Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Songbook - Naruto ❯ Asuma - Better Days ( One-Shot )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]
Sarutobi Asuma of Team 10, "Better Days" by The Goo Goo Dolls (this is actually going to be a memento from his students to him, and a few others.... Long Live Asuma!)

~And you ask me what I want this year / And I try to make this kind and clear / Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days~

Hey, Asuma-sensei,
You don't remember much, do you? You always told me I was going to have to train hard and get good and be skinny. But you knew that I was always going to get better. How you knew that, I don't know. You just knew, ya know?
I don't know how to tell you, now that you can't hear me, but you certainly went out with sparks. At least we all miss you enough to avenge you and succeed.
Hey, I brought you some of those snacks you used to eat. Maybe they'll still be here after I'm done. I don't know. But I'm still proud you took the time to tell me I was a better person than everyone else believed.
Keep believing, Asuma-sensei, keep believing.
-Choji

~Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings / And desire and love and empty things / Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days~

Hey there, you,
It's skinny-blondie.
I don't have much to say. Well, not now anyways. You always had a way of making it feel like we didn't always have to be so quiet. I still remember the first day you walked into our classroom to meet us.
You stood in the doorway and stared at us and we stared back. We didn't know what to do. You didn't say anything and it soon became clear that you weren't going to say the first thing. I still remember it was Shika who'd spoken first. He had asked you to say something. Anything.
You said "hi" and waited for us to say something else.
I got mad at that point and yelled that we're not kids. I wasn't mad at you, but rather at how you kept quiet as long as you could.
You just smiled and patted me on the head, saying "there you go. Give me some attitude to show me you're not machines. That's the spirit."
I was happy to be part of this team. You made it worth-while to be part of anything. I became eager to be something great. I trained as best I could. This is all I've achieved in that short time. But it's hard to say exactly how I got here!
I hope, in your next life, you're just as kind and just as knowing. We all miss you, even Shikamaru.
Have fun! And don't come home drunk or smelling of smoke!
-Ino

~So take these words / And sing out loud / Cuz everyone is forgiven now / Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again~

Yo.
Asuma, what're you up to?
I'm sure you got an ear-full from Ino, but don't worry. You're still here, just like before. We all carry you in our hearts and our memories. As long as we have those, there's nothing to bother us.
I don't plan on saying much, just don't forget us. Check up on us, like the bad parent you are.
Kurenai's baby is coming. It's still a mystery as to the gender. She wants to be surprised. Either way, it's going to be named soon.
I hope the afterlife treats you better than we ever did. Enjoy, and don't go partying like a mad man just because you can.
-Shikamaru

~And it's someplace simple where we could live / And something only you can give / And thats faith and trust and peace while we're alive~

Asuma, my dear Asuma,
The baby's coming. It's almost here. I don't know what to call it. I don't know if I'll be a good mother.
But I still remember what you told me.
"Be as good a parent as you see fit. Don't hold back. Be just as gentle and just as harsh so they grow up strong and gentle."
But, Asuma, I don't want to do it alone. I don't want the baby to just grow up like it wants. I want the baby to be it's own person. Asuma, what would you do? How would you handle this baby?
I love and miss you, Asuma.
-Kurenai

~And the one poor child that saved this world / And there's 10 million more who probably could / If we all just stopped and said a prayer for them~

UNCLE!
How could you ditch me! You promised we'd go on a fishing trip after grandpa died! I was banking on that!
I wanted to go fishing and learn something besides these stupid jutsus and throwing techniques!
Don't you come back. Not ever! You lied.

But I miss it. Being scooped up and turned up-side-down and dangled around my living room. Uncle, don't miss anybody and don't cry. We're doing enough crying for you. And we miss you more than you probably miss us, in your lavish afterlife and stuff.
Just come back some day and see the world all over again.
Grandpa and you will be so happy to see each other again. I hope all goes well between you two!
-Kohnahamaru

~So take these words / And sing out loud / Cuz everyone is forgiven now / Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again~

Asuma-sensei,
As your students, this is our box of memento letters and things we believed might make it easier to pass. We will miss you. Enjoy your journey to your father. We hope all bodes well and we wish for nothing more than you to find peace.
Take this life, find your peace, and we'll all be waiting for our turn to meet you again.
-Shika-Ino-Cho

~I wish everyone was loved tonight / And somehow stop this endless fight / Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days~

His hand grazed the top of the thin box and he stopped, back-tracking. There were flowers adorning the gravestone. It was like someone had died recently, but he knew they hadn't. He sniffed each and every flower and touched the box again.
Words echoed in his head and tears filled his eyes. He opened his eyes, looking at the clear blue sky that didn't let him cast a shadow. The sun was warm and he was still missed, after nearly two months of death, and it made him not want to let go.
But they said it was okay. Shika-Ino-Cho had said it was his turn to go.
And he was going to pass without regret or tears. It was his turn to leave.

~So take these words / And sing out loud / Cuz everyone is forgiven now / Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again~

He smiled. They were here, all of them, to see him off. He couldn't be a happier man.
Asuma looked up at the Hokage's faces and smiled. "Here I come dad, ready or not."

~Cuz tonight's the night the world begins again~