a welcome sound
Kurenai


It was a chilly spring day. I was sitting under a tree reading up on Team 8's next mission, armed with a thermos of hot coffee to keep the cold away. It had been raining all week, soggy, chilling rain. This morning, though, the day had dawned clear and sharp, and we got to take on a new mission.

It was a simple enough task, or so I had thought. A huge old oak tree had fallen, blocking a creek on the east side of town. The creek was now flooding and the tree needed to be moved. Then we were supposed to bring the tree to town, where it could be chopped up and used for firewood. I had thought that this could be a good lesson in teamwork.

"OW! What the...!"

Boy, was I wrong.

I don't like interfering with them too much. I like to stand back and observe, generally. I figure they can find a way to work it out themselves, for the most part-- and when they do, they will have a greater sense of accomplishment. It's gone a little too far for today, though. I got up and passed through the trees to assess the damage.

I could already feel the negative tension in the air. Shino was at the front of the tree. His back was to me. Even though I couldn't see his expression, he was giving of an air of exasperation. His shoulders were held up, very tense and stressed, and even his hair seemed to be standing on end. A few of his kikai bugs were swirling about him. That was the sign of major agitation. You see bugs, you back off. When Shino gets particularly aggravated, the bugs in his body respond and become restless. The fact that he had actually let them out meant that this was just about to get very ugly.

Kiba was at the back, up to his knees in thick mud and water. He seemed to be trying to shove the sinking tree forward onto the cart with just his brute strength. His breath was coming hard, almost like growling. His nails were sharp and out, signifying his frustration. His face dripped sweat. I could see that he had been doing most of the work. I had been listening to his barked orders, though, and I knew that this was all his own fault. Kiba's dog Akamaru was running around underfoot, unsure what was the right thing to do in the situation.

Hinata was standing between the two boys, looking ashamed. In the middle of the tree, there was nothing for her to get a good grip on. Her posture was defensive, curled shoulders, pigeon-toed feet. As though hoping no one would notice, she reached out and held onto a small branch.

Kiba collected his strength, and without warning the others, gave a mighty shove. Shino moved with the tree, but Hinata was too slow and stumbled. She took a bad step backward and stepped on Akamaru's tail, making him yelp.

"I'm sorry, Akamaru!" she cried.

Kiba grabbed his dog by the collar and pushed him away. "STAY!" he shrieked, hoarse. Hinata began to apologize, but he cut her off.

"Dammit, Hinata!" Kiba's voice cracked. His exhaustion was coming through. "Just stay out of the way so you won't get hurt!" He shoved her away from the fallen tree, more roughly than he had probably meant to. Kiba's body is growing fast, and his strength is often too much for him. Hinata lost her balance, probably because she was shutting down in the face of conflict. She fell to the ground with a small cry.

Shino was on Kiba in an instant, like a swarm of bees. He didn't yell anything or throw crazy punches like a normal boy would. He seized Kiba and held him down to the ground. His fingers dug deep into the other boy's jacket. An angry humming was audible, but I could not tell if it was Shino's bugs ready to kill, or the boy's own voice.

"Stop it!" Hinata cried, horrified. "Stop!"

Shino and Kiba heard her but didn't move. They stayed on the ground, Shino with Kiba in his death grip. Both were poised and just waiting for the other to move.

It was time for me to intervene. "Get up, you two," I growled. "Now."

Shino picked himself up off of Kiba, his gaze not leaving the dog boy. Kiba crawled to his feet and didn't bother to dust himself off. He wouldn't look up at any of us. Akamaru curled his tail between his legs and gave a piteous whine.

I rubbed my temples with one hand. "Kiba." I began, mentally counting to ten.

He almost seemed to be pouting. "I'm really sorry, Hinata. I didn't mean to!"

Hinata had gotten to her feet. The expression on her face was ridden with guilt. "No, no, it's all right... I mean, y-you told me to stay out of the way already, and s-so..."

"Hinata," I said, sternly. "Come here."

Hinata stepped forward. She looked up at me fearfully, trembling. "Y-yes." She seemed to be fighting her knees not to buckle underneath her. She was obviously feeling the weight of all of our eyes on her small frame. Hinata hates being put on the spot. Hinata hates being looked at by others. I think sometimes that Hinata hates herself.

Shino was standing there watching like a stone statue. His jacket was covering his face and his glasses were hiding his eyes, but I could feel his glare on me. It was disturbing that he seemed to be expecting me to hurt Hinata. I've heard people say it before: trust doesn't come easily from an Aburame. I suppose I had been hoping that we'd spent enough time together so far to know each other. Apparently not.

Kiba was glaring now, because he is always impatient to get back to the task at hand. He is very one-track-- changing the subject at hand annoys him immensely. He was twitching, upset because he doesn't have any control over the situation. Kiba's psychology demands that he is in charge. His quick mind craves to move on to the next task at hand. If no one else will get it done faster, he'll take over and figure out a way.

I'm amused at the way they are: I have one kid who covers up all of his emotions, another who wears it all right on his face, and a third who probably feels guilty for having those emotions in the first place. Then, there's me. I'm not much better off than any of them. We really need some help.

Inwardly sighing, I stepped over to the nearby trees. One good whack from a knife, and I had a sturdy branch. I sliced the smaller branches away from the main thick stem, and then I had in my hands a pole, about four feet long.

"Hinata," I said, firmly. "Stand here."

She complied. I put her little hands on the branch. There were so many things I wanted to tell her, right then. Seeing her, in these kind of moments-- it's like being able to look back and see myself at twelve.

Taking the branch and Hinata's hands in my own, I thrust the pole underneath the fallen tree. "Hinata, I want you to concentrate your chakra into your arms," I directed. "Make sure you bend your knees, not your back. When I tell you to, pull."

She nodded. Kiba started to protest, but I ignored him. "Now."

We pushed on the lever pole with all our might and chakra. The tree flipped up into the air, flinging mud and water. I pushed and it began to tip the other way, away from the creek. Kiba scooted out of its shadow, amazed, as the broken tree fell down onto the waiting cart.

"Holy shit," Kiba murmured, amazed. Akamaru yipped his agreement.

I tossed the pole onto the cart and went off to pick up my things. "Get your stuff," I commanded, without turning. "Let's go."

We trooped back towards the village slowly, with our huge prize in tow. Kiba and I pushed the cart from behind, while Shino and Hinata pulled it along in the front with ropes. Akamaru trotted along proudly, his chest out and his head held high. The small dog seemed to be under the impression that he was somehow responsible for the whole affair.

Up ahead, we could hear someone calling out. Team 10 was crossing back across the fields, ahead of us. When they saw the cart and the tree coming, the kids scrambled off the path and out of the way.

"Whoa," Akimichi Chouji gaped, chip crumbs tumbling from his mouth. "That's a big tree."

Nara Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets and regarded us with only mild annoyance. Yamanaka Ino turned, yelling, "Sensei! It's not fair! How come we had to pick up trash! We should get to do cool missions like they get to!"

Asuma was approaching from the direction of their training fields, taking his time. "They picked up trash earlier this week," was his simple answer.

Ino turned to us for confirmation of her teacher's statement. The kids and I nodded, it was true. The blonde seemed satisfied with this information. If we had to pick up trash as well, then perhaps there was still hope for her team. Maybe they'd get to spend a day fighting over a tree, too.

Asuma reached the place where we stood. He nodded to me. "Kurenai."

I returned the greeting. "Asuma."

"That's some tree you've got there," he remarked, rubbing his chin. He glanced at Shino, Hinata, and Kiba, in turn. "You kids look beat."

"It's been a long day," I informed him.

His eyes twinkled with amusement. "I see." He turned to his team. "All right, Team 10..."

"No," groaned Shikamaru. "Come on, don't make us..."

"Help," Asuma finished, with unmistakable finality.

The boys looked disappointed. They began to protest. "But--"

"I never said we were done for the day," Asuma smirked. "Get to it."

"This is all YOUR fault," Shikamaru grumbled to Ino.

"Shikamaru, shut up. Quit being so rude." Ino gave her sour-faced teammate a sharp kick in the shin. Then she sidled up to Shino, ready to help. She flashed him a coquettish smile. "Hellooo!"

Shino didn't say a thing, but a lone kikai bug flew out and circled around his head. At this, Ino seemed to quickly lose all interest. She snatched up the rope and faced front, turning her back to the bug boy. "Well! Let's get this thing rolling here, shall we?"

Kiba jumped up onto the cart, pointing down at her. "Hey! I'm the leader here! I'll give the orders!"

"What?" Ino squawked. "Chouji, get him." When Chouji didn't move as ordered, she stomped her foot. "CHOU-JIII!"

The kids squabbled in the background. Asuma came over and stood beside me. He smelled like smoke and pine trees. "Long day, huh?"

I nodded and rubbed my forehead. A headache was definitely coming on. I get headaches pretty often... whenever the weather changes, whenever my head gets cold at night, and whenever I have to step in and break up an argument.

"You look pretty tired," he observed, not unkindly.

"I'm fine." I straightened my shoulders. "Nothing I can't handle."

He smiled, puffing on his smoke. "Good to hear."

"One, two, three!" Ino called out, in a bright voice.

"GO!" Kiba shouted, and the six kids start to move. Chouji and Kiba pushed from behind, while Shikamaru and Hinata pulled one rope, and Shino and Ino the other. The cart creaked and then started rolling along at a fairly brisk clip.

Kiba jumped, excited. "Yahoo!" Akamaru, riding atop the tree, howled joyfully.

"Shouldn't we go along?" I asked Asuma, at length.

"Nah," he said, watching them go. "They'll manage without us."

"I'm not sure my team can get it there without killing each other," I admitted darkly, remembering today's events.

"Well," Asuma said, folding his hands behind his head and walking away, "Maybe they'll do me a favor and kill mine off, too."

I smirked. "Good plan. No evidence."

"My thoughts exactly." He rubbed his neck. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

I nodded, falling into step with his leisurely pace. We headed out across the fields, taking the long way around Konoha. In a few moments the voices of the teenagers had faded away.

"Now that," he said, quietly, "is a welcome sound."

I looked around. "I don't hear anything," I said. "Just the wind."

He grinned. "Yep."

"Oh." I got it and then felt rather stupid. The wind whistled around us, flirting with my hair and twisting the smoke from Asuma's cigarette around in wisps. The grasses moved and swayed with the evening breeze. I gazed off into the horizon. The sky and earth seemed to continue on forever. It made me feel rather small in comparison. Walking beside Asuma didn't help that feeling much, of course-- he practically towered over me. I looked over at him, envious of his extra height.

He sighed, looking towards the setting sun. "So... kids drive you nuts today?"

"Shino just about set his bugs on Kiba," I reported, flatly.

"Whoa." Asuma looked concerned. "He's usually so calm, though. What happened?"

I told him about the tree and Kiba accidentally shoving Hinata. I didn't know why I was telling him. I didn't want him to criticize me, or worse yet, tell me how to do my job. I just felt like telling him.

"I see," he nodded, scratching his head. "I see. Well, that makes more sense." A tiny smile played about his lips.

"How is it funny?" I scowled. Was he laughing at me? Is this something he expected of me? Is it funny if I have trouble?

Asuma shook his head. "Just... remembering something."

"What," I demanded.

He took a lazy drag of his cigarette, with a faraway sort of expression. "Once, when I was a kid? Me and my brother... we found a big beehive, in the woods. And for some stupid reason, instead of just admiring it, we decided to knock it down by throwing rocks at it."

I thought to myself that Asuma must have been pretty stupid as a kid. I'm glad he wasn't on my team.

"I ended up in the hospital. My face was swollen for weeks!" he laughed, then he let out a deep smoky breath. "Bees will do anything to protect the queen."

This statement had me lost in thought for quite a while.

"Shino's so strange," I murmured. "I'm never sure what he's thinking."

Asuma nodded, with a slow half-smile. "I know some people like that."

I looked at him sideways. "What do you mean by that?"

"Kidding! Just kidding," he chuckled. I was not sure what to think. Was he joking with me?

"How was your day?" I ask, pointedly.

"Oh, man," he shook his head ruefully, running his fingers through his hair. "Oh, man. Right from the start, we meet up, and Shikamaru seems... well, something's bothering him. And he won't talk about it. So Ino gets mad at him. So then he really doesn't want to talk about it. So she gets madder because he won't talk. Then they start fighting about it. So Chouji tries to stop them. Then Ino goes for Chouji. Then Shikamaru gets mad at her, in Chouji's defense. So then she gets mad at him again and..." He sighed heavily. "It goes on forever, some days. They never stop."

I blinked. I had no idea Asuma's team was so difficult. Now I felt lucky-- even when you count dealing with fleas, roaches, and Hyugas.

"Only way to deal with it is to tire them out," he told me. "That's my secret. See, there's a certain place, when they're all equally tired... they'll forget about the outside little petty things, and come together. And that," he said, with a smile, "that is when those kids are the most amazing three kids I've ever worked with."

Mine are better, I thought automatically.

He grinned as though he could hear me. "Chuunin exams are coming eventually."

"Yes, they are." And my kids will be ready.

We reached my doorstep much too soon. Asuma nodded as though he were going to leave. "Goodnight," I heard him say, but then he paused, not moving away when he usually would have. The pause threw me off completely.

"Thanks," I said, but it didn't sound right in my ears. I began to worry. A funny feeling was starting somewhere in my chest, a feeling I couldn't remember having had for years. It was almost like... I wasn't really ready to be alone again yet. Me. Why was that? Usually I can't wait to get away from other people, but this wasn't so bad. I felt at ease. Asuma was making me feel kind of calm. I guess... I guess I didn't mind him so much. Maybe I was even kind of curious about him.

So... wasn't there something else I was could ask or say? I felt like there was more but I couldn't think of exactly what. What do adults do in these kind of situations?

"D-do you want to come in for a cup of coffee?" I blurted out, before I could change my mind. It sounded so cliché. I just about kicked myself the minute it was out of my mouth. I am so smooth.

Asuma blinked, and blinked again, surprised. I bit my lip, not sure what to hope for.

His features softened, his eyes lit up with a warm smile.

"I'd really like that."