running
Asuma

"Asuma-sensei."

"Yes, Ino?"

"I hate you."

I gave her my sweetest smile. "Thanks, Ino."

It was 6 a.m. Yes, I know. I said six in the morning. There's only one thing that will get Sarutobi Asuma up and out of the sack at 6 a.m.

"Okay, guys, you've stretched enough. Ten laps around the village!" I announced, with gusto.

Endurance training. It's a beautiful thing.

It was a gorgeous spring day, and the trees of Konoha were thick with fresh green leaves. The sky was overcast, the wind was low. At this hour a slight fog still clung to the earth. The air was dewy and sweet and it felt good to breathe it in. It's good running weather.

Sprinting is no problem for my team. Just like any shinobi, they can fly through the trees at high speed like lightning. Ino is very quick, but she never paces herself. She's usually winded after only the first big push, and then she gets cranky. Chouji is probably the slowest of the three, but he lasts longer than Ino as far as stamina. Shikamaru is fast when he wants to be. I'm still not quite sure what his top speed is, because I'm sure that he never goes harder than he absolutely needs to. I was the same way, when I was his age. It's not until you're in a real life-or-death situation that you really find out just how fast you can run.

Running fast, though, isn't the only important thing that will save your life. You've got to be able to last over a long period of time. If you can sprint fast and then the enemy catches up with you once you're fatigued, you're in trouble. I've learned that the hard way. After all, I'm a born lazy bum-- speed was never my strong point as a kid. I see that as all the more reason why I should hammer this into them. I never want to look back and not have taught them everything they need to know.

Endurance training is less about running at top speed and more about running at a constant speed. It's cross-country. We start slow and only go as fast as we can run without slowing down or speeding up. This is going to teach the kids how to pace themselves, as individuals and as a team. This is one of their weakest points, cooperation and pacing. I don't want to see Ino tire out, or Chouji be unable to keep up. I don't want to see any of them fail.

The early hour was kind of unusual for them still, but since we'd be doing this twice every week, they'd get used to it eventually. Poor Chouji was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The kid looked like his mother had rolled him right out of bed and into a fleecy red and green sweatsuit. He kind of resembled a little Christmas elf. He yawned and looked around as though just realizing he wasn't in bed anymore. "Huh? What's going on?"

"This is humiliating," Ino complained. "I don't want to be seen like this." She gestured to herself. She was wearing a black track suit, her hair back in a bandanna. Her eyes were puffy from lack of sleep. "I didn't have time to shower or do my hair. And there's this crusty stuff in my eyes. And I'm not even wearing any makeup! "

"Sounds like an improvement if anything," Shikamaru grumbled, scratching himself. "Makeup is stupid anyway." Shikamaru had on his normal clothes, plus a grubby sweatshirt that looked like he had last worn it while painting something around the house. It seemed to be rather itchy, too, as he kept having to scratch. Maybe he should have washed it first.

"Shut it, Pineapple Head," was all Ino could think of to say. It was still early though. I figured her mouth would take time to warm up.

Shikamaru scratched and grumbled something like, "...rather be a pineapple head than an AIR head..."

Chouji yawned, but his sleepy eyes were still closed. "Who? Huh?"

"Ready?" I asked, pointedly. I need to get myself a cattle prod.

"Why do we have to do this?" Ino asked. "I hate distance running."

"Maybe that's why." I shrugged.

"I used to think you were cool," Shikamaru muttered, reproachfully. He scratched his neck and shook his head, disappointed.

Chouji had dozed off and woken up again. "What's going on?"

"Asuma-sensei," Ino began, "Is making us run while he sits around and smokes."

"Don't forget, 'and reads the paper'," I added, holding up the newspaper in my hand. The scowl on Ino's face in response to this was priceless. I only wished I had a camera.

Shikamaru scratched.

"Oh yeah," Chouji murmured. He wiped his face with his scarf. "When's breakfast?"

I patted him on the shoulder. "All-you-can-eat pancakes, Chouji, after you run. Go."

Chouji was immediately fully awake and alert. "RIGHT! Let's go!" He suddenly was fired up enough to be on Team Gai.

"Ugh," Ino wrinkled her nose at me. "Why are you trying to bribe him with food?"

"Who cares? It works," I pointed out. "Now get moving."

They sighed and whined, but finally they started off. As they jogged away, I heard Ino complain, "It's not fair of him to make us do stuff he can't do!"

"Oh no?" I asked, behind her in an instant.

Ino shrieked, eyes terrified. "What the--? Where did you come from?"

"I thought you knew all about everything I can and can't do," I grinned, running past them.

"Holy moly," I heard Chouji say.

"Son of a--" Shikamaru began.

"Hey guys?" I called back over my shoulder. "Come on, you're lagging behind..."

And then we were running-- together. It felt great. The coolness of the air in my lungs was perfect. I took deep breaths, enjoying how clean it all felt. The leaves and grass had a satisfying spring underfoot. It had been a while since I'd gotten to do this.

I could hear the kids behind me, their steps already becoming irregular. "Come on, team-- keep it up."

"He's too fast," Ino growled to Shikamaru. "How does he haul that fat ass around like that?"

"Ino, this is nothing but muscle," I chuckled.

"Oh SHUT UP." Ino huffed. "We've seen how you eat."

I laughed. Shikamaru scratched. Chouji panted for air.

"Hey, look, you guys," I called out, slowing the pace a little. "It's Genma." Sure enough, Shiranui Genma was beside the path we were running on.

"Oh my god," Ino wailed, bemoaning her un-makeupped state. "Not Genma! He's so fine!" At this Shikamaru made a rather rude noise, something inbetween a cough and a snort. Then he scratched.

"He's what?" I asked, teasingly, as if I didn't know. Seems like half the girls in Konoha are hot for Genma.

"Ohpleasedon'tlethimseemelikethis!" Ino tried to cover her face, but it was too late.Genma waved casually. "Hey, Asuma," he drawled, toothpick waving. "Working your kids, huh?"

"Yup. Ino wants to say hi."

Genma chuckled and gave Ino a little grin, amused. "Well, hello there."

Ino's face was so red I thought her head would pop. As soon as we turned a corner and were out of Genma's earshot she began threatening me with gory death.

"Can we stop now?" Shikamaru groaned, itching. "This sucks!"

I nodded. "Sure, you can stop. Your mom said to send you straight home after."

I heard him grunt. "Geh. Never mind..."

Up ahead, I spotted a familiar head of chestnut brown hair. "Team 10!" I called out, "Kurenai-sensei coming up on the right... give her a nice greeting."

"Grr," I heard from Shikamaru.

"Let me rephrase. Give her a nice greeting, or we do this again tomorrow morning."

Kurenai was sitting under a tree, in the morning mist. She looked a little distant-- maybe she was still tired. She doesn't exactly seem like a morning person. I only saw her for just a moment, but I still remember it clearly. I think she had been meditating, or thinking about something. Her expression was so intense, collected. I wondered what she was thinking about, and why she was up so early.

"Good Morning, Kurenai-sensei," Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru chorused, like little angels. It shook me out of whatever I was thinking. I laughed, and hard. I saw her face flush, and she stared after us, incredulous. I looked back at her over my shoulder as we ran away from her. She was still staring as we rounded the corner, out of sight.

When we had finished that first lap, I walked over to the bench where I had left my stuff. The kids stopped too. "What do you guys think you're doing?" I asked, dryly. I flicked out a cigarette. "That was only one lap. You've got nine more to go."

"This sucks!" Shikamaru spat.

"I'm hungry," Chouji said softly, with pitiful little tears in his eyes.

"Finish your laps and we'll eat," I promised, sprawling out on the bench.

"But that's not fair," Ino whined. "You're just sitting there!"

"I," I reminded her, "am not the one who is taking Chuunin exams in a few months." Ino looked down at her toes, putting on her saddest, most pathetic pout. "Not working on me," I said, tone flat. I'm teacher, not Daddy. "Get moving or we do this again tomorrow."

Ino scowled at me. "I hate you."

"Bye," I waved, pointedly. "Remember to pace yourselves."

The kids were off, scratching and whining and complaining all the way. I lay back and breathed deeply. I still felt a little out of breath. I must getting old. But hey-- what's the fun in being an instructor if you don't get to show off that you can still haul ass every now and then? And besides, it's a lot less effort to run one lap than it is to put up with their complaining.

Why do they complain so much? All they do is whine. Trash talking, gluttonous, lazy kids. I sighed. They could be so great, you know. Their fathers are amazing shinobi, why aren't they the same? Why do they act this way? If only they had some more self-motivat--

Erm. Hold on. I realized I'm sounding rather like a few of my own teachers I can remember. Does this mean I'm wrong in my thinking and I should be more understanding towards them? Or that I was wrong back then and I should be thankful to my teachers who said those things to me even though I hated hearing them?

I sighed again. This was a true conundrum-- one which would require a lot of thought. So I put it off for later and took a nap.

Ino had lapped the boys by her third pass. I stopped them. "Hold up. Lap three is done, and Ino's way ahead of you, Shikamaru and Chouji."

Ino smiled smugly, hands on her hips. Shikamaru scratched his chest. Chouji sighed, probably thinking about breakfast.

"This time," I continued, "You three have to stay together."

"No fair," Ino groused. "I want to finish this and go home!"

"The point is to learn to work as a team, Ino," I admonished her.

She heaved a weighty sigh. "UGH! Fine..." Then she turned, hand on her hip. "All right you two! Get it in gear! I haven't got all day you know..."

Shikamaru glared daggers at me. Kunai and needles too. "THANKS."

I smiled encouragingly. She's not being fair, but they've got to figure out their own way of dealing with it if they want to be a team. If I break it up all the time, they'll never be able to last on their own without a referee.

"Come ON!"

"This sucks!"

"Me... so hungry..."

By lap five Ino had lost her patience, of course, and decided to ditch the boys. I stopped them again. I had expected this, though. That was why I came prepared.

"Oh god," Chouji looked like he was about to cry. "You're kidding."

"Nope." I stood back and admired my work. Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji were now tied together by the ankles, the way they would be if they were in a three-legged race. Well, four-legged race, since there were three of them.

"My hate for you is unspeakable," Ino breathed. She was now living her worst nightmare, tied in the middle.

"Ino, dear," I said, kindly, "You can either spend your energy hating me, or you can try to learn from me."

"There is NOTHING to learn from this other than I have two slow, lazy teammates! And don't you DARE call me DEAR!" Ino cried, her voice rising with every word. Chouji was cringing away from her, frightened by her wrath.

"I hear Sasuke-kun doesn't like a quitter," I smirked.

"You are so dead," Ino seethed. "That was not funny."

Shikamaru was looking slightly amused at that last crack. He scratched. "Ino, just shut up and let's do this."

"MUTINY!" Ino cried. "Backstabber!"

Chouji whined. "Hungryyy!"

"Quit screaming," Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his ears. "I just want to get it over with. Come on, let's go."

"Have fun, guys," I waved, lighting up a new cigarette. I leaned back against the bench and sighed.

"That's more like you," I heard a soft voice say. I looked up. There was Kurenai, walking towards me. She gave me a nod in greeting. "Asuma."

"Kurenai," I answered, straightening as she approached. She strode slowly over and perched on the bench beside me. "Hey."

Silence.

"So..." I ventured. "What's up?"

She smirked, looking off into the distance. "Nothing."

She was so close. I tried to fix my hair a little. It was still kind of matted to my head from sleeping last night. I had gotten up without showering and now I was regretting it.

"What were you doing, earlier?" she asked, all of a sudden.

"Running," I replied, hoping it was the right answer. "Not for speed, for distance. The kids... they need to work on endurance."

She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "You were running," she said.

"Yeah." I scratched the back of my neck ruefully. "Ino was saying she didn't think I could."

"I see." Kurenai's lips curved just so, in a manner that suggested she found this amusing.

"What?" I asked, exhaling. That face made me feel kind of uneasy. Conversation with her is so tough sometimes. She doesn't offer much of a reaction to go with, keeps her answers so short. Sometimes trying to talk to her can be downright stressful.

She leaned her back against the backrest of the bench, but she didn't fall into a slouch. She never does. The lines of her neck are always erect, graceful. Kind of like a dancer. "You're faster than you look."

"Thanks. I think." What was that supposed to mean? I looked away and took a deep drag of my cigarette.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," she said, somberly. Her eyes softened a bit, her gaze trailed from her hands to mine, and then slowly up to the top of my head. I felt huge and clumsy all of a sudden, feeling the difference in our size. "It's not bad," she murmured, as if in response to my thoughts. "You really are fast."

I smiled, trying to play down any embarrassment I was feeling at the moment. "That's my job."

"You know what I mean," she said, her eyes dark.

I forced a chuckle. I guessed this was her way of giving compliments. "Thanks, Kurenai."

She was kind of watching me in an odd way, deep red eyes focused and intent. It made me feel a little self-conscious. Probably she was expecting the inevitable heart attack induced by me trying to run. I decided to distract her from my impending demise for a bit. "What're you doing today?"

Kurenai sighed, running her fingers through her thick hair. "Meeting with my team pretty soon, then we have a mission to take care of. Just a quick one. After that Hinata usually stays after to train, so--"

"Hinata does?" I asked, surprised.

She nodded and crossed one leg over the other. "Hinata has been staying late to work on her taijutsu lately."

"That's good," I agreed. It would probably do the timid girl a lot of good to be around a confident woman like Kurenai. "Don't let her get too tired, though, setbacks might be discouraging."

"I know," she said, with an edge that said she didn't need me to tell her that. Her expression went unreadable again. "Well. I'm going."

"Okay," I waved. "See you, maybe later."

She looked back at me, her fiery eyes somber. "All right."

Days went by. The weather was getting warmer as April melted into May. Team 10 and I ran together two or three times a week. Each time they got a little better. Shikamaru washed his sweatshirt for our next run, and Ino got up a bit earlier for primping.

"Kurenai-sensei, up ahead--"

"Hi, Kurenai-sensei!"

The kids were becoming stronger. I didn't have to tell them so. They felt it.

"Team! Kurenai-sensei, at ten o' clock!"

"Morning, Kurenai-sensei!"

Soon Chouji wasn't out of breath, and Ino didn't need to be ordered to keep pace with her teammates. It wasn't a chore now. It was more like a game.

"Team 10! Kurenai-sensei! Salute!"

"GOOD MORNING KURENAI-SENSEI!"

Evenings went by. I would see Kurenai at her training ground, or sometimes she would happen by the head office at the same time I did. Sometimes we'd talk, most times we didn't. Either way was fine by me. It was still nice. It feels different to be with her. Like-- like being more awake than I was before.

"Asuma."

"Kurenai."

I'd walk her home if I could. It was dark now in the evenings. Of course it was just a formality-- right? I mean, I don't have to worry about her. She's a jounin. She's fine on her own, I'm sure... but...

"Would you like to come in?"

For some reason, or another, one night she asked me to stay for coffee. That became a habit too. She makes good coffee.

Sometimes I want to say more, or ask more, but I know she doesn't want me to. That's okay.

"Long day?"

I think some people are cat people and some are dog people.

When I was a kid my dad used to have a dog. It was the gentlest dog you'd ever seen. He was an old dog, and he had wise eyes. Sometimes I'd get upset and run outside and cry like a little brat. And here would come that dog. He'd just sit with you, and look at you, and you'd know he understood. My brother never really got that-- he said the dog was waiting for a snack. But I knew. I knew he listened. He loved his family, you know? He loved you without fail as soon as he sensed you were a kindred soul.

When I was a kid we used to have cats, too. My mom had a thing for cats. The thing with cats is, they aren't like dogs. A cat-- a cat has to learn you first. Once a cat knows enough... learns your voice, your smell, your mannerisms, then the cat might let you get close. After that.. who knows. Sometimes they'll love you. Sometimes they'll just walk away. Sometimes you get a faceful of claws. I usually got the faceful of claws.

Yes, I think some people are cat people and some others are dog people. I think Kurenai is the type of person who needs time. I admire that about her, though. I like that she sits back and observes before she acts. I like that she doesn't throw herself around at others. She doesn't need anyone's attention. She just holds mine without effort...

"Well. I guess I had better go."

Eventually after my coffee is done, the room starts to seem smaller and darker than before. Without the coffee to concentrate on, I find my eyes trailing to her hands, her hair, her lips. That's when it's time to go. I cut things short and excuse myself politely. I'm sure she's relieved when I go, anyway. She seems to enjoy her peace and quiet.

Tonight, though, I thought I saw her watching me go from her window. Her eyes were empty, her lips pressed together in an expression I don't believe I've ever seen before on that pale face. She looked... unsure. Seeing her face that way, when it's usually so calm and collected-- I wasn't sure what to do. What did it mean? I wanted to go back and find out, but I'm afraid of the claws.

As time goes on, if we keep at something, we grow gradually in ways we don't always see at first. If we keep going at it, after a lapse of time, we can look back and see how much we've grown. By the end of the month, Team 10 had cut their time in running those ten laps around the village nearly in half, and they could stay together doing it. By the end of the month, I felt like I was getting closer to Kurenai than I was to anyone else. Sure, I'm pretty solitary to begin with, and sure, it was easy to see that that sentiment was one-sided, but still.

She's really, really different from any other person I know. I've never really thought much about women before-- they've always seemed like too much trouble-- but, there's something about her that I find compelling. I want to know her better. She's quiet and thoughtful and I'm interested to know more about how she thinks. Other women tease and giggle and flirt and hint. I hate being prodded into doing things. I like going at my own pace.

Darkness falls around the village and all of the lights in the windows are going out. It's quiet now, except for the bark of a neighbor's dog, and the cricket song. In my dreams tonight I am running...

Not alone...

We are running together and trying to match pace...

Slow and quiet through the trees.