Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ No Regrets ❯ No Regrets ( One-Shot )

Dedicated to my friend Sara, a.k.a. Dragonzair, DZ, Yachiru, Ino(cent), Spazzy, Spammy, Draggy, Dizzy. or Sawa, depending on who's talking to her XD. Hope you've had a happy birthday, and many more to come <3 *and no worries, DZ, it'll be a happy ending XD*

 

 

It was blinding. There was no other way to describe it. The throbbing was more intense than anything he'd ever felt in his life, and every move he made sent a thundering of pain through his body.

His hand clasped the side of his abdomen, blood seeping between his fingers as he applied pressure to the kunai wound.

He slipped his fingers into the holster on his thigh and pulled out his last kunai. The others had been lost in battle, either still in those they hit or broken from overuse.

As he held the remaining one up, the sunlight glinted off of it, shining in his eyes.

There were still three enemy nins out there, and his own team had all perished. They'd come into this mission knowing that they may not come back, but they'd pushed on. The Sound had become too powerful, so the Gondaime had ordered a team to infiltrate the country and take out some of the Sound's top level operatives. He'd taken the mission without hesitation.

Asuma closed his eyes, listening for anything that would that would tell him where his enemies were. The cracking of a limb alerted him to a nin above. Pivoting, he swung around and flung his weapon upward, and heard the reward of a gasp and groan.

One down, two to go, he thought.

Then there was a puncturing sound, and pain in his shoulder.

A kunai stuck out, the sharp weapon embedded deep into his shoulder, not far from his heart. Blood stained his vest, dripping to the ground like a crimson rain.

He knew he was losing blood, and fast.

Black began to creep into his vision, spreading from the outside to the inside. He wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. Looking around, he tried with everything he had left to find the last two enemies, but was unsuccessful.

As he fell to the ground, his thoughts were not on how he would save himself, but on a certain person.

I'm sorry that I never said goodbye. I'm sorry I never told you how much I love you.

Asuma's body hit the ground.

 

 

 

She felt a pain in her chest, and knew that something was wrong.

Even as she'd watched him exit the village gates, she'd felt uneasy. Maybe it was because she knew how dangerous the mission was, or maybe it was lover's intuition. Even so, she'd had a cloud of uneasiness plaguing her all day.

Kurenai had left the village unnoticed, leaving no word of her whereabouts. She'd felt a pull in her heart, and knew that she had to help him.

The pain in her rib cage only solidified her worry.

Increasing her speed, she jumped from branch to branch, barely touching one before jumping to the next.

In the distance, the kunoichi spotted a trail of blood, leading to the backside of a tree.

She followed it, cautious but anxious to see whose blood it was.

Lying against the tree was the body of Asuma's teammate, Tanaka. His eyes were closed, head hanging and legs spread out in front of him. There was a kunai in his stomach, and bruising on his face. His lack of pulse told her what she already knew: he was long dead.

Kurenai pushed on, trying to block the image out of her mind. There was nothing she could do for the man now, except pray that he made it safely to the other side.

How long she kept running, the kunoichi didn't know. Kurenai thought of nothing except finding Asuma.

The sun had begun to set, the light fading as the sun got lower on the horizon. The wind had picked up, and the lack of sunlight led to a drop in the temperatures.

But she kept going.

Asuma. Where are you?

Something ahead caught her eye. Face down on the ground, Asuma lay unmoving and pale.

She rushed to him, kneeling beside his as she turned him over.

“Asuma. Asuma! Dammit, wake up!” she pleaded, trying to keep her voice calm.

He made no noise except the sporadic and light sounds of breathing. Kurenai dropped her head to his chest, listening intently. His heartbeat was slow and erratic, barely there.

Skimming her eyes over her body, she felt as if someone had slammed her into a brick wall. He was injured, badly. His shoulder, his stomach, his leg. All were bleeding profusely, torn up from the battle. She put pressure on the wound in his stomach, not knowing what else to do.

The tears began to stream down her face, for she knew what was going to happen.

“Damn you, Asuma. Always having to be the hero. Taking on a mission you knew was futile. Stubborn bastard!” she said, still pressing her hands to his abdomen. She hunched over him, her tears falling onto his body.

His breathing slowed, becoming shallower by the minute. Asuma moved his lips, but no sound came out. Her eyes followed the movement, and managed to make out his last words.

I love you.

 

 

 

“Shit!”

He sat upright in bed, startling the half nude woman beside him.

“What's wrong?” she asked. Pulling the covers down to her waist, she sat up with him, her hand on his shoulder.

The ninja brought his hand to his head, cradling it while trying to wipe the images and sadness from his mind. “Nothing,” he told her. “I'm fine. Just a bad dream.”

She smiled, and ran a hand through her mate's mussed hair. He returned the smile, and cupped her cheek with his hairy hand. “I love you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah,” she replied. “And I love you too.”

He slipped his hand from her cheek and slid it down her body, trailing it beneath the sheets. “Promise me something, Kurenai?”

“Hm?”

“Keep loving me, even if I am a stubborn bastard.”

The kunoichi smiled. “Well, when you ask it like that,” she said, her hand moving down his back, “how can I refuse, Asuma?”