Chapter Text
Asuma’s POV
The smell of antiseptic always makes his skin crawl.
Even after years of war, blood, and field medkits, hospitals still carried a coldness that no battlefield ever matched.
Asuma stood by the window of Room 312, the only light in the room a soft orange glow from the sunset leaking through the blinds. Chōji’s chakra was stable now — Tsunade-sama said he’d live — but the image of his bloated, purple-skinned body after taking the third pill still haunted him.
He clenched his fists.
“How did it get this far…?”
He glanced behind him. Shikamaru stood by Chōji’s bedside, arms crossed, but his knuckles were pale. That boy blamed himself more than anyone else did.
And then… there was Ino.
She stood at the door, silent. Not crying, not yelling.
Just standing there, trembling.
“Ino,” he said softly.
She didn’t respond.
He wanted to comfort her. Say something that would help. But there were no words that could take away what she saw in the ICU. Chōji, their teammate since the Academy, almost died.
And Ino — spoiled, sharp-tongued, bossy little Ino — just stood there with clenched teeth.
“She hasn’t said a word since she got here,” Kurenai whispered from the hallway. “Not even to Shikamaru.”
Asuma lit a cigarette. He didn’t even notice his hands shaking until he flicked the lighter.
He took one puff — just one — before the door slammed open.
“He left us!” Ino’s voice cracked. “He left you, Sakura!”
Kakashi’s POV
He should have expected this.
He should’ve seen it coming.
Kakashi was leaning on the wall across from Tsunade’s office, arms folded, one eye reading the mood.
Ino was standing across from Sakura now, her chest heaving, tears brimming but not falling. Tsunade had called them all to give a report — Asuma, Gai, Kurenai, even himself. The adults were supposed to help settle the growing tension between the younger generation.
But Ino beat them to it.
“He almost killed Naruto,” she hissed, stepping forward. “He nearly killed your teammate — your friend. And you still want him back?! Are you hearing yourself?!”
Sakura stood frozen, her own guilt etched deep in her face. Her fists were clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms.
“Ino—” Kakashi started, but Asuma subtly lifted a hand.
Let her speak.
Good.
She needed this.
“I watched Chōji almost die!” Ino shouted. “His heart stopped. His heart, Sakura! Shikamaru couldn’t even look me in the eye after the mission. And you—”
She turned away for a moment, wiping her face.
“You still ask Naruto to bring him back like that means something—like nothing happened!”
“Ino, I didn’t—” Sakura tried to speak, but her voice broke. “It’s not that I don’t care—”
“Then what is it?!” Ino snapped, eyes finally brimming over with tears. “Because I don’t understand! I don’t understand how you can still want someone who betrayed the village—who followed the man who killed the Third Hokage!”
Tsunade didn’t interrupt. Neither did Kurenai. Even Gai, who normally would have found a way to turn this into an inspirational monologue, remained still.
Only Asuma moved — he walked slowly to Ino’s side.
“I know you’re hurting,” he said quietly. “But this isn’t about just Sasuke anymore, is it?”
Ino finally broke.
“No…” she whispered. “It’s me.”
The adults exchanged glances.
Kakashi frowned.
“I’m the only one who couldn’t help,” Ino whispered. “I couldn’t do anything. I didn’t go with them. I wasn’t strong enough to be part of that team. I’m the Yamanaka heir, but even Shikamaru and Chōji… even they think I’m just a fangirl.”
Her voice cracked again.
“I hate that they’re right.”
Asuma placed a hand on her shoulder.
“You’re wrong,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “You’ve got more guts than most ninja twice your age. What you did here? Speaking up? That takes courage.”
Kakashi closed his eye.
So she saw it, too. The cost. The price of following a dream too blindly.
“Ino,” he finally said, stepping forward. “We all lost something when Sasuke left. But what you said — it needed to be said. Some wounds can’t heal if we keep pretending they’re not bleeding.”
Sakura stood there, crying silently.
For the first time, Ino didn’t comfort her.
And Kakashi didn’t expect her to.