Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto.
Love and Cigarettes
One day, Ino bought five packets of cigarettes. One of each brand. She wasn't a smoker. It was her first time buying cigarettes. She couldn't decide which brand to buy since she couldn't recall which brand Asuma used no matter how hard she tried. So she bought one of each brand, in hopes of getting the right one.
She started with the one in green casing. Green like the forest. She ripped the plastic wrapper off and took a new cigarette from the packet. She held it between her fingers and lit it with a lighter. But she didn't put it between her lips. She only inhaled deeply as its grey smoke swirled in the air.
When she was twelve, her first impression of Asuma was that she hated him.
Ino got into her Genin team that year. Much to her dismay, she wasn't in the same team with Sasuke. To make matters worse, her rival, Sakura, was. Ino spent the whole day whining about how she should have been in Sasuke's team, not in a team with a lazy bum, a fat boy and a smoker sensei.
Asuma merely smoked his cigarettes and spoke casually, "Well, that's just too bad for you, girl. However, you still have to go through one more test to prove you're here to stay in this team. Or I'll send you right back to the Academy."
"What?" the three Genins shouted in union.
Asuma ignored them and continued to give them instructions. Each of them was given a flag and they were to stick their flag on the top of a hill before sunset. Asuma said he would only catch up on them after he finished his fifth cigarette in a row. Then he would attempt to snatch the flags from them or hinder them from getting to the hilltop before sunset.
With the lighting of his first cigarette, the test began.
Damn Asuma sensei! Damn all smokers! Ino thought as she pumped chakra to her feet and sped through the forest at high speed.
Ino chuckled as the memories flickered through her mind. Then she opened another packet and lit up the second cigarette. Its casing was white. White like the hospital.
When she was thirteen, she cried in Asuma's arms.
Ino paced frantically back and forth along the corridor outside the surgery room of Konoha Hospital. Chouji and Shikamaru had just come back from the failed mission of retrieving Sasuke. Shikamaru only suffered light injuries but Chouji's condition was critical. No one could tell for sure if he would be able to make it.
It had been ten hours and Chouji still hadn't come out from the surgery room. She didn't know what exactly had happened out there or what her teammate's condition was at the moment. All she could do was to wait and wait.
"You need to calm down, Ino."
Asuma said levelly as he smoked. Ino couldn't understand how he managed to keep his cool when his student was struggling to hang onto his life in the surgery room. Maybe he didn't care that much. The thought infuriated Ino.
"Calm down! It's Chouji inside there! And you're telling me to calm down!" Ino finally lost it and lashed out at Asuma. Tears were threatening to spill from her blue eyes and they both knew the only thing that kept her from completely breaking down in front of him was her rage.
"It's okay to cry," Asuma murmured as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her head against his chest. And cried she did. She could smell the smoke that lingered on her sensei's body. But for once she didn't mind it that much.
Ino put the half-burned-out cigarette in her lips and inhaled. But being an inexperience smoker, she choked on the smoke as her lungs rebelled. She put out the flame and opened the third packet – the blue one. Blue like the sky.
When she was fourteen, she learned to tolerate Asuma's smoking habits.
Ino used to whine about Asuma's smoking habits everyday. Asuma merely smiled and put out his cigarette at best or ignored her at worst. But he never quit smoking. She couldn't make him want to. No one could. And it seemed like no one else had ever bothered except her. Her teammates couldn't be bothered - Shikamaru would say it was too troublesome and Chouji had no comment about it.
"That thing will kill you one day, sensei," Ino chided – but there was no real anger in her voice. She already knew he knew but she said it anyway.
Asuma took another puff of his cigarette and replied nonchalantly, "That is if I live long enough for it to kill me."
"Yeah, you're probably right. It'll probably kill us before it kills you."
She hadn't remembered who started it first, but somewhere in the middle, they both burst into laughter. And from that point on, Ino thought it wasn't so bad after all. That was the day that she decided that she could tolerate it for him. After that day, Ino had never brought the subject up again.
She was hesitant for a while before her hand reached for the fourth packet of cigarettes. Its casing was red. Red like her love.
When she was fifteen, she made her confession to Asuma.
Ino finally passed the Chunin exam that year. The exam was held in the Hidden Mist Village this time and Asuma had escorted her to the exam. He even took her out to a nice restaurant for dinner on their last night in the village.
Throughout the dinner, they talked about everything and anything, laughing all the while. They had enjoyed each other company so much that they hadn't noticed how much time had passed until the waiter handed them the bill and reminded them gently that they were closing. Then Asuma walked her back to the inn.
On their way back, her heart pounded rapidly when their hands brushed occasionally as they walked side by side. How she wished that the walk would never end and they could walk on like that forever. But eventually everyone had to say goodbye, no matter how reluctant they were.
"Thank you, sensei. I have a great night tonight."
"Me too. Good night, Ino."
With that, he turned, preparing to leave.
"Asuma!"
Asuma paused in his track when he heard her call out his name. That was the first time she hadn't used the suffix 'sensei' after his name. Standing right in front of him, she suddenly realized how tall he stood.
It's now or never. She thought.
Somehow the knowledge that they were in foreign land gave her a new sense of freedom. With that she finally mustered her courage and confessed.
"I like you, sensei."
Then she lifted her heels off from the ground and closed in their height difference as she pressed her lips against his chastely. Then she pulled away.
"Ino, I'm sorry. I can't-"
"I know, sensei. I know."
Just like that. Ino knew instinctively that her first love had ended before it started. And it hurt.
Ino didn't notice that the cigarette was burning down until it burned her fingers. She dropped it as a reflex and stared at the reddish burn mark on her fingers for a long time. Then she reached for the last packet of cigarettes. Its casing was black. Black like his death.
When she was sixteen, she attended Asuma's funeral.
In the end, Asuma was right after all. He hadn't live long enough for lung cancer to kill him. And she hated him for that.
They said he went down fighting in a mission. They managed to bring his body back to the village, but no one was allowed to see it. Before long, his name was carved on the black monument along with other heroes.
"Sensei, I know how pathetic this sounds, but please don't go on this mission. There'll always be other missions you can go on."
"Now, now. The Ino I know doesn't let trivial things like bad dreams get to her."
"Don't joke about this."
Asuma sighed.
"Ino, both you and I know a Hokage's order won't be dismissed simply because you've had a bad dream about it. Stop worrying so much and you'll be fine. I'll be fine."
"Promise me that you'll come back alive."
"Promise."
"Liar!" Ino screamed out loud on the day she heard the news.
"Liar-liar-liar…" Her broken voice echoed hollowly in the valley.
And then she buried her face in her hands to cry.
Soon the fifth cigarette had burned out too.
So was her love.
All that was left behind was ashes and five cigarette butts.
A/N: Well, I guess it doesn't matter whether she had figured out which brand of cigarettes that Asuma used to smoke. Because in the end, it hardly mattered now that he was gone and nothing she did could bring him back. I hope more people will write on this pairing. Any comments or constructive criticism are welcomed.