KURENAI
Despite the tickle of concern in the back of her mind, Kurenai is leisurely waiting in her favorite tea shop. It was his idea, which made her suspect, if anything, that he wanted her in a good mood. The question of why he wants her in an amiable mood doesn't fill her with a wonderful feeling.
If she listens to her minor feeling of dread, it tells her clearly, 'he's trying to soften the blow,' which, at times, makes Kurenai hate her psychology training.
She's been working with her genin teamHinata in particularfor a week now and though there hasn't been many setbacks, she hasn't witnessed any progress beyond what one might expect of heirs of great clans. Hinata, herself, barely speaks and when she does it's always clipped and hyper-formal.
Even with the beautiful girl staying in her home, it's hard to get her to open up about much of anything.
The gruff, broad-shouldered Asuma arrives then, expressing minimal remorse in his usual non-cavalier manner. "Sorry I'm late."
The way his large frame casually settles for comfort rather than proper posture makes her smile as she comments, "so long as I don't see you reading a little orange book next time, I think I can forgive you."
He chuckles at the ludicrous insinuation before he orders the finest tea in the shop, something of a warning sign in her eyes, but she only smiles. He then tells her, "I just came from Hokage Tower. Princess Tomoko will be visiting the village."
Kurenai listens intently but her mind is moving a mile a minute.
And now a beautiful princess of Fire country is coming to the village, in all likelihood to meet her future husband, the same man that's already claimed Kurenai's heart. At Asuma's comment, Kurenai said nothing, raising her fragrant and scintillating tea to her lips for a sip.
"I'll be honest," Asuma continues. "By the end of her visit, I'll know more or less what my future looks like. Kurenai, I know this isn't fair, but I hope you'll be apart of my life no matter what way this thing lands. You know I'll do my duty if I have to, but if it doesn't have to come to that...
I think I feel that would make me happy," he tells her with his gruff smirk.
She almost returned a smile, but if this didn't pan out the way they both want, that would lead to a hope that would hurt worse than any other time before. "Why don't we just enjoy our tea and catch up," she says, preferring to wait and see instead of diving into what ifs.
"We've been so busy, it's been a spell since I've seen you. How's your team? Please tell me you're not smoking around them."
"If you saw what I was dealing with, you'd light one up too," he returns with a small measure of exasperation. "Not a single one is motivated to train. Shikamaru only cares about napping and sky gazing. It's like he skipped adolescence, adulthood, and went straight into elderly.
Ino only cares about her figure and the Uchiha bratbossy as hell too. Choji's a sweet kidmade us all celebration dango to celebrate forming the teambut even his own clan might think he eats too much and he lets Ino walk all over him."
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/Black_Zetsu
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