Christmas came on a Friday this year, meaning that half-day was Thursday before vacation started. Over the years, Kakashi had trained himself to, on the worst of day, Not Mind the widely loved holiday. His early years of Christmas were of being left alone in the apartment while his father the Great Sakumo would attend functions and get-togethers and parties. His first celebration of the holiday was with Yellow Flash, but they had been together for only a few months and young Kakashi didn't really understand what all the fake pine branches and candles and tinsel and multicolored lights had to do with snow and an ancient fat man in red who lived up north and the celebration of family and forgiveness and some emaciated man on a lopsided plus sign. Yellow Flash had gawked when Kakashi had said that.

Thus his education in the concept of "Christmas" began. Kakashi, even now, didn't really fully buy into it. It was hard to celebrate family when he didn't really have one, and there wasn't really much to be thankful for, and he knew that he could never be forgiven.

But the idea of it, naive as it was, was nice; and that other people wholeheartedly believed in it made him smile at least on a philosophical level.

Kakashi and the other teachers had decorated their rooms the first week of December to varying degrees. Kakashi's had garland around his whiteboard, and a few winter posters on his back bulletin board, and the occasional ornament hanging by a string from some of his cracked ceiling tiles. It was deemed "sparse" in comparison to the others. The most decorated by far was Iruka; including a small tree he had on his desk, all kinds of Santa posters and cartoons, his door wrapped like a giant present including a gaudy bow, and so on. Kurenai came in a close second - surprising everyone, with Gai trailing in third. Asuma often openly declared "Bah! Humbug," to children, but even he had more decorations than the Scarecrow.

Being the last week before vacation, everyone was giving everyone else presents, cards, candies, etc. Kakashi was no exception. When he drove in that morning, happily sailed passed his room (and heard several exclamations of complaint which he dutifully ignored) and to the main office where the mailroom was. He placed his poorly wrapped gifts in each of his team's mailboxes. This year he'd gotten Gai a book entitled Even Nice Guys Need Help, a gag gift if ever there was one. For Iruka, the ever-dutiful special education teacher, he had purchased an English for the Dyslexic book he'd dug up at his regional conference from hell, and for Asuma he bought three giant sudoku puzzle books which the math teacher would no doubt finish before the end of vacation. Kurenai had been a challenge, but the giant hint she'd dropped earlier had scored him a book on makeup and how to apply it on different facial types. Each gift was wrapped in ancient wrapping paper - his third roll since he started teaching, a testament of how few gifts he gave out every year.

For Jiraiya, he'd given him the first volume of a particularly dirty looking manga called Icha Icha Paradaise, and for the old man he had a small booklet on how to be a successful leader. The rest, Tsunade, Shizune, Genma, Ibiki, the janitorial staff, etc, all got cards depicting a simple snow scene with a "Yo!" and his signature scrawled inside.

His holiday duties finally obliged, he wandered back to the seventh grade hall. The kids, were, of course, bouncing back and forth between homerooms and lockers. He'd just unlocked his room when,

"Shut up!"

It was a faint yell, hardly one that would carry, but for Kakashi's trained ears, it was loud enough as to be labeled "interesting," and so he followed the sound to see Sakura standing in front of a trembling Hinata, glaring daggers at Temari in front of the science room.

"What's the matter, prissy pants, are you so self righteous that you have to stick up for china dolls that can't stand up for themselves? How arrogant of you! For all you know Hinata-chan and I could be having a simple discussion, but no, you're so right about everything that--"

"You were bullying her!" Sakura interjected. "You grabbed her wrist! I saw it!"

Kakashi was about to step in when Kurenai flew out of her room.

"Alright that's it, I've heard enough!" she said in a clear voice. "Temari, you have a detention with me for bullying Hinata."

"You mean just because Sakura--"

"You can think whatever you want, Temari," Kurenai said in a low voice, her red eyes flashing like Kakashi had never seen. "I don't particularly care. But I will not tolerate bullying. Don't think this is the first time I've notice you trying to get Hinata to give you her homework, either."

"That's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair, Temari," Kurenai shot back. "It's time you learned about it. Come with me." Kurenai took two steps to her room and turned around. "Well?"

Temari growled but followed the teacher in. Kakashi sauntered up to the two girls. "You two okay?" he asked softly, still staring into the science room where he could just make out Kurenai's profile as she scolded - was she actually shaking her finger at the girl? - Temari.

"We're fine, sensei," Sakura said quickly. "Right, Hinata?"

"Y-yes," she whispered, her voice quieter than normal, and her face very pale.

"Tell you what, you two can have the couch in homeroom," he said. Sakura looked particularly happy at this thought, and gently urged Hinata to come with her. Kakashi watched them until they entered his room, then stepped into Kurenai's room to see what else there was to see. Kurenai had finished shaking her finger at the blond Temari, apparently, and now had her hands on her hips.

"Now sit down," she said, pointing to a chair.

Temari glared furiously at the floor, a flush in her cheeks.

"Well?" Kurenai demanded. Wordlessly the seventh grader took her homeroom seat.

Kakashi offered a small round of applause as he made himself known. "I don't think I've ever seen you that strong with a student," he said quietly. Kurenai flushed herself a little, and then lead him to the back science room where they could talk. "It was a surprise to see you so fierce with a student," Kakashi continued. "You're usually so gentle and nurturing."

"Yes, well," Kurenai said, running a hand through her thick locks. She adjusted her hitae-ate and then looked up. "Kakashi, is it alright to have a favorite student?"

The English teacher shrugged. "Of course. So long as you don't play favorites."

"Well, I think Hinata is my favorite," she said softly, leaning against one of the freestanding tables. "She works so damn hard all the time, she pushes herself, and yet she never complains. To see someone like that heavyweight Temari trying to jerk homework out of her, it just gets me so mad." She sighed, exhaling completely. "I probably went overboard, didn't I?"

Kakashi smiled. "No, you didn't. Quite the contrary. I saw that spark in your interview last year, and I've been waiting very patiently to see it in action. Kurenai, you'll be just fine here."

Kurenai blinked, surprised at the praise, then flushed a little in embarrassment before offering a shy smile of her own.

"Yo!"

"You're late!" Iruka retorted.

"Sorry, sorry. I ran across a panda with a collection of signs who gave me a great splash of cold water which turned me into a girl; and shortly after that a boy in yellow with fangs challenged me to a fight along with some Chinese youth with glasses who still couldn't see and a girl dressed in a boy's school uniform, on top of two other girls, one very tightly clothed and the other looking suspiciously jealous as they announced they were my fiancees and--"

"Liar!"

"You mean you don't want to know how I figured out how to turn myself back into a guy?"

Kurenai and Asuma both snorted behind their hands.

Kakashi sat down in his usual chair and slid into a slouch before pulling out his beloved book. He glanced at the table and blinked. "This is a different spread than normal," he said, staring.

Indeed, the lunch that was bought once a week by one of the teachers was not the usual pizza or Chinese; it was an Italian spread. He spied both veal and chicken parmagiana; a basket of garlic breadsticks; an alfredo dish with sautéed onions, parsley, and other vegetables; a giant chef salad with a collection of dressings; and some kind of pastry covered in whipped cream and surrounded by sliced strawberries. He stared some more and realized that the inside of his mouth was watering.

"Merry Christmas!" Kurenai said, clapping her hands together. "It's my treat!"

And so, instead of talking shop, they spent most of Team Time stuffing their faces. Kurenai's gift was delicious, and Kakashi enjoyed mooching off of everyone else's plate - something Iruka and Gai in particular found annoying. "Fear not, my rival; I will prevent you from ferrying away another morsel by--hey!" Kakashi took another forkful of the alfredo. Iruka and Kurenai thanked Kakashi for their gifts, which alerted Asuma that his was in his mailbox and he disappeared to find it, returning with a wide grin on his face and tossing Gai's present over the buffet.

It turned into a gift-giving spree then, Iruka handing out his presents. He, like Kakashi, always gave out the same gift: ornaments. This year it was a delicate looking icicle, looking like crystal but actually plastic. The Scarecrow held it up to the light as Kurenai and Gai gushed over the gifts, liking how it caught the light. "This is going in my car," he said finally.

Iruka blinked. "What?"

"There's no point putting something like this on a tree for only part of the year. This is going in my car on my rearview."

The special education teacher sputtered, not sure whether to be flattered or insulted. He finally decided on the former, however, and smiled gently at the English teacher.

Asuma, too, handed out his presents; a matching collection of loud, blinking Rudolph ties that were so tacky they could only be gag-gifts. Kurenai, too, was not spared as she was given the necklace/earring equivalent, and they all agreed unanimously to wear them the next day just to irritate the kids.

Gai's gifts, as always, were the most thoughtful. For example, for Asuma he had bought a gold encased lighter, and the math teacher quickly disappeared, cigarettes in hand, to try it out. For Kurenai he'd purchased a collection of lipsticks, and she marveled at them for a long time before muttering a thank you. To Iruka, Gai had bought an electric massager for the injured teacher's many aches and pains, which Iruka also tried out immediately. For Kakashi, who was notoriously difficult to shop for, Gai bragged how he spent many months of thought on his choice of gift to find something that was perfect for the English teacher. Kakashi stared at the small package and finally ripped at the wrapping paper to discover that the Green Beast had, in fact, found the perfect gift. It was a bookmark, gold plated and shaped almost like a fishhook, the neck flat to fit between pages and the hook ending with a dangling figurine, a lion it looked like, which had obviously been painted green.

"And now, my eternal rival, whenever you open your book to read you shall think of me, the Green Beast, and know that I shall surpass you!"

"... Thank you," Kakashi said, honestly sincere. He flipped open his book and pulled out the old library card that he'd been using and replaced it with the treasured gift.

They spent the rest of the period eating the food and then helping Asuma and Kurenai clean up, carrying her dishes to her science room to rinse them off and place them in a picnic basket she'd brought specifically for her celebratory lunch. Kakashi cleaned off the utensils while Kurenai and Gai filtered in and out with new dishes and Styrofoam cartons of the leftovers.

"They go in the fridge in the back room," Kurenai explained to Gai. "So they can keep for when we come back or something. Either that or I'll eat the rest of it for lunch later."

"Agreed, esteemed science teacher!" Gai announced, disappearing into the back room.

Kurenai sighed contentedly. "This is turning out to be a good year," she said, putting her elbows on her front desk. Kakashi continued to wash plates in the sink next to her. "The kids are wild but manageable, which are two words I'd never have thought to put together when I was first starting out. Wild meant uncontrollable, but this is the first year where I haven't struggled with it. It's also the first year where I've had fellow teachers that aren't shy to have my back. You know," she said, turning to the Scarecrow. "I think I'm going to like it here."

"Ah," he said, handing her a platter to dry. "That's why it took you so long."

"'Took me so long'?" she queried.

"To relax," Kakashi replied. "When the old man interviewed you, you tended to babble and repeat yourself, but there was a spark in your eye when you talked about the kids, about how you felt when you taught. I knew then that you'd be perfect for the school, and it took quite a bit of lobbying to get you in."

Kurenai blinked. "Lobbying?"

"Oh, sure, there was another candidate that fit the job too, and some of the teachers were almost coming to blows over who they favored. I looked to the old man and reminded him, 'Hey, you're the one in charge, it's your decision.' He smiled and said, 'Why, yes it is.' And you were in. I was a little disappointed when I didn't see that spark at first, but I guess you just needed to feel comfortable."

Kurenai smiled a little, turning around and putting her elbows on the high desk. "I guess you're right," she said. "The old school was a lot smaller, and the people there were really set in their ways and didn't like the idea of change. The head of the science department actually told me not to be so 'new.' I put op with it for four years before I realized I was unhappy. Between that and the commute and the tiny paycheck, I left. I was scared I'd go through it again."

Kakashi nodded. "Well, you won't. Not so long as we're here."

"Yeah. I know that now."

"Good."

It had been a good way to start off the week, Kakashi decided as he drove in Tuesday and admired his new icicle. The kids were slowly getting more and more obnoxious, the approaching holiday driving them wild on many, many, levels; but it was days like yesterday that made the Scarecrow smile. Little celebrations like that were very rare for him, and he hoped that Obito, in his newer eye, could see that yes, in spite of it all, he could be happy when he wanted too. Maybe it was the Christmas spirit?

He'd made maybe five steps into the seventh grade hall before a certain pink head stepped into his way. "Kakashi-sensei?" she asked, a bright smile on her face. "Merry Christmas!" and she held her hands forward to give him a card and a white chocolate snowman lollipop, the plastic cover wrapped in red and green ribbons.

And that was the beginning. Hinata nervously walked up to his desk in homeroom to give him a card, her neat handwriting thanking him for giving her the chance to work her hardest inside the flap. Later the Sasaki twins gave him matching pens with sytrofoam snowmen on their tops, one wrapped in a piece of flannel cut into a scarf and the other with a black construction paper hat. During SSR, Sasuke, after much poking from Sakura, handed him a simple card with "Thank you," written inside. F period brought Naruto giving Kakashi a coupon for a ramen stand on Main Street; a card from Shino, and a group card from Team 5, and so on. When all was said and done, he had over two-dozen assorted cards and candies and gifts from the students. He checked in with the other teachers and saw that they, too, had been similarly thought of.

Wednesday came, and more students took their opportunity to hand out gifts and well wishes. When team time came around, they were all smiling rather foolishly, student gifts always bringing out touched feelings and memories of their own childhood.

Kakashi almost didn't want to interrupt it, but it was better to think about it now than later, and so he said: "Alright. Let's get it over with."

"Get what over with?" Kurenai asked.

"The holidays are coming up. Despite overwhelming media evidence that it's all happy fanfare, it's going to be a bitch for some of these kids. Whom are we worried about?"

"Naruto," Iruka said without needing to think. "He has a great foster father right now, but holidays have always been terrible for him. He's hinted at how lonely he gets around this time of year, and he's also rather proudly stated that some of his best pranks come around this time, too." He paused, propping and elbow on the table and holding his chin with the attached hand. "I hope it won't be so bad this year, because he has Sasuke and Sakura this time, along with Yondaime-san. Maybe it'll be quiet this year." He sighed. "I've heard about some of his pranks, I don't really care to live through one."

"Sasuke's another concern," Kakashi added. "He lost his parents over the summer, and this time of year is always peculiar to family values. He'll be missing them, and he's the type to get very dark and broody. Itachi also might make an appearance; you never know - and he seems like the type to see something through."

"You fear that he will come after you, perhaps?" Gai said.

Kakashi shrugged. "I can handle him if it comes to that. But I think his focus is Sasuke. Any others?"

"Kiba," Kurenai said, fiddling with her earrings. "And Hinata. Kiba's been muttering in my class rather darkly, and Hinata keeps throwing looks my way, like something's up. If what Kakashi overheard was true about Kiba's eating schedule, I just hope he makes it through the week without starving. Hinata, too, has to spend a whole week with her parents, and as soon as we come back we're getting ready for midterms; I'm sure the Hyugas are going to push her beyond tolerance."

They all nodded in agreement.

"I'm worried about Chouji," Asuma said. "He's been acting really strange lately, and I'm getting the message that his after school friends are more than a bit different than his school friends. I hope the family goes somewhere over break so he doesn't run into that crowd. And of course there's Ino. I'm sure she's going to be very active over break."

"Then, of course, there is our moody Gaara," Gai added. "With his beloved uncle no doubt working many, many shifts, he will spend untold hours alone and stewing in his room. I fear that he may come back more confrontational than ever."

Kakashi noted the lists; Homeroom Challenge was the next day, and he'd see what he could do to poke the mentioned students into safer or at least softer directions while they cleaned out their lockers.

"Any major announcements?" he asked once he felt the topic had been thoroughly covered.

"There will be a faculty meeting when we come back from break," Asuma said, sitting at his computer. "I just got the email. Apparently we're finally going to hammer out what to do with that damn union president. Oh, and the dance ticket sales went great. We dropped another hundred dollars into our account. The other seventh grade team is also planning a big fundraiser in January; if it's half as good as the headband idea," he tapped his own; they all still wore them, "we're in good straights."

"Oh, that reminds me, my A period got another Academic Excellence," Kurenai said. "Who's in the lead now?"

"Hm, probably Gai, still."

"Ha! Did you hear that Kakashi? I have once again surpassed you!"

"Hm? Did you say something Gai?"

The social studies teacher fumed as the bell rang.

Thursday, being a half-day, worked a little bit differently for Homeroom Challenge. Because the periods were shortened, nobody had time for a movie, and so they squashed all their games into the smaller periods instead, spreading it out over the day - which was about the same time frame that they would have under a normal schedule.

Kakashi was once again in charge of locker cleanout. He'd talked to the janitors the previous week, and the extra garbage can was in his room and waiting when he walked in that morning. After morning announcement, they all filtered out into the hall.

His first stop was to Sakura as she sat in front of her locker with her neatly written notebook open and was pulling out dittos and sections to be sorted. "Sensei?" she asked. "Should I keep this?" She held up a grammar exercise sheet.

"Hmm, no probably not," he said. "Unless you want to get that particular question on the midterm wrong," he added blithely.

Sakura glared at him, her hand already inches from the garbage can. "You're a pain, Kakashi-sensei," she muttered.

The Scarecrow grinned. "I work at it every day," he answered blithely, crouching down in front of her. "What are you doing over the holidays?"

"We're going upstate to watch Christmas Eve mass with my grandparents," she said, excitement entering her voice. "It's a two hour drive, and we'll be looking at all the house decorations and singing carols and having fun. Then, on Christmas Day, we'll open all the presents and after dinner we'll watch a movie call Christmas Carol! Mom said it's a classic and really good; she watches it every year and this time she wants Dad and me to watch it too!"

"Oh, I see," Kakashi drawled. "I've seen that myself several times. It is a classic."

"It is?!" she asked, curiosity surging through the young honor student. "What's it about?"

"Hm," the teacher said, rubbing his chin. "Should I give away such an excellent plot?"

"Yes!" she squealed.

"Alright," he said, sounding resigned. "It's about a man named Ebenezer Scrooge." He paused, letting Sakura giggle at the name. "He's a crotchety old coot, mean as can be who, over the course of the movie, comes to learn the meaning of Christmas."

"A transformation story!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. "I love those!"

"Hm, I have a fondness for them myself," he said, still rubbing his head. "I hope Sasuke gets a chance to see it."

The Student Council Secretary blinked. "Why?"

"Oh," Kakashi said lightly, waiving it off. Cast the bait, he thought. "It's nothing important."

"What? What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked.

Reel her in... "It's just that I think he could use that kind of story right about now. I'm sure he's feeling like a crotchety old coot right about now, what with the holiday and no family to celebrate it with. Naruto must be feeling the same way, too. It just seems like a good movie for them. Anyway, back to work." Kakashi stood and walked away, mentally counting to ten before he looked around and saw the thoughtful frown of Sakura. Hook, line, and sinker!

Fully satisfied, he moved further down the hall and saw an unmitigated mess. Adding to the pile of crumpled and dirty papers, ripped folders, a tattered notebook, and crumpled paper bag book covers, was Kiba, using his hands to shovel out his locker. Wafting from the cavern was a distinctive odor, caught between muttered curses and the occasional growl as Kiba caught his hands on something sharp. The grey-eyed Hinata, next to him, was trying to get a word in sideways between his various noises.

"Uhm, but Kiba," she was whispering. "I'm really worried about you. Next week, you'll probably..."

"I'll what?" the boy in the sweatshirt growled. "You afraid I'll stink or something? That I won't be good enough for your rich happy family? I've seen how they look at me when I'm over, always looking down their noses at me, like I'm some good-for-nothing stray that you happened to take pity on or something."

"Th-they don't think that," Hinata stuttered.

"They do, Hinata, I've seen it. I'm not good enough for your family 'cause I'm poor and ho--"

"You're good enough for me," Hinata said fiercely before realizing what she said and covering her mouth in shock. "Uh, oh, uh, I m-mean, that is, oooooh!" She hid her face in her hands, unable to withhold Kiba's shocked stare.

"Hina-chan," Kiba said suddenly, his eyes bright and a fanged grin on his face, "you're all right!" He slapped her coarsely on the back in approval, sending the timid girl nearly into her locker. He laughed uproariously, causing several students to stare but he didn't care, so happy he was at being told that the girl of the richest family in town accepted him. Hinata continued to blush furiously.

Grinning, he backed away, seeing that they didn't need any intervention. One redhead did, however. He sat in front of his locker, holding his head and swaying slightly, back and forth, back and forth. Kakashi crouched down by him, quietly but making sure he was radiating reassurance.

"... Gaara?"

"Go away," he muttered, his outlined eyes staring off into nothingness. "Go away, all of you." His rocking became slightly more pronounced, a small, pathetic groan vibrating through his throat. "Yashamaru? Yashamaru, did my mother love me?" Another groan churned through his vocal cords and slowly, carefully, Kakashi motioned for Sakura. The pink haired girl came over, throwing a concerned and slightly scared glance at the rocking boy by Kakashi.

"Get Iruka-sensei," he whispered, his words only entering Sakura's ears. "Then Tsunade-sama. Be subtle, if you can." The girl nodded and disappeared into Iruka's room, the special education teacher coming out a full forty seconds later, Sakura also appearing but going in the opposite direction for Tsunade. Kakashi, still crouched by the boy, quickly signed what was happening. A child or two looked at the two teachers, wondering why their hands were moving, but otherwise passed it off as the English teacher playing more mindgames.

"Gaara?" Iruka asked, kneeling down next to the boy. "Gaara? Are you alright?"

"Yashamaru? Make it go away. Make the pain go away."

Slowly, Iruka murmuring platitudes, he was able to get the boy to stand up and start walking down the hall, just as Sakura and Tsunade showed up. The blond nurse helped Iruka guide Gaara the rest of the way.

"Sensei?" Sakura asked. "Sensei, what was that all about? That was scary."

Kakashi looked down at the girl, noting that his homeroom was otherwise oblivious to what had transpired. "Iruka-sensei and Tsunade-sama are handling it," he said softly, again controlling his voice. "There's nothing to worry about." Now, at least, he thought. He gave Sakura a winning smile. "Now then, would you like to help me herd everyone back into my room?"

She stared at him for a long moment, gauging, thinking, before finally saying, "Alright, Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura was very smart for her age; Kakashi just hoped she was smart enough to keep her mouth quiet about this.

The next cycle was Iruka's homeroom, and they cleaned out their lockers without incident, for which the English teacher was relieved. Next up was Gai's homeroom, and as they filtered to their lockers Kakashi made his rounds. This group, too, was relatively quiet. Shikamaru, like at the previous Homeroom Challenge, had nothing really to do, and so he sat against the wall, the Scarecrow towering over him as he stood, leaning slightly against the wall and, of course, still slouching.

"Hey, sensei," the lazy genius mumbled. Kakashi looked down in response. "Is our group always going to be so troublesome?" he asked.

The English teacher blinked, not having expected Shikamaru to pick up the hints he'd been dropping until at least the middle of January. He crouched down, leveling himself a little bit. "Well, that depends on you," he said lightly. "It has since the beginning of the year, but you haven't seen it yet."

Shikamaru frowned, his mind working through Kakashi's words. "You're hints are always so troublesome, Kakashi-sensei."

"Not really," the Scarecrow replied. "Think of it like shogi or sudoku. Only, instead of numbers it's words."

The boy's eyes widened slightly, his eyes becoming quickly distant as if a key had unlocked and a flood of thoughts and realizations started pouring into his brain. The silver haired teacher straightened, letting the boy have his moment to work through the puzzle. Kankuro had, meanwhile, procured a camera from somewhere and was taking snapshots of everything. In two long strides, Kakashi bent over and grabbed the camera. "Why thank you," he said lightly. "I've been looking for this all over the place." He then put it in is vest pocket next to his beloved book. The heavily made up boy frowned, almost pouting, but said nothing as he turned back to his locker and started pulling rumpled worksheets from them.

Walking back, Kakashi looked down at Shikamaru and saw that he had finally worked through his thoughts. "So you're saying that I can make our group better?" he asked, referring to his earlier question.

"Yes," Kakashi said, waiting for the next question.

"How?"

Nodding, Kakashi crouched down again. "Hmmm, how do I put this...?" he drawled. "Who gives all the orders in Team Ten right now?"

"Ino."

"Do you think she's the best qualified for it?"

"What do you mean?" Kakashi didn't answer, the Shikamaru frowned again, muttering "troublesome" under his breath. The problem with Team 10 hadn't been their personalities; it had been their choice of leadership. Young Shikamaru had just assumed that because Ino gave the orders, that Ino was in charge. The truth of the matter, however was that Shikamaru was in charge. On the rare occasion that the boy had taken interest in an assignment, he had actually been more than efficient in divvying the work and facilitating results quickly. He would even, without prompting, generate extra credit with the completeness of his answers, which he in turn shared and explained to his teammates. Ino, whether she was aware of it or not, deferred to Shikamaru when he took such an assertive role. Ino was the public face while Shikamaru was the string puller and Chouji was the legman. It was actually a better makeup than Kakashi had initially intended, and all that held them back was Shikamaru's laziness.

"Oh, that's just so troublesome," he whined, figuring it out for himself.

"That's your opinion. You asked if you're group was, to use your words, going to continue to be 'troublesome,' the answer to that is, 'only if you let it.' It's you're decision."

Shikamaru pouted openly, too lazy to stand up and go inside.

Nothing of note happened after that, and soon Gai's cycle finished and Kurenai's stepped out. Kakashi wandered over to the corner cluster of lockers. Temari, Kakashi noticed, had apparently taken fashion tips from Ino, because her jeans were just. Too. Tight. To be on her knees and bent over reaching into her locker was too much, and the half dozen boys around here were tripping over themselves asking if she needed help or if there was anything they could do, because of course they were nice guys and wanted to be helpful - so long as they got a view. Temari was another girl that developed early. Her chest was not as big as Ino's, but her hips were much more defined, as her dark jeans demonstrated.

Kakashi stood over the boys and turned on his intimidation glare, and most of the boys were smart enough to shy away. Temari, however looked up to see him and immediately started copping an attitude.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm cleaning out my locker, just like you wanted." She paused, waiting for a reply, and when Kakashi offered none, she rolled her eyes and snorted. "You probably just want an excuse to look at my ass."

Kakashi snorted. "To Ebisu-sensei. Now."

"Fine, I'll him you were trying to peep," she yelled, getting more than a few students to look her way.

"And what on earth makes you think you have anything to offer?" Kakashi replied, his eyes becoming very hard, his voice very low. The students backed away almost involuntarily, and Temari only huffed as she gathered her things and stormed down to the office. Once out of sight, Kakashi sneaked into Kurenai's room to use her phone. Dialing zero, Shizune picked up and the Scarecrow quickly passed on the story of what had happened, asking her to pass it on to Ebisu. Fair vice-principal he may be, but one thing the bespectacled man had no tolerance over was sexual harassment or innuendo of any kind, and more often than not tended to blow things out of proportion - especially if a teacher was involved. "No disreputable behavior!" he always exclaimed. Shizune understood this all too well, and promised she'd pass it on before Temari exaggerated too much.

That done, he threw a quick glance to Kurenai, who had heard the conversation and look appropriately shocked, and smiled winningly before going back outside. This homeroom was relatively quiet, however, and nothing overt had happened in the five minutes he'd been gone. Making a cursory pass around the lockers, he spied Shino, like Shikamaru before him, sitting against the opposite wall, having nothing to do. Kakashi leaned against the wall next to him, waiting to see if the boy had any questions or comments.

Finding none, he offered one of his own. "Could you do me a favor over break?" he asked lightly.

"A favor?" Shino asked, his covered eyes looking up to his English teacher.

"Mn. Do you remember what we talked about last time? About you being a leader?"

"... Yes," Shino drew out, not sure where the Scarecrow was going with this.

"I was wondering if you'd practice it over break."

"... Over break?"

"Yeah."

"But I'd need my teammates in order to practice it, wouldn't I?" he asked, slowly.

"Hmm. Yes, I suppose you would." Kakashi said nothing more, letting the Aburame boy work it out on his own. Meanwhile he made another pass around the lockers. Chouji was again eating whatever foodstuffs he found, regardless of age, and making obscene jokes about them.

"Look, look," he said to another student, waving a fuzzy and moldy old sandwich, "I'm growing my own weed! No, no, better yet, my own poppies!"

"Chouji," Kakashi said, radiating disapproval. "Keep your jokes limited to non-controversial topics, if you please."

"Duh, what's that mean?" he asked, deliberately putting a lisp in his voice and trying to sound stupid. "Us speds don't get much ejumucation!"

"Then you can have a detention the day you come back for inappropriate behavior," he replied. He moved to go into Kurenai's room for a detention form, and Chouji only made his voice louder and, if possible, stupider.

"Der, hey man!" he was laughing at his own joke, thinking it was the funniest thing in the world. Sighing, Kakashi had Kurenai dig out the form and wrote it up.

It wasn't long after that that the last homeroom of the day, Asuma's, came. Kakashi made his rounds, helping the janitor switch bags, making sure the kids were doing what they were supposed to, and poking those that weren't. He noted that Naruto and Sasuke, their lockers next to each other, were both very quiet, their faces downcast and almost bleak. He walked over to them first.

"These aren't faces I should be seeing before a Christmas holiday," he said lightly. They both looked up, slightly startled, before looking back down to their lockers. "Hm, now what could be generating this dark cloud I sense? Perhaps you're forlorn about the approaching holiday because it reminds you of the things that you've lost." The both looked up to him sharply, mirrors of each other in ways that they would never realize at this age. "Maybe you don't realize," he continued, acting as if he'd seen nothing, "that the families you don't think you have are actually right in front of you. I'll give you a hint, that person completes the two of you."

Without another word he stood and left them alone. Mirroring each other again, they had identical looks of surprise and question on their lips, wanting to know who this family member was that completed them. He grinned happily and somewhat evilly, glad he had managed to make two people very happy for Christmas.

At the other end of the lockers, a carbon copy of what had happen the last cycle with Temari was again occurring. This time it was a skirt and a shirt that, when the arms were raised, exposed the naval. Ino saw Kakashi walking towards her with a heavy glare and rolled her eyed.

"What is it this time, sensei?" she whined, her voice the perfect pitch of "cute."

"Oh, nothing in particular, Ino," he said lightly, screwing a smile on his face even as he threw death glares at the boys. "Tell me, no one is bothering you, are they?"

Ino flashed what he supposed was to be a charming grin. "Nobody that I don't want to bother me!" she said happily.

"Oh, I see," he said. "Just make sure they don't bother you in school. You remember what happened the last time when someone was bothering you... right?"

Her flush of mortification only made the boys wilder, as well as her indignant pout as she turned around fiercely and went back to cleaning out her locker.

The English teacher sighed, knowing that it wouldn't be enough. Try though he might, he just couldn't save everybody, and it was his eternal disappointment to Obito and his promise. In the season of forgiveness he knew that there was no one who could forgive him. Frowning, Kakashi took his customary place at the wall and watched the last homeroom clean their lockers. He felt tired suddenly. He glanced at his watch and saw it was only quarter of twelve. Another twenty minutes until the students left and the vacation started. He was relatively certain that Gai would try to drag him to some family gala, try to inject him with holiday spirit.

Kakashi decided he'd be missing before the social studies teacher knocked on his door. He needed time with Obito, and Yellow Flash, and... He'd been neglecting them recently, and he needed to reaffirm a few things at the memorial, before he could screw his head on facing the right way - not straight, never straight, his head would forever be crooked with that last death, the last loved one that left him - and face the school with a new strength to see the year through.

There was something about this year's students that brought up all the memories. It was painful, and after four months of it he desperately needed the break. He was glad Christmas was coming. A nice relaxing week at the memorial.

It was with these dark thoughts that the bell rang and vacation began.

Sakura's arc continues to build next chapter, so keep reading!