His fingers entwined around mine, onyx eyes sparkling with a mixture of mischief and something more profound. "Do you remember how we first met, Hana?"

I looked over at him, heart skipping a beat. "Of course, how could I forget?"

He chuckled, the corner of his lips raising. The park bench creaked beneath us, a comforting, familiar sound. We sat in the same spot we always did, beneath the ancient maple tree across the playground. 

"You were pouting at your aunt," He continued, a playful smirk on his face. "Wearing that ridiculous poofy blue dress with a pink bow," 

I rolled my eyes playfully, secretly wishing he had forgotten I was wearing that monstrosity. Aunt Kushina just had to pick the poofiest and sparkly dress that made me feel like a walking bubble. "And you were trying so hard to climb this tree until you stepped on a broken branch and fell flat on your face, Obito,"

His cheeks started to flush, and he pouted slightly. "I can't believe you still remember that. I only did it so I could impress you,"

"You sure did impress me," I smirked, "With how clumsy you were. I remember hearing a thud and seeing you on the ground. You really did that to impress me?"

"Yeah..." He trailed off, his cheeks still flushing. "I thought I could impress the prettiest girl by climbing that tree. But hey, it worked. You asked if I was okay and then challenged me to a climbing contest."

I laughed at the memory: Kushina shouting about how I would ruin the dress, Obito telling me that he would climb it better than I could, and me telling Obito that he wouldn't win because of his fall. He ended up being my best friend after that day.

I stirred awake from my slumber, the scenery changing and my heart pounding. 

Did I really dream about that? About him? 

I felt a pang in my chest as I recalled that day. It was the day we had our first kiss, and he wouldn't let go of me wearing that stupid frilly dress years later. I missed him but shouldn't think about him when I'm already seeing Ryuken.

I moved on from our relationship, so why was he still haunting my dreams?

I stared at the sage-green curtain momentarily, still processing that dream. I stood up from the bed to make a cup of coffee to clear my head and get my brain thinking about other things. I remembered that Naruto was training with Kakashi today, and his new teacher, Yamato, was there. I haven't met the guy, but Kakashi told me a little about him. 

Maybe Naruto would want some snacks or something while he is training. I could always make him the ramen that I learned how to make from Aunt Kushina. I quickly gathered my ingredients and started prepping ramen.

As I made the ramen, I noticed it was getting cloudy and grey outside. I stared out the window as I prepared the broth and couldn't stop thinking about the dream. I tried to push it away, but I couldn't stop remembering that day now.

"You better not ask Aunt Kushina for pictures of me from that day," I said, smirking at him. "Because I'll burn every last one of them. No one needs to see me in that dress,"

I noticed he was quiet. 

"Obi-"

I turned to face him and noticed he was close to my face, glancing down at my lips. 

The sound of the oven's timer going off took me out of my trance, and I realized I needed to stop daydreaming. I moved on, and he's never coming back. I had already come to terms with that years ago, so I had to let him go. 

I quickly put the ramen in containers and packed extra for Naruto, considering how he eats ramen like it's his last meal. 

The rain stopped, and the sun returned as I walked to the training ground. I noticed Naruto surrounded by his shadow clones and Kakashi standing in front of him, talking to him. I could tell Naruto had been working hard today.

I also noticed a brunette man sitting on the ground, holding his arm up, surrounded by nine wooden pillars. He heard my footsteps and looked up at me with a questioning look. That must be Yamato.

"Hello," I smiled politely. "I'm Hana. I just came by to see if Naruto and Kakashi wanted lunch while they trained,"

"Oh? Lunchtime for reckless fools?" He replied, raising an eyebrow with a hint of amusement. "Not the worst idea I've heard today. I'm Yamato,"

"What's that?!" Naruto's clone exclaimed, momentarily dropping his rasengan. The instability caught Kakashi's attention, and he quickly intervened, waving the clone away from the impending explosion.

"Focus," Kakashi reminded Naruto, but his gaze settled on the bag of food in my hand. "And it seems we may have a lunch break incoming. Ramen, you say?"

Naruto seized the moment, leaping towards me, and his clone quickly dissolved into a swirling chakra. I couldn't help but laugh at his eagerness.

I kneeled on the ground to open the bag and set up disposable bowls and chopsticks. Naruto and Kakashi sat on the ground next to me, and I handed out their bowls.

"This is my aunt's recipe, so enjoy," I said, taking out the third bowl. 

"Finally! I've been training so hard, I thought I might starve!" Naruto exclaimed, practically bouncing with anticipation.  

"Just so you know, Naruto, I made sure to pack extra for you," I said, handing Yamato the ramen bowl. He looked a bit confused. "Here, I know you're probably hungry as well, training with these two especially,"

"Thank you, Hana," Yamato looked a little surprised and smiled appreciatively.

In hardly any time at all, Naruto was demolishing the first bowl of ramen; his cheeks stuffed to the brim as he set the empty bowl back down. 

"More ramen, please!" Naruto called, his mouth still full. 

I chuckled as I took the fourth container out and handed it to him. He eagerly took it and started eating that bowl.

"So, how do you and Kakashi know each other?" Yamato asked while slurping his bowl of ramen.

I shot a playful glare at Kakashi, who had already finished his bowl and was adjusting his mask. 

"We were on the same team as students, and you can bet that this one gave me a hard time back then," I replied.

"I only pointed out that you had a penchant for charging in without thinking," Kakashi countered, a lazy chuckle escaping his lips.

"You told me that I was a hothead!" I retorted, playfully crossing my arms.

"Well, I wasn't wrong, was I?" Kakashi quipped.

"Sounds familiar," Yamato chuckled, glancing at Naruto, who was walking to the garbage can with the bag of disposable dishes. 

"Very," Kakashi agreed, giving me a look.

Naruto finally came back from throwing the garbage can and let out a stretch, "That ramen definitely hit the spot. I'm ready to resume training now, Kakashi-Sensei,"

Kakashi stood up, and they returned to the spot they had been in earlier. Yamato quickly weaved hand signs and held his left arm up as he had been earlier. I assumed it was some seal.

I decided to watch the training for a little bit before heading home. I didn't talk to Yamato so I wouldn't distract him, so I just sat on a nearby tree stump. Naruto was struggling, but he started to get the hang of it. Another hour passed as Naruto continued to train, and it seemed he finally solved his issue.

"Looks like he got it," I remarked out loud.

Naruto grimaced at Kakashi and fell back on the ground dramatically. The two clones he had disappeared while shouting at Kakashi were walking closer to him while still talking.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Yamato sighed. "What are those two doing?"

I chuckled as Naruto continued to shout at Kakashi while backing away from him.

Suddenly, Izumo appeared right in front of Yamato, his expression grave, "I have a message,"

I quickly pushed myself up from my spot, standing beside Yamato, my heart thudding in my chest.

"What's going on?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Izumo's gaze flickered to the ground before meeting Yamato's serious eyes. "It's about Asuma..." he paused, measuring his words like a seasoned ninja weighing the consequences of each move. "He's dead."

The world around me stopped, and my blood ran cold. Disbelief washed over me like a harsh wave. There was no way Izumo could be telling the truth.

"A-Asuma's dead?" I stammered, my voice cracking as the memories of our laughter and battles flashed before my eyes. "This can't be real..."

Yamato maintained his calm composure, "How did this happen?"

Izumo fixated his gaze on the ground, almost looking guilty. "He fell in battle against the Akatsuki. His funeral will be held today."

Asuma was one of my closest friends, and now he was gone? The words struck me harder than any physical blow. I had just hung out with him and Kurenai last week, and we planned another hangout.

Kurenai.

I had to check on her. There was no way she was handling the news well at all.

Yamato stood up, and Izumo stood up shortly afterward.

"Kakashi, we need to call off the training and return immediately," Yamato said while walking towards them.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto looked at Yamato questioningly, while Kakashi noticed the expression on my face.

"Asuma Sarutobi..." Yamato trailed off, "Has been killed."

Naruto and Kakashi only stood there, frozen in shock.

We all returned to change into our funeral attire, and before going, I decided to walk with Kurenai to the funeral, knowing she needed support.

I took a deep breath as I approached her door, still not wanting to believe it was real. The door opened slowly, and Kurenai's usually bright crimson eyes were muted. She was already in her funeral attire. Her cheeks were tear-stained, and the whites of her eyes were red.

"Hana," Kurenai said, her voice barely above a whisper. 

"Kurenai," I replied softly. 

I didn't need to ask how she was doing; the tears told me everything. I stepped forward, engulfing her into a hug. She sniffled.

"I was just about to head to the funeral and thought you would want some company," I said.

I pulled away as her lips trembled, and she nodded. "Thank you..."

She closed the door behind us, and we walked to the gravesite. She didn't speak a word, and neither was I. I know she was in more pain than I was, considering she had just lost her husband and the father of her child. 

We got to the gravesite together, already seeing Lady Tsunade and Shizune. We stood with the other jonin that were there. Guy had tears streaming down his cheeks, and I couldn't help but wonder just what kind of power this Akatsuki member had to take down Asuma, of all people.

Kurenai was the first to walk up to his headstone to put flowers there, and I comforted her by placing my hand on her back as tears slipped down her cheeks. The funeral ended and everyone left in silence. Kurenai wanted to spend extra time at his headstone, so I let her have that privacy.

"Kurenai, if you need anything, just let me know."

I put my hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"I will, Hana. Thank you."

I exited the gravesite after that, still wondering how any of this was real and thinking about how I had just lost another loved one. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First big arc is now out of the way. It hurt me to write Asuma's funeral because I miss my special guy. Don't worry because Obito is coming up soon lol