Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way shape or form, and I am making no profit of any kind off of this work, save for my own enjoyment.

With that said, enjoy the story, that will be the only disclaimer in this story and it will apply to everything written from this point onwards. All relevant Author Notes will be at the end of the chapter from now on unless it is a warning of some kind.

All Because of a Cigarette

Chapter 1: Sarutobi Asuma, meet Uzumaki Kuroran

Sarutobi Asuma was a heavy smoker, he freely admitted it, and everyone who knew him knew it. Most people he knew just tolerated the cancer sticks he was so fond of, but there was one person who loved them just as much as he did. There was one girl who always hung out around his favorite smoking spot, the top of the Hokage monument behind his father's head. She was blonde, with tan skin and shockingly blue eyes; she was a few years younger than him, twenty one, and she always had a cigarette between her lips, the same brand he smoked almost religiously.

He first saw her up there two years ago, and pretty soon they started talking and became fast friends. He found out that her name was Gekiryuu Tsubaki; she liked ramen, sake and dango, disliked perverted men, noisy kids, emos and bigots and enjoyed smoking, gardening, playing the flute and cooking. Her favorite colors were black red, purple and orange, but never all together.

Today, Asuma was heading up to the top of the Hokage monument for a smoke with Tsubaki, as was their long established tradition for every afternoon when he wasn't on a mission. Unfortunately this would be probably the last time for a while that he would be able to see her, because of his decision to take a genin team this year.

Walking up the last of the stairs to the top of the monument, he saw a familiar sight, Tsubaki standing looking out over Konoha with a lit cigarette trailing smoke in her mouth, her hair flowing gently in the light breeze that ghosted over the top of the monument. She turns her head to catch sight of him with one eye and smiles.

"Hey, Asuma-kun, how was your day?" she asks in a bright happy tone, a smile firmly in place on her face as she takes a drag and exhales the smoke in a narrow stream after holding it in her lungs for a moment.

Asuma walks over next to her and pulls out his second pack of the day, pulling out a smoke of his own and lighting it with a practiced ease. He relaxes for a moment, taking a few puffs on the cancer stick before answering his friend's question, "I'm fine, but my free time is gonna be pretty limited in a few days for the foreseeable future, I'm taking a genin team this year."

Tsubaki laughs, "Who knows, maybe they'll fail your test. Do you know what the teams will be this year?"

Asuma looks at her oddly, "Why the sudden interest in the genin? You never really were curious about anything ninja related before?"

Tsubaki gives a wry grin, "I want to know because the real me is one of those genin hopefuls. I suppose it is time you knew who Tsubaki really is, Asuma-kun." She lifts her hand into a half ram seal and mutters, "Kai!" A small puff of smoke covers her body and when it clears, it reveals a person who is very similar to Tsubaki, but also different in a few key ways.

First and most noticeable is her age and height, or really the lack thereof. She looks to be eight or nine years younger than Tsubaki, and a good seven inches shorter, standing at five foot even. Three faint whisker marks run across each cheek, and what appears to be some kind of dark purple tribal tattoo begins on the right side of her neck and disappears under her shirt, reappearing from under her right sleeve, on her forearm. Her hair is pulled into two substantial ponytails a instead of falling freely down her back; her body is completely devoid of unnecessary fat, being almost totally composed of toned, solid muscle from what he can see. Also, she is obviously much less developed than her apparent alternate persona.

She still has the cancer stick held between her lips though; there is one thing that would seemingly never change. She gives him a wry grin, "Sorry for fooling you for two years, but I didn't want to be seen moving around the village so I came up with Tsubaki and the Kage Henge to help me move around without being noticed by those bigoted fools.

"Imagine my surprise when I met someone up at my favorite spot who actually took the time to get to know me. I was really happy; you were my first real friend outside of Hokage-ojiisan and the Ichiraku family. I actually started smoking because it helped me cope with the stress of my life, and mainly because of hanging out with you, I came to really enjoy it because of all the good memories it brought up.

"At first… I was really wary of being friends with anyone because of my bad experiences with the villagers and other students at the Academy, but you seemed like a nice person so I decided to give you a chance. Do you remember how about a month after we met I asked you what you thought about the 'Uzumaki girl'? I know I said that since I had only moved here a few years ago I didn't know why everyone treated her like hellspawn when she seemed like a nice girl. I was surprised when I found out that you had a good opinion of me, unlike a lot of the other villagers. It was nice to know that someone was on my side, at least to a degree."

Asuma looks at her, still a little shocked by the revelation that his good friend was in fact the pariah of Konoha, "So, Tsubaki was a fake person? Everything you told me about her was one big story?" He sounds a little hurt, and the girl, Uzumaki Kuroran flinches slightly.

"No, the only things that were fake were my name and age, everything else was the real me, I just put a false face on it. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings but I wasn't sure if I should tell you the truth… I have a lot of trust issues, and even if you are my friend, I don't always have a good idea what I could safely tell you," she sounds really sad when she says this, and she looks down at the ground with a morose expression on her face.

Asuma sighs, "It's all right, I really can't fault you for not telling me if even half the stories I have heard from my old man about how hard your life has been are true, and I don't doubt that they are. But I still want to know why you wanted to know the teams for this year, even if you are part of the graduating class."

Kuroran nods, getting back into a happy mood, "I want to know because if I am on a team with the Uchiha runt or that perverted scarecrow as a sensei I will probably commit murder. Sasuke because he is an arrogant shitstain and Kakashi… I don't feel comfortable talking about it right now, suffice to say that he did, or rather did not do something he was supposed to do in the past that nearly caused my death and did result in serious mental trauma that is still there today. Maybe I'll tell you about it someday."

Asuma nods and says, "Alright, I'll tell you. I know for a fact that the current plan is to put you on a team with Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke with Kakashi as sensei. Fortunately for you, the teams are not finalized yet, I can probably have you put on my team if I request you and give a good reason for it."

Kuroran looks horrified at the prospect of being on a team with the two people she hates most in the village, "Okay, you need a reason, tell ojii-san that you met me and I got your interest, we talked and you decided to test me for my affinity and found out I was a wind type. That should do it; and for the record, I have a strong wind affinity and a crazy strong water affinity, I can even show you." She reaches into a back pocket and pulls out a small square piece of paper and holds it in her palm before channeling some chakra into it. The paper splits in half before both halves literally dissolve into water, leaving a good sized puddle in her small hand and a tiny waterfall coming off the sides and between her fingers.

She smirks, "Told you…" Asuma looks on in surprise, it was nearly unheard of for a genin to have two affinities, let alone one as powerful as her water affinity, the last person he knew of with that kind of water affinity was the Nidaime Hokage; this was ridiculous! She looks at him seriously, "Don't tell ojii-san about my water affinity, please. That's my trump card, and I don't want to let it get out so soon."

Asuma nods, "Okay, Kuro-chan. I'll talk to my old man and request you on my team. Till then have a nice day, and I'll see you at orientation, hopefully on my team." He vanishes in a puff of smoke, leaving Kuroran to finish her cigarette and leave the monument. She looks out over the village one last time.

"What a nice view… it is always a beautiful view of the sunset up here…" she sighs wistfully before turning and leaving the monument.

End Chapter 1 of All Because of a Cigarette