Kurenai had always been good company at the bar. Her presence was soothing and understated, and she was more than comfortable to sit in silence. She also had a knack of dropping ridiculously witty remarks at the right time with this perfect, throaty laugh to go with it. Her laugh suited her. When she did converse, it was in a smooth voice that gracefully filled the area.
It was no surprise that Asuma found himself seeking out her company.
She looked like she expected him, offering him room next to her across from Hatake. There were no words between the three, but that was to be expected. It was their first day meeting their genin teams. His second, Kurenai's third, and the next in a long, unsuccessful line of Hatake's. Maybe this one would be different.
"Who are your genin, Asuma?"
He could get used to hearing her say his name. "Ino-Shika-Cho." He grinned at the smiles from the other two. "Guess they couldn't bear to split them up. What about you, Kurenai?"
She puffed out a laugh and Asuma had the sudden yearning to hear more. "Inuzuka, Aburame, and Hyuuga."
Both he and Hatake groaned in sympathy. "Ouch. I'll take my Uchiha anytime over dealing with the Hyuuga clan."
"Uchiha?" Asuma asked. Hatake simply stared at him for a moment before taking a pull on his beer. "Huh, I guess that makes sense. Who else?"
"A kunoichi from a civilian family, Haruno, and Uzumaki."
Asuma broke the somber mood with a booming laugh. "So you got Naruto?" His laughter carried, turning a few heads, but not drawing any unwanted attention. "No wonder Iruka's in a snit. You've failed how many genin teams so far?"
"Haruno won't be any trouble," Kurenai murmured, pulling Hatake's attention from Asuma. "She's a little boy crazy, but she's very intelligent."
Hatake nodded, accepting that silently before drinking the last of his beer. "It's not my fault they fail," he shot back at Asuma as he signaled the bartender for another round. "We already know your team will work together. Just have to see if mine will, too."
Their second round arrived just as Gai entered the bar. Toasting his companions, Asuma simply sat back and watched in growing amusement as Konoha's Noble Blue Beast rained his congratulations upon his begrudging rival.
He was going to kill them.
They had just reached Konoha borders and the fight started. Ino and Choji were going at it, her shrieks piercing and his yelling was shaking the trees. The two had been bickering since they left for the mission, but it was only in the last hour that it escalated to an argument. Asuma tried to get them to calm down and continue on, only to find Shikamaru lying in a tree branch watching the clouds.
If most teams fought like this, no wonder Hatake failed them all. Well, all but one.
The fight was taking a turn for the worse. Choji was starting to collect his chakra and Ino was getting precariously close to commenting on his appearance. He juggled a few thoughts around, trying to figure out how best to break up the fight. Of course, he could always let them wear each other out. It would just be another lesson in managing their tempers when faced with exhaustion.
"Well, maybe if you didn't eat so much, you would have an appearance to be proud of, too!"
That was enough. Two kunai flew out, each perilously close to the kids' noses. They sank into the tree trunk and Asuma drank in the silence that filled the area. Two pairs of wide eyes turned to him, both still holding onto rampant anger. Time for a valuable lesson every shinobi had to learn.
"If that were enemy-nin, you'd both be dead right now." He watched in satisfaction as the anger started to bleed out. "You two are so busy trying to be right, you're completely ignoring your surroundings."
"But Asuma-sensei, she said–"
"Do you even know where your third teammate is?"
They both blinked, glancing at each other before looking around the trees.
"You are shinobi and this is a mission," he continued. "The mission isn't over until you've reported it complete, and to assume safety because we reached Konoha territory is to assume death."
"Yes, Asuma-sensei," Ino chirped sweetly. "I was only–"
"-picking an unnecessary fight with your teammate and putting everyone at risk," Asuma finished. They had to acknowledge what happened now.
They both stayed quiet, gazes dropping down to their feet.
"You're exhausted. If there is really a problem, then you wait until after you've gotten home and rested to deal with it, not while you're Leaf shinobi on a mission. Everything you do outside of those village gates reflects on how people view your clans, our shinobi, and the village. Think your clans would be happy to know how you ended your first mission?" The deafening silence was all the answer he needed. "Now find your teammate and let's get going."
Shikamaru dropped out of his branch then, looking as eager as he could manage at the prospect of returning home. "Thank you, sensei. Their arguing was–"
"Where were you during all of this?" Asuma growled, pulling shocked expressions from all three genin. Shikamaru's gaze dropped instantly. "You could have prevented them from arguing for so long, but instead, you abandon them for the clouds at the first opportunity."
The three exuded shame and it took most of Asuma's training to keep his rough exterior. It was a hard lesson every genin had to learn, but these three had phenomenal potential and the sooner they got out of the basics, the better.
"Here's what we're going to do," he continued, softening his tone just a bit. "The village gates are about two hours away, but we're going to push and make it in an hour and a half. I'm going to show you the process of reporting the finished mission, and then you three are going home to rest."
They each nodded and murmured a sullen "Yes, sensei."
"Tomorrow, we'll meet at ten and review the mission. Talk about what went right, what went wrong, and how to ensure it doesn't happen again. Then we'll celebrate your first completed mission as genin with some barbeque. Okay?"
This "Yes, sensei," chorus was accompanied by beautiful, shy smiles.
He wasn't usually torn between emotions, but pride tugged at the loss of his heart as he looked at Shikamaru. The chuunin vest fit him perfectly.
Asuma laid a heavy hand on his shoulder, bending slightly to be eyelevel with his student. "Do not forget your accomplishment for the grief of others."
It was something he'd had to learn long ago. Being shinobi wasn't safe, it wasn't happy. Times of sadness were many, times of hope few and far between. To forget the hope was to despair, to embrace the sadness was to die. Even with his own grief, with his own personal loss of a Clan leader and father, he couldn't ignore the pride he held for his student.
He pulled Shikamaru close, two arms wrapping around the teen. "I am so proud of you," he said into his hair. "Don't you ever forget that."
Shinobi were a surprisingly materialistic lot. They understood earthly possessions burned just as easily as paper and worth was better in people than things, but that didn't stop them from holding onto a few meaningful mementoes.
Jewelry held surprising significance to Asuma. His own bracelets were gifts from his sensei, a physical representation of his chakra flow. He had worked hard to fight with them on, relearning his grip on kunai so they wouldn't get in the way. Looking down at his hands reminded him of that time, before he left Konoha in search of his own path.
And just like the circles, he returned.
The earrings he gave his team, all chuunin who had proven themselves most admirably, represented something different. Not only part of the long-standing tradition between their Clans, but also in memory of his own gift. His team already knew how to work together, they already knew how to fight seamlessly. But sometimes, they let their own voices outweigh each other.
Remember your ears, he told them. Remember to listen rather than hear.
He watched as memories played over their faces, different missions they had taken when he had made this point known. When they smiled at him, full of gratitude and understanding, he knew they heard him.
He couldn't help but smile every time he saw those earrings being worn.
There were so many things he wanted to do; so many things still waiting for him. He knew at that moment, he would always regret leaving Kurenai to raise his child alone. He wouldn't be able to watch Konohamru grow as a shinobi, nor continue being the brother Iruka loved him as. He wouldn't ever have the opportunity to teach another genin team, to watch them grow and guide them on their path.
He was not the first to pass before his time and he wouldn't be the last. As such was every shinobi life.
But in that moment that should have been surrounded by regrets and what-ifs, he instead chose to look into the eyes of his students. He found himself fondly remembering who they were, seeing who they are, and knowing who they will be.
And in those last memories of quiet words with Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji, Sarutobi Asuma, member of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve, heir to the Sarutobi Clan, and son of the Third Hokage, found peace.
Asuma's death hit me hard. He's my favorite character of the Naruto series and even though I've been able to move on in the episodes, it still weighs heavy on my heart. Kelsie - peacheddreams/agoblinbabe - prompted me to write a little thing about him with his team and this is what came from it.
I'm...okay with it. Not completely happy, but not unsatisfied. However, I couldn't stand looking at it any longer, so I've decided to post it.