Title: After
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: None. Asuma-centric.
Rating: PG.
Word Count: 266
Summary/Description: Death is loud in his ears. He wonders what comes after.
Warning/Spoilers: No warnings. Spoilers for Chapter 328.
A/N: Yeah. So I'm in the process of catching up with the Naruto manga. I just read Chapter 328. I knew what was going to happen, but that didn't make it any less horrible. I feel like vomiting. Anyway, I wrote this for comfort. It didn't make me feel any better.
Disclaimer: I don't own blasted Naruto.
Death is loud in his ears.
"I just want one last smoke…"
He ends on a wheeze, but manages to make himself understood. It is the sweetest relief, as Shikamaru places the cigarette between his lips, and he takes as long of a drag as his lungs will allow him. It hurts to breathe, to blink, to simply be alive. It hurts, but he has done all that he can. It is his time. He knows that it is his time.
Blood from his mouth seeps through the filter, but he still manages to drag, feeling the nicotine enter his system. It is not bliss enough to counteract the colossal hurt that it is to see his three students looming above him, tears in their eyes. Even though he is glad that they could be here, to hear his last words, it still pains him to see their faces contorted with grief. Especially Shikamaru. He cannot manage any more words, but silently, he wills the shadow user not to blame himself. They are young. They have futures. There is no place for regret in the heart of a shinobi.
The blood fills up in his mouth, and he knows that soon it will have no choice but to go back down. The cigarette is useless to him by now; he does not have the strength to pull at it any longer. No one makes a move to take it from his mouth. He feels very, very faint.
Death is loud in his ears, and he does not try to ignore it. He wonders what comes after.
A/N: I'm still fucking crying.