The dust hadn't yet settled from the test, but the silence hung heavy in the clearing, broken only by the soft creak of shifting gear and the hiss of a cigarette being lit. Asuma stood just outside the scorched ring, brushing dirt off his vest. He winced slightly as he moved his jaw, the memory of Choji's last punch still pulsing in his bones. Not bad, he thought. Not bad at all.
Across from him, Choji was spinning in little circles, arms outstretched, his laughter ringing through the training ground like music. "Did you see that?! I really got him!" he shouted, looking from Shikamaru to Ino. "I actually did it!"
Shikamaru had one eyebrow raised, his mouth caught somewhere between a frown and a grin. Ino looked stunned for a second longer, then broke into a breathless laugh.
"You're a lunatic," she said, hands on her hips.
"Maybe," Choji grinned, giving her a wink and pointing finger guns at both teammates. "But a winning lunatic!"
Shikamaru finally sighed. "Troublesome."
Ino rolled her eyes, but even she couldn't hide her amusement. "I still can't believe you actually launched Asuma-sensei out of the circle. You used to flinch when a training dummy looked at you wrong."
Choji shrugged as he flopped onto the grass. "I just felt like moving." He stretched, yawning. "And punching. A lot of punching."
Asuma approached them, dragging slowly on his cigarette. His gaze rested on Choji, who was now lying in the grass like he had no care in the world.
"You know," he said loud enough for all three of them to hear, "back when I got your academy files, Choji's stood out."
Choji blinked and sat up. "Huh? Why me?"
"Said you were gentle. Avoided fights. Didn't like to spar. Even teachers said you had potential, but no bite." Asuma paused, flicking ash off his cigarette. "But today?" He blew out a line of smoke. "You weren't gentle. You were a damn typhoon."
Choji rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "I used to be like that, sensei. But, I dunno. I remembered something." He stood, brushing grass off his pants. "I can't hide forever, right? I mean, I'm supposed to lead the Akimichi clan someday. Can't have a clan head who ducks every punch."
His voice was so casual, so nonchalant, that the words hit harder than a shout.
Asuma stopped. Shikamaru's head tilted just slightly. Ino stared.
That quiet statement dropped between them like a stone into still water. The ripples stretched far.
Choji blinked at the silence, then laughed again, as if he hadn't said anything significant. "Anyway, Masuma-sensei," he said, mispronouncing deliberately, "what's next?"
"It's Asuma, you idiot," the jōnin snapped, but his heart wasn't in it.
Choji grinned, totally unfazed. "Masuma! Masuma!" he chanted, spinning in a circle again. "You looked really funny flying through the air, you know that?"
"You threw me."
"I know!" Choji beamed.
Ino and Shikamaru exchanged glances.
"He's completely lost it," Ino muttered, but she was smiling.
Asuma, meanwhile, was still staring at Choji.
He couldn't put his finger on it, but something had shifted today. Not just in Choji. In himself.
He took a slow breath.
"When I was your age," Asuma said suddenly, raising his voice so all three could hear, "everyone thought I'd become Hokage."
Three heads turned toward him.
"I was the Third's son. Had the name. The training. Everything laid out in front of me." He took another drag. "And I hated it. I hated being seen only as Sarutobi Hiruzen's son. No one saw me. Just my name."
Shikamaru and Ino were silent. Choji tilted his head.
"So," Asuma continued, "I left the village for a while. Tried to find something that was mine. Smoked too much, drank a little, drifted. It was easier than facing what everyone expected me to be."
Choji flopped backward into the grass again, hands behind his head. "Sounds like you were running away," he said lightly.
Asuma didn't deny it. "Maybe I was." He looked at Choji. "But you… you charged straight in. With a smile on your face. Like the path was always yours to begin with."
Choji scratched his cheek. "I dunno about all that. I just go where my feet take me. And today, they took me straight into your jaw."
Asuma laughed. A full, real laugh. "Yeah, they did."
Ino grinned. "You know, I think I like this new Choji. He's unpredictable."
"He's insane," Shikamaru added.
"He's hungry," Choji said, sitting up suddenly. "Can we eat now? I burned, like, all my snack reserves."
Asuma stubbed his cigarette on a stone. "Fine. My treat. You earned it."
"YES!" Choji jumped up. "Masuma-sensei, you are the best!"
"I said it's ASUMA!"
Their laughter echoed as they headed toward the village, Choji leading the way with arms swinging and step light, already rambling about how many skewers he planned to eat.
Shikamaru walked with his hands in his pockets, brow furrowed in thought.
Ino lingered near the back, glancing once more at Choji.
He was still the same goofball. Still loud. Still hungry. Still ridiculous.
And yet… something about him had changed. Or maybe, something inside him had finally awakened.
Asuma watched them all, but his eyes kept drifting back to Choji.
The boy who punched him out of the ring with a smile.
The boy who reminded him of what it meant to stop running.
Maybe it was time he stopped too.