Chapter Three: First Mission (Rank D), Pt. 5
~ Downtown Konoha with Asuma ~
Asuma had just stepped out onto the street, balancing a bulky package in his right arm, when he heard a sultry voice call out to him.
"Well! That's quite a stack you have there," said Kurenai, appearing out of the passing crowd. "I hope you're not planning on eating all that yourself."
"They're for my team." Asuma gestured to the lunch boxes. "Three are for Choji and three are for the rest of us."
She laughed pleasantly. "I see. That must be hard on your wallet." Eyeing Asuma keenly, Kurenai drew a little closer. "So… today was your team's very first mission, right? How did it go?"
"Hmm… not so good. They haven't made as much progress as I'd have liked. I'm not even sure we'll have gotten as far as we need to by the end of today. I'll just have to see what they've finished when I get back."
Kurenai raised her brows in surprise. "You mean you've left them alone already? Are you sure that was wise?"
Asuma shrugged. "Couldn't be helped, but even so it's about the only way for me to really know how they'll function without supervision. After all, someday they're going to be off on their own."
"But that won't be for years!" protested Kurenai. "There's plenty of time to figure out their strengths and weaknesses – why rush it?"
"You can never be too sure about that," said Asuma as he took a drag on his cigarette. "In any case, I've only been gone for a little while. How much trouble can they get into?"
Kurenai shook her head. "You're a little too relaxed about this, don't you think?"
"Nah. At the most I expect them to get on each other's nerves a little." Seeing Kurenai's curious expression, he added: "Ino's appointed herself team leader, since the other two aren't inclined to do much themselves. So she tends to boss them around – henpecks them a lot, really."
"Any girl would become a nag with two sluggards on her team," said Kurenai pointedly.
"True enough," admitted Asuma. "Well, I guess I'd better be getting on back to them."