Score!

"Deal," he said, bending slightly to catch her hand--avoiding claws--and laying his beads across her palm. They'd cost him a buck in some dusty town on Rain's border; he'd hung onto them for luck, mostly, and knowledge that a pretty bauble in the right place could get you further than a prettier smile.

He straightened, shifted the shoulder strap of his rucksack, and tossed a wave to the scowling cafe owner. "Hey, gorgeous, if you take his ass down to the hospital--" yet another nudge to the fallen Inuzuka's head, "--the clan'll probably pay for the damages."

"They better!" snapped the woman, glaring at the kunoichi by his elbow. "I'm filing a complaint with--with the Hokage."

Asuma smothered an inappropriate laugh, fingering a scratch beneath one wide bracelet. "Okay. Luck with that."

The woman snorted, folded arms pushing up her ample chest, and ducked back inside to deal with more sympathetic civilians.

Asuma turned his attention back to the kunoichi. "Do your rescues come with a name? Or do I just have to wade through all the denial and guess? I'm Asuma, by the way. Nice to meet ya." He crouched down to grin at the dog. "And you."