Teachers and their Pets

Chapter 27

"Does Kurenai know?"

Shikamaru and Asuma stood side by side upon the training field, both of them peering up at the sky. Ino and Choji had left around an hour ago, Ino claiming she felt like she was going to vomit and Choji rushing after her, saying he'd look after her. The farewell Asuma and Ino had bid each other had been awkward, despite Shikamaru and Choji doing their best to look away. Now, Asuma looked side long at his friend and former student, a slightly stunned smile on his face.

"You're a hell of a lot more perceptive than people give you credit for," he commented.

Shikamaru's reply was a half-smile and slight snort, leaving his question out in the open for his former Sensei to answer, should he wish to.

Asuma brought his gaze back skyward, his russet coloured eyes fixed upon the clouds drifting lazily by. "In answer to your question, yes, she knows," the man flicked a look to Kurenai. "She found out through Ino a while back, but had the decency to not say anything to anyone else."

Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked to the ground. "Have you spoken to her?"

Asuma let out a low sigh. "Not yet," he admitted. "I know I need to though…it's just building up the courage."

"Asuma Sarutobi, can take on any number of S-Rank criminals, but put him up against a woman and he'll quiver in his boots," the smirk on Shikamaru's lips was sly as he looked to his friend. "I think that says a lot."

"I know, I know, I'm a coward." Asuma kicked at some grass as Shikamaru shook his head.

"I was thinking it said a lot about women."

Now it was Asuma's turn to shake his head, letting out a bark of laughter as he did so.

Meanwhile

"So…you're leaving the day after tomorrow…right?"

At the tone in her voice, Kakashi looked up to see Sakura dithering by the couch, her arms clutched to her chest and a tragic look in her eyes. It was going to be strange not seeing her while he was away. Kakashi wasn't the type to get homesick, but he had a sinking feeling he was going to be feeling a lot more melancholy on his downtimes during the upcoming mission…and that was all Sakura's fault. He reached out a hand and grabbed her wrist, pulling her so that she fell on top of him. In the earlier days, when their relationship was just budding, the girl would have probably gasped and went bright pink, now she just let out a wistful sigh and stared into his available eye, her hair falling forwards and tickling his cheeks.

"I am." Kakashi agreed, looping his fingers with hers and shifting slightly so that she could tuck in next to him on the sofa.

Sakura tucked her head under his chin and let out another sigh, louder than the first. "I don't want you to go." She whispered quietly.

"We're ninjas Sakura; we're both going to be going on a lot of missions, for the rest of our lives."

Sakura mumbled something incoherent and then looked up at him, her emerald eyes large. "I know, and I know I'm being stupid because you've been doing these types of mission for years and you're used to them, but I've never…never loved you before, and I don't want you to be in trouble or hurt. I never wanted you to be in trouble or hurt, obviously, but now…when I think of the idea of you coming in harm's way…" she shook her head, her locks falling in front of her eyes. "It breaks my heart a little bit, even just the thought of you-"

The girl went silent when Kakashi reached up and caught her jaw in his hand. "I'm not going to die Sakura," he assured, his tone gentle. "I promise."

Of course this wasn't something the man could promise, both he and Sakura knew that, but Sakura was the type of girl to hang onto promises, to believe in them truly and wholly, with all her heart. She glanced down at his other hand, still interwoven with hers. "R…really?"

Kakashi smiled slightly, the corners of his mask lifting up. "Yes."

"If…if you don't," Sakura stuck a finger in the man's face, trying to look fiercesome. "If anything bad happens to you…"

"You'll what…kill me again?" Kakashi raised his eyebrows and supressed a smirk.

"Shut up." The girl retorted.

Kakashi pulled down his mask as she looked away, and then sat up slightly, grabbing her before bringing her in for a light kiss. "Let's both shut up." He whispered before pressing his lips against her neck.

Later

He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be here. He should leave. Surely? Was there really a need to talk? Kurenai was obviously fine with everything wasn't she? Asuma resisted the urge to slap himself on the forehead. Whether he liked or not, whether he lied to himself or not, he did need to speak to Kurenai. He knew that too; why else would he be outside her house, trying to build up his courage to go inside? Kurenai had always been more than just a fuck. They'd had something. There had been potential, there had been feelings, and though that had all now gone away, that didn't stop the fact that Asuma owed her something. The man wasn't one hundred percent sure on what he owed her, but he knew he owed her something…He was dithering again.

Breathing deeply through his nose, the Sarutobi raised his fist up, preparing to knock on the door. Before he had a chance, however, it was promptly ripped open by Kurenai.

"I was wondering whether you were going to be able to build up the nerve." She remarked, her expression amused.

"Kurenai!" Asuma replied, his tone slightly surprised, as if he hadn't expected to see her inside her own house. "I, uh," he looked at his fist, which was still raised in the air, prepared to knock on the now absent wood of her door, and then promptly brought it down, his expression turning sheepish. "Yeah, I, uh, sorry," he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm…bad…at this sort of thing."

A small smile crept onto Kurenai's lips. "I can tell. Would you like to come in?"

"Um, sure," the man moved into the house and Kurenai shut the door after him before slinking past him, making her way to the kitchen. "I won't take up too much of your time. I just feel like we should…talk?" He was begging her confirmation, and let out a slight breath of relief when the woman replied in the affirmative.

"Yes, you're right. We need to clear the air. Would you like some tea?"

Asuma seated himself upon her sofa before responding. "That'd be great, thank you!" He called back. It was weird. In all the times the two Jōnin had been close, Asuma had never once been in Kurenai's house. The decoration was minimal- pretty and well presented, a bit like Kurenai herself really. The woman didn't have to scream to get people's attention. She was a beautiful woman, inside and out.

"Here we are." The Kunoichi in question now entered the room, carrying two cups and a teapot in on a tray. She set the assortment down upon the table in front of Asuma and then seated herself next to him, her face open and kind as she waited for him to begin.

"Thank you," Asuma said, reaching forwards and picking up his cup. He took a quick sip before deciding he just needed to get it over with. Which was why his words were not exactly…concise, when he next spoke. "Ok, so, obviously we two…us two…we need to talk. The situation is odd enough, but then on top of that we've got the whole…past thing going on…and I just wanted to clear the air and, I guess, apologise, because we both sorta just…left it. Nothing was said, no words were exchanged, nothing official declared, and that left me feeling bad Kurenai, because you are special to me, even if it's no longer in the same way."

Kurenai retrieved her mouth from the brim of her tea cup with raised eyebrows. "…wow," she managed after a while. "That was a lot to take in."

Asuma cleared his throat awkwardly and then moved slightly, trying to get comfortable on the couch. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I've found out that I'm not too great at the whole 'emotions' thing."

"You're better than I am." Kurenai replied. It was quick, but Asuma couldn't help but note the slight hint of bitterness in the woman's voice, as if she were jealous of him. However, when he peered at her, his expression concerned, Kurenai's response was to smile hurriedly at him.

"Kurenai?" Asuma moved slightly, turning so he could face the woman properly.

Though he had only said her name, Kurenai's whole form slumped. The grip on her cup loosened and she let out a sigh, her ruby eyes fixated on the back of her sofa.

"You don't need to apologise Asuma, really, for anything. What did we have other than something…nice? That was it though, it was nice, but it wasn't…well it wasn't going to turn into anything," she looked up and tucked some of her wild locks behind her ear. It was a profoundly vulnerable gesture and Asuma felt a slight trickle of sadness, he didn't want her that way, but now he found himself slightly wishing he did, if only to take away the hurt that was now obvious in her eyes. Kurenai chewed at her scarlet bottom lip for a few moments before shrugging, keeping her eyes anywhere but him. She had always been rather shy. "I just think that's…sad. I don't expect anything of you Asuma, in regards to me, I mean. We're done, finished. You don't need to worry about me being hurt by your relationship with Ino. She's a beautiful girl in all manner of ways, and I'm so glad you've found each other,"

Asuma gulped slightly and directed his gaze elsewhere, feeling embarrassed to hear Kurenai's opinions on his girlfriend…for no reason he could really pinpoint.

"I just…maybe I wish it had worked out between us. And, no offense, not because you're you, but because it would be nice to be loved."

"It'll happen." Asuma offered, his tone gentle though he felt a huge surge of embarrassment at his own words. Kurenai didn't need her ex fuck buddy presenting up advice to her.

A smirk slipped onto her lips at his words regardless and she looked up at him. "We'll see." She commented.

The awkwardness had passed. Asuma didn't know how he knew, but he felt it disappear. They were normal again. They were back to how they were before they'd started developing feelings for each other in the first place. The man began thanking God for Kurenai being who she was. Any other person may have perhaps been jealous, angry even, but not Kurenai. She was a sensible, kind, loving woman, and maybe, in another lifetime, Asuma would have been able to love her. She was loveable. She was one of the most loveable people he'd ever met.

Deciding to raise the gloom a little, Asuma sat back and grinned. "I mean, there's always Gai."

"Don't be mean." Kurenai returned, but she couldn't hold her serious expression and soon the pair of them began laughing, their giggles a cacophony of joy and renewed friendship.

I'm trying to go for the long last press for the end. This was originally going to be part of the last chapter, but I decided to split it to make it flow better! The next chapter may be the end, or the chapter after next, I've not decided yet. I apologise for the lateness, but it was due to way too much uni work. Don't go to uni guys. Hope you liked it!