#ashesburned

As far as he could tell, she didn't have any other visible injuries. Good. A small smile tugs at the corners of his lips as he turns his head to glance at Akagahara Forest for a moment. "How'd your test go?"

"No, but our makeshift kunais tied to a wire did." She leans into his touch as he inspects the cut on her face, but her even tone and bemusement indicate that she's not hurt anymore than that.

The smile that forms on his face in the next moment is teasing as he leans back against the trunk of one of the trees near the academy. One of his hands is shoved into his pocket to start thumbing over the smooth metal of his lighter while the other cards through his hair. "That trapdoor was turned out to be pretty handy, huh? Also kinda cozy too." His tone is playful, that lilt in his voice is back again, and the smile he'd given her grows only a little bigger.

"As jounin, we have to set a good example for our students." He's been one longer than her but perhaps his leave of the village made him forget.

His smoking habits don't normally concern her unless she's trying to kiss him, but out on the field is a different matter. Exam or not, they needed to take it seriously. And not everyone in attendance is a resident of Konoha. It's left her more on edge than she's willing to admit.

Asuma though...nothing seems to phase him. Bringing up that at a time like this... Kurenai looks away and hopes the darkness hides the heat she can feel warming her cheeks.

Asuma's head turns back to his student, brows furrowed for moment when he remembers the way Shikamaru hesitated and his breath hitched through the mic. He hadn't had time to check in with him after the first test though the least he could do was ask. "I'm not judging you or anything but... I noticed you sounded a little unsure after you left the classrooms. Like the breath caught in your throat kind of nervous. There wasn't a whole lot of time to ask during this exam and we needed to focus but I wanted to know if you were okay or if there was something I could do to help if you needed it?"

Shikamaru had a pretty good idea what this conversation was going to be about even before Asuma took a seat.

A part of him had hoped that Asuma didn't notice, that perhaps his little mishap would be brushed aside as brute effort to get through the vents—but Asuma had watched over him all these years, always attentive, always there. Only a fool would try their hand at lying in his face.

Shikamaru was that fool.

"I'm outta shape." He feigned a yawn and tucked his hands behind his head as he laid back in the grass. "I wasn't expecting to be thrown into the Exam and made into a spectacle." At least, that's what he assumed this was all about. Entertainment for the feudal lords. Still, a heads up would've been nice.

Far above, a stray cloud floated across the night sky, its wispy tendrils curling for the full moon. It was the perfect excuse to draw his gaze away; he didn't trust himself to look at Asuma in the eye.

Asuma had enough to worry about. The nukenin. Chouji's health. Ino's love life. In comparison, Shikamaru was fine. He had nothing going for him physically, and he didn't give a damn about relationships. Sure, he had woken up drenched in cold sweat and gasping for air the past few nights, but that was just the byproduct of ...

Of what? Of nearly drowning? Of nearly letting his comrades' lives slip through his fingers while he toddled around with half-baked theories?

It wasn't the first time he had a close call, and in this line of work, it certainly wouldn't be the last time either. Everyone had their own burdens to carry. This was unfortunately his.

The same stray cloud drifted over the moon, cloaking them in shadows.

"... So, you and Kurenai-sensei."

He didn't really care, but he needed to change the subject.

"I think you have the right idea. You've always been pretty good about conserving your energy." Asuma lays down now to stare up at the puffy clouds as they slowly floated across the light blue sky. Despite the tension being as high as it was already, relaxing in the moment is a little easier than he thought as he tucks one of his arms behind his head.

Sleep was once his safe haven.

Whenever the world got a little too much, he'd call it quits and find a quiet place to rest. But lately, he hadn't been able to do that.

Every time he closed his eyes, he'd see the bewildered look on the black market vendor's face when she stopped mid-spiel to say, Sarutobi Asuma. That caused a ripple effect to those gathered. Asuma, Asuma, Asuma, they whispered.

It reminded him of the strange faces he'd been seeing around Konoha—faces hidden by masks, figures cloaked in shadows, not doing anything but moving slowly, seamlessly, as if they were on a mission only they knew of.

"Asuma." He kept his eyes on the clouds.

Shikamaru didn't like asking questions. Life would be so much easier if he could stay blissfully ignorant. But this—this he had to know.

There was plenty of time to think of ways everything could go wrong but he needed to focus on where he was needed and what he could do, and right now, he was focused on Kurenai. The jounin sets his cigarette back into his pouch, and holds out his empty hand't to invite here into his space.

Newly purchased bomb tags and senbon lay among her tools. A kunoichi's tools that she still sometimes does not feel right to wield, but they are hers just as the title is.

Asuma's voice draws her attention and calms her all at the same time. Silent, sturns to look at him as he speaks.

"I've double checked that I have everything ready." She nods. "I'm prepared. What about you?"

She's silent for a moment and takes the time to fit her hand through his, intertwining their fingers and drawing closer to him. She fits perfectly in the space between his legs, enveloped by his presence. "Everything that has happened lately has me worried. Promise me that you'll be careful." Red-ringed eyes meet his. "Don't...do anything reckless."