
But I still believe there's something left for me,
So please come stay with me,
'Cause I still believe there's something left for you and me,
For you and me,
For you and me.
I laughed at this point, I laughed in the face of death. I smiled and inhaled the terrible smoke of the partial burnt cigarette that I was determined to finish. I knew it was time to go now – the pain was gone and replaced with that cold sensation, my mind was slipping, my eyes drooping, I couldn't move, it felt like I was suffocating like a fish out of water. The cigarette stopped from my lips as I fought to stay awake. The last thing I saw before I took my one last breath was everyone I knew, smiles on their faces as they waved goodbye in my sub-conscious mind, then the world turned cold and I faded into a black oblivion.
Hold me now,
I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking..