Professional days, Kakashi reflected on his ride in Monday, were having a theme of Not Working this year. Between missed days to the hellish comedy of errors his last full-day professional day was, he really shouldn't have been surprised that Friday had gone poorly as well. He was supposed to go to an English workshop at the local university. Ebisu himself had gone to Kakashi and mentioned the professional day, so the Scarecrow had volunteered to go. No big deal, right? Well, as it turned out, the university had double-booked their consortium. Not only was a teacher workshop scheduled there, but also some bigwig meeting about filing things and how it's important to accountants or some other rigmarole that Kakashi could care less about. So who got the consortium? The high-paying bigwigs of course. So all the teachers were shuffled outside, into the biting wind to a place called the Pavilion. The Pavilion was clearly designed to be used three out of four seasons, winter being the one season it wasn't properly outfitted for. It was a large enclosure with a wooden gazebo-like ceiling and several large thick posts supported it. Between the posts were currently plane glass windows, which while stopping the arctic wind, radiated the cold. Since the university was nestled in the hills, the open windows did provide a nice view of the blinding white open valley-hill expanse.

To try and make up for the sub-freezing temperature, the university was nice enough to provide sparking space-heaters that only worked in small areas and with plugs where Kakashi was certain he saw the wires were almost completely worn in half. And with teachers who had to trudge through the snow to get there, well, the concrete floor definitely had puddles on it. With water and worn wiring, Kakashi was worried. So, after seeing the conditions, he went back to his car, pulled out the spare clothes he always had in case he got stranded in snow and had to dig out, and changed into a pair of thick warm jeans, heavy work boots, and switched his good coat with a heavy lined wool flannel and buried his hands in his pockets.

As if that wasn't enough, when he wandered back into the Pavilion, he realized that this conference was geared more for special education in English than actual English, which meant that Iruka was the better choice for this workshop. Damn Ebisu and his inability to be clear. Still, Kakashi was able to pull some useful tidbits and gather plenty of pamphlets. But overall, it was a closer to a waste of time.

Therefore, the Scarecrow left early, warmed himself immensely in his car, dropped off at the school on his way home and picked up the tests his sub had given out, and spent his afternoon doing more useful things like grading.

When he finally got to his new parking space Monday morning, he made a beeline for the office and dropped of the pamphlets he'd gathered into Iruka's mailbox. He popped his head briefly into Ebisu's office, but no one was there, and wandered down to homeroom.

As usual, Iruka had opened his door. As unusual, however, both Naruto and Sasuke were in his homeroom, chatting with Sakura. He smiled at them as he squeezed by the couch to his desk and turned on his computer. While he went about getting set, pulling out the tests, checking his stacks of papers to make sure he had enough review packets for today and tomorrow before midterms started Wednesday, etc, Sakura came up to his desk.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Kakashi-sensei, how is it you know us so well?"

"Oh?"

"You said that Sasuke-kun and Naruto would support me."

"Have they?"

She snorted. "'Have they?' he asks." She launched into a story on how Friday, some of the students were starting to say some disparaging things to her on the bus and Sasuke and Naruto were appalled once more when she shared what happened once she got to school. The result was that neither of them left her side at any chance they could for the remainder of the day, and when they dropped her off at a class where they wouldn't be, Sasuke would glare out across the room with full intimidation. Why, just this morning, while Sakura was waiting at the end of her street with Ino and some of the other girls who were troubling her, Naruto came running down the street, out of breath, talking about how he missed his bus and that Yondaime had to drop him off there because it was on his way to work (which Sakura stated flatly was completely false) and kept her company and distracted for the whole ride into school, where Sasuke was waiting at the main entrance.

Kakashi really couldn't help but smile.

"Oh yeah," Sakura said, running a hand through her short hair. "My parents want to come in and talk to everyone. I think they emailed you over the weekend about it."

"You were keeping this from them too?" he raised a hidden eyebrow.

Sakura blushed and looked down. "I thought I--"

"--could handle it yourself," he finished. "And now?"

She glared at him. "So I need help. I have it. And support."

"Speaking of, Sasuke and Naruto are looking a little lonely without you at the moment."

"Sensei!" she growled, then smiled, before turning back to go to her seat.

"Make sure they've checked in with Asuma-sensei, that's not my job," he called out to her. She chuckled as she sat down with Naruto and Sasuke and started up a conversation about how Sasuke was finally going to get the cast off his wrist next week.

Glancing out over his homeroom, Kakashi noticed Hinata looked far more nervous than usual and he made a mental note to talk to her during class, or perhaps getting Kurenai to speak with her. However, he was distracted when he opened his email.

The phrase "a lot" didn't cover it very well. Many parents had emailed him over the weekend about concerns regarding why their child had been called in to the office. He expected Ino's and Temari's parents, as well as from the parents of the other kids who were bullying Sakura, but he even had emails from parents whose children were called in as witnesses.

Those at least, were easy to handle. He made a generic email in a text window explaining how there was a report of bullying and the child was merely needed to corroborate the events that took place. The bully-parents would be harder, and he would have to wait till his prep to deal with it.

The first two periods went by as usual, with Kakashi's A Period getting an A Period Excellence. During his prep C period, he started replying to emails, one by one. Sakura's parents were the easiest. They wanted to know what was being done so he told them. He even invited them to come in if they still had questions or concerns. The bully-parents took longer to compose because they required delicate wording.

He inched his way down the parent list for most of C period, not even getting a chance to make copies of the Homework Tickets his first period would be begging for the following day. So, when he went to lunch later on, he had a folder full of papers that he needed for copying. The perfect excuse to irritate Iruka, certainly.

Unhappy that the faculty copier was busted again, Kakashi wandered down to the office to use their copier. No more than two steps into the office than the Old Man stepped out.

"Ah, Kakashi," he greeted. "I realize you must be busy, but if you could come with me for a moment?"

Taking a moment to look mournfully down at his copy pile, he nodded and followed Sandaime into the Guidance Department and into their conference room. Inside was a blond woman, tall and elegant, with sharp blue eyes. There was no doubt in Kakashi's mind who she was. Yamanaka Ino's mother.

"Yo," he greeted, slouching into the doorframe. "I just sent off an email to you a few hours ago. I wasn't aware you were coming in."

"Please, Kakashi-sensei, have a seat." Sandaime sat down stiffly in one of the chairs, his age somehow showing more thoroughly in his slow jerky movement than in his aged face. "And don't worry about your meeting, I've had Shizune call up. They know you'll be detained for a while."

Damn. And he'd just gotten the perfect excuse to. Ah well.

"Now then," Sandaime continued, "would you mind repeating what you discussed with me on the phone on Friday?" he turned to Ino's lovely mother. "I'm afraid Kakashi-sensei wasn't here due to a professional day and I haven't had the opportunity to discuss your concerns with me."

It was all Ino's mother needed. According to her (or more likely Ino) the accusations against her daughter were false, she didn't deserve three days in ISS and a Saturday detention (Kakashi was pleased to hear that. With his being out Friday, he never had the chance to find out if anything had been done yet.), that Sakura was the one bullying Ino, and on and on and on. There came a point when the Scarecrow just tuned out, letting the allegations sink into the back of his brain to sort through later. Right about now, all he wanted was his book.

When she finally seemed to take a break, Kakashi interrupted to avoid any more long-winded misconceptions.

"Yamanaka-san," he interjected, "as a teacher I've seen many kinds of parents. Good parents, enabling parents, oblivious parents, poor parents, bad parents, an entire spectrum that can't be fully identified or labeled. You, as you have proven, are a good parent. You're concerned about your daughter and you want to make sure her side is heard. You want to make sure that she is treated fairly and if she is at fault, that our punishment fits her crime."

Given that Kakashi had turned his charm up to full, Ino's mother paused, his words cutting through her temper. There was an ever so faint blush on her cheeks as she smiled slightly, saying, "Why thank you."

"Now, your daughter has had detentions, correct?"

"Oh yes," she replied, nodding. "I admit that she can have a very fast mouth that gets her grounded at home. She's not really a trouble maker, but she can talk before she thinks."

"I agree. All of her detentions with me have been due to her saying, shall we say, not nice things." Sandaime smiled beside him. "Now, whenever we are presented with a case of bullying, we have some very strict definitions that need to be met before we classify something as such. I'm sure that Sandaime-sama has explained these to you."

"Yes, we discussed them Friday."

Kakashi nodded. "Good, did he mention the documentation we have?"

To this, the mother snorted, the gesture still looking lovely and elegant. "One girl's word against mine. How do you know that this Sakura didn't start each incident? My daughter may have a fast mouth, but she isn't cruel."

A quick glance at the clock. "Then why don't we try this? Her class is coming up in about ten minutes. Why don't you come in and observe?"

Ino's mother came up short. Taking a full minute to roll the idea around in her mind. "I need to call and rearrange things, I have an appointment coming up, but yes. I think I'd like to observe."

"You can make the calls from my room, if you wish."

She nodded, standing up gracefully. "Lead the way."

Kakashi dropped her off in his room and told her how to get an outside line while he hurried back to team.

"This will be interesting," he said, not even slumping into his seat. "Ino's mother is going to watch with us, Iruka."

"Oh!" Kurenai smiled. "That will be very interesting."

"Speaking of interesting," the Scarecrow continued, "How did Hinata do on our test?"

The science teacher smiled brightly, "Two points from an A."

"She tanked mine. And I mean tanked, worse than usual." He glanced at the rest of his team. "How is Hinata doing with you?"

"The youthful Hyuuga girl does all of her work in earnest and she is passable with all of her efforts."

"She's just barely passing," Asuma sighed. "And she's been extra jumpy and twitchy lately."

"I, too, have noticed the shy girl has lost some of her youthful exuberance and is far quieter than normal." Gai crossed his arms and frowned. "She never speaks in class anymore and forever seems to be taking notes with reckless abandon. It appears our young Hinata wishes to learn dictation."

Kakashi absorbed all the comments. "Kurenai, she seems to have a small connection with you, see if you can get her to talk. I suspect that midterms are stressing her out and she could probably use a friendly ear." He glanced around. "Any other comments before Ino's mother sees her daughter's behavior?"

"Nothing major," Asuma replied. "We've been going over fundraisers in your absence and seeing how much we still need for the end of the year trip. I can give you the details after school."

The bell rang. "Sounds good."

He and Iruka walked into class together and the Scarecrow noted with a pleased smile that Ino's mother was at his desk in the back, leaning back. Most students would blink with her in there the go about their business. With Yamanaka-san's white blouse and delicate jewelry, the students were already buzzing that she was from administration to observe Kakashi and see if his eccentricities were an issue. Either that or she was from the CIA checking if Kakashi-sensei was the Kakashi they'd been sending out to spy oversees but wasn't checking in. The theories were all very amusing. Sakura recognized her, however, and was definitely hiding behind Sasuke and Naruto.

Iruka started to write the warm-up on the board and Kakashi walked past Team 7 to pretend to look for something in his desk. As the Scarecrow passed, he whispered, "She's here to see Ino," and pulled out his stack of handouts for the day's review. While Sakura hardly came out of hiding, she did seem to relax.

The first half of class was a thorough review of the first quarter's work. Kakashi and Iruka both gave out review sheets, discussed items that had more significance than others, in hopes that the students would get a clue about what would be on the midterm, and answered a few detail oriented questions. Then, Iruka took Teams 1-5 to his room as Kakashi wandered around the remaining teams. He ended up spending a long time with Team 6, since both of them were way behind in their work. Team 9 also tried to monopolize his time, but not quite as successfully. Team 8 had them all working, but Kiba was snapping and Hinata was jumping. Team 7 was working well together, though that was no surprise, and Team 10, well.

Chouji was absent again. Shikamaru definitely was looking put out with Ino, who had forgotten that her mother was behind her. Kakashi heard her talking about nighttime activities, and he looked over to see Sakura cringe ever so minutely before turning to Naruto to ask a question. Glancing over at Yamanaka-san, Kakashi noted with grim satisfaction that she had noticed it as well.

He wandered around the groups for the remainder of the period, and watched how Ino's mother's face got darker and darker. Finally, Iruka brought the rest of the class back to wrap up and Kakashi slid silently between his desk and the couch and stood in his student-free corner.

"You don't have to worry about Ino," she growled. "She'll be grounded for the rest of her life."

Kakashi tried to Not Smile.

Tuesday was full of reviews, since Midterms started the following day and Kakashi spent most of the day running around making sure had blue books for the essays, enough copies of the midterms, extras of everything, spare pens and pencils since he knew someone would end up without a back up (or even have one). Plus there was making extra worksheets for the last-minute students who were trying to hand in assignments while they could still get credit for it. To make matters more difficult, parents were continuously trying to contact him about their child getting called to the office about bullying, or trying to report bullying of their child, etc. Most were simple replies or call backs, saying that everything was under control, they just were needed to verify something, and if a child is being bullied, please call guidance since they had all the procedures.

Really. He wanted to be left alone and get some work done.

After lunch, when he finally trudged his way up to team, he didn't bother to justify his tardiness after Iruka's irked proclamation, instead just slouching and pulling out his book.

"We had Kiba's PPT earlier," Kurenai started. "His father was late and had to leave early." Frowning, she ran a hand through her long thick hair. "He smelled of gasoline and engine oil. He was filthy. He assured us he'd washed his hands before he came, but he still smudged the table. He wouldn't talk about why Kiba's so angry, just that he's dealing with his son the best we can." She shook her head. "Incredibly frustrating."

Ah, Kurenai had finally been to a PPT. She hadn't been to any since the beginning of the year, mainly because she was trying to catch up with the complete lack of curriculum that her predecessor left, or rather, didn't leave behind. Wait a minute...

"Wasn't I supposed to go to that PPT?"

Iruka snorted. "With you running around today? I took Kurenai instead, she seems to have a connection with Kiba, in any case."

"So," Asuma asked, looking at their science teacher, "what did you learn?"

She snorted. "Not much. The dad is more tight-lipped than his son, I swear. When I listened to Kiba and Hinata talking this morning, I got the impression that money is much tighter that it usually is. Hinata was very concerned about Kiba getting food on the weekends and such."

"Shit," the math teacher growled. "No wonder he's so snappish lately. He's more concerned about making sure there's food on the table than school."

"It is a shame that such youth is unable to enjoy the time in their lives that is the shortest. It is a sad state when the children of a family do more parenting than the adults." The Green Beast leaned back, his arms crossed. "A true, true shame."

"In happier news," Asuma grinned oddly, "Ino was bitching this morning about having to be grounded for the rest of the school year for bullying. She kept complaining about how she's never seen either of her parents so mad." He laughed a smoker's laugh. "Naruto and Sasuke gave her hell for her complaining."

"Good for them," Iruka smiled. "Of course, we can't show such preferences during class, but I think it's about time she got a good slap of reality."

Kakashi nodded. "When she comes back, I hope she'll finally be willing to work with her team."

Wednesday, Kakashi was pleased to note, was very quiet. Mainly because midterms had started and he didn't have to listen to inane chatter all day. Instead, his classes were silent. Wednesday would have midterms for Periods A, B, and C, Thursday would be D, E, and F, and Friday would be G with two make-up times. This worked out well for Kakashi and his team, since Thursday the only midterm they had was during F and Friday would only be G, aside from make-ups.

So, when C Period came around on Wednesday, Kakashi was free to start grading with the seventh grade taking finals in their specials.

Or so he thought.

No sooner had he pulled out the Scantron to grade the bubble sheets than his phone rang. It was Shizune, asking him to come down to the office, there was a parent who wanted to speak to him. The Scarecrow sighed. No doubt someone else who was concerned about all the talk of bullying and wanted his reassurance that, yes, everything was being dealt with, etc. Kakashi couldn't really complain, since if the parents were calling, it meant they cared enough about their children to be concerned. A caring parent usually stood for a better future, unless it was an enabler, but Kakashi didn't feel like pondering the social and ethical issues of parenting. He already had about a hundred kids to parent every day.

Thus, Kakashi wandered around the corner and down the hall to the office. Shizune ushered him into the conference room where he'd met with Ino's mother and he sat down with Sandaime. In front of them was a shriveled old woman, her hair thin and limp, though there were signs that it had once been bushy and curly. Her eyes were an emerald green, and though surrounded by wrinkles, maintained a sharp wit about them.

"Hello," Kakashi bowed, always slightly (slightly) more respectful to elders after what his father had drilled into him as a child. "Forgive me, I was told a parent wished to see me?"

"That was me," the old woman croaked. "Only I'm not a parent. I'm here about my granddaughter, Temari."

Ah. "I see. How can we help you?"

"Forgive me, Fanno-san," the Old Man stated. "I have not had the chance to tell Kakashi-sensei your concerns, as he's been proctoring midterms all day."

"Doesn't matter," she retorted, strength starting to come to her voice. "I raised my Temari-chan right. She's never gotten a detention before, never gotten into trouble, never had to have me called in. Now she's got this three-day detention and an extra on Saturday, when I can't drive her in because I have to be in work." She glared across the table, very much radiating an us-versus-them mentality, and Kakashi was currently in the "them" category. She was also older than he initially thought if she harkened back to the days when getting a detention meant being sent to another room. That was ISS nowadays. "I won't have it."

"Fanno-san," Sandaime started. "As I've told you before, we have documentation that she was bullying a fellow student--"

"Nonsense," she interrupted. "The word of another girl against mine. I've spoken with her and she knows better than to lie to me. This Sakura-girl is the easy type. Can charm anyone to do what she wants. The fact that most of the seventh grade teachers are men has something to do with her getting good grades and special treatment I'm sure."

Now Kakashi was insulted.

"I beg your pardon, madam," he interrupted, "but this school doesn't hire people who like children in the manner you're suggesting. By your own reasoning, then, Temari should be failing her classes. I can assure you that she's doing very well in all of her subjects. A straight honor-roll student. She even has the potential to becoming a high honor-roll student. If this school was set up the way you are suggesting--"

"Enough!" the grandmother growled. "I've seen it. I've seen it. Teachers play favorites, and I've talked to Temari's friends. It's no secret that this Sakura girl is a favorite of yours--"

Kakashi showed her the palm of his hand. "Fanno-san, I know the rumors. I hear them in class everyday. The student body seems to think that Team 7, which consists of Sakura and two others, gets special treatment over other teams. I assure you, and if you want I can go back to my room and get samples, that they work very hard together and can produce work that can be considered high-school level. Similarly, I can go and get work from Temari's team, and show you the same thing. Temari's team is incredibly intelligent and can do high-school level writing and thinking. And before you even suggest cheating, both teams always present a different thesis."

The old woman growled, taking a breath to start something before the Old Man interrupted her.

"Forgive an old man," he stated, "but this will go nowhere. Fanno-san, what do you want for your granddaughter?"

"She doesn't deserve the three-day detention. I can't drive her in for Saturday's detention."

"In that case, I am willing to reschedule her Saturday detention to an office detention after school on Monday."

"She shouldn't be in detention," the old woman snarled.

Sandaime sighed. "On that, I must disagree. We thoroughly investigated the claims, and we have more than just Sakura's word. We have witnesses, both student and faculty, to the various accounts, enough to satisfy our definition of bullying, which requires immediate attention. We have a zero-tolerance policy on bullying, and when such an extended account is documented and verified, action must be taken."

"My granddaughter wouldn't do such a thing!"

"I'm sorry that we disagree on this," Kakashi stated, which was the truth. It would appear that this grandmother could see no wrong when it came to her granddaughter, which meant that Temari would have to be careful to not end up on the wrong path. Either Temari was lying to her guardian, which wasn't a good sign, or she was telling the truth as she saw it which was very skewed.

The old woman huffed, getting up with the aide of her cane, and shuffled out of the room as quickly as she could.

Needless to say, when Kakashi got back to his room, grading would be shoved aside and he'd slump into his couch to read and try and ignore the filthy feeling that Temari's grandmother had shoved on him. But no, that was not to be. The English teacher flipped the lights on in his room to find Asuma stretched out on the cushy softness, an arm over his eyes, looking more exhausted than Kakashi had seen in years.

He paused, looking at his couch, studying his colleague. Asuma was the oldest of the team, and the most senior. But when the time came for a new team leader, Asuma had lobbied heavily for Kakashi to get the job, seeing something in him that Kakashi hadn't been entirely aware of at the time. But Asuma always kept a level of distance between himself and the team. Everything Kakashi knew about why was pieced together from fragmented conversations, talking with fellow faculty, and in-depth research that would lend credence to the student body's suspicions of his supposedly being in the CIA.

The old math department head, two years ago, was probably the most lucrative as far as basic facts and gossip about Asuma, but Kakashi didn't have a clear picture. A rough picture, but not a precise picture. Sudoku-sama had come into the school as new blood with new ideas to get the students more involved back when most of the faculty was still set in the old ways and many weren't willing to change. Asuma had been a naïve young man back then, and had forged many inroads that Kakashi and later teachers had used to start turning curriculum around. However the cost was Asuma working in a hostile environment, with many feeling that he would use his own father to push through what he wanted.

When Jiraiya had mentioned that Asuma was too burned, that was putting things mildly. The Go-master had fought for curriculum revisions in not only math, but all subjects, set up student-support programs, and open the lines of communication between parents and teachers. Unfortunately, he'd been shot down one too many times. Almost burned out, Asuma had stepped aside and let the newer teachers take up the battle. Aside from the inroads he'd forged, the one real legacy that Asuma had created was getting the Old Man to hire new teachers more in tune with the times and willing to change with new research.

Back when Kakashi had started teaching, Asuma remained distant until he and Gai got a good look at what their new English teacher was going through. While Gai was the most persistent in breaking down Kakashi's walls, Asuma had been the one to destroy the final barrier and get the reticent Scarecrow to talk. Life went much better for Kakashi after that. Asuma retreated to his usual distance.

The Scarecrow had learned over the years when to support Asuma and when to leave him alone. However, it always required careful observations and proactive meddling. For Sudoku-sama to come to Kakashi without prompting was a first.

He flipped the lights back off in his room, closed the blinds to block out the afternoon sun, and squeezed between Asuma and his desk to slouch in his chair, waiting.

The math teacher glanced out from underneath his arm, and sighed. Kakashi noted the cigarette dangling from his lips, unlit.

"Thought you'd be pouring over all those damn essays by now."

"I got pulled down to meet with the Old Man and Temari's grandmother."

Asuma barked a laugh. "Sucks to be you."

Kakashi only nodded.

"There are some days when this job is just too damn much. You spend months with the kids trying to teach them, trying to show them what a responsible adult is, trying to show them what reality is like, trying to get them to realize that you give a fucking damn. Then, just when you think you're getting through to them, you realize that they're just pushing you further and further away. We fucking sure don't do this for a paycheck. We do this for the kids, but nobody seems to fucking care. It's always our fault, or you realize the kid you're trying to help is too fucked up for you to make a difference in just a hundred-eighty fucking days."

After a quick search of his memory, the English teacher came up with why Asuma might be so close to breaking. He had probably come from Gaara's PPT, which had been scheduled for this period. The Scarecrow said nothing, however, merely kicked off his shoes under the desk, leaned back and put his feet up, staring into the ceiling.

"These kids don't give a shit about everything we're doing for them. They're too wrapped up in their own personal dramas that if it's not someone they're friends with, who the hell cares? So selfish. Parents reinforce it, saying their kids can do no wrong, or worse, the parents aren't even there, leaving the kids to put things together on their own and leaving them so turned around, it's no wonder they come to shitty conclusions. Or end up with severe problems."

Kakashi leaned back farther in his chair, staring at the tiles and grid above his desk. They sat together in silence for a long time. Sudoku-sama was in a bad way, and there was no doubt in the Scarecrow's mind that this had been building all year. They'd been told that this year's group was rougher than most, and that was true in many ways. However, Kakashi had found an inner strength in much of the grade when pulled together, such as Team 7 and Team 8. There were gems and more positive moments than Kakashi usually saw when trying to get students to learn. Yes, students like Naruto were hard to maintain discipline in class. But there seemed to be more maturity sprouting out this year than in all the years Kakashi had been teaching. They weren't major bouts of growing up, but the scaffolding had begun. The team idea that Gai had suggested had worked in ways the Scarecrow hadn't even realized and the students were reaping the benefit.

But Asuma wasn't seeing it. Asuma, who'd spent years and a lot of shit from faculty to try and create such learning environments as the one going on with this year's students, wasn't seeing it.

"How is Gaara?"

"Remember how Tsunade said at the beginning of the year we didn't know what his issues are?"

"Yes."

"I know what they are now."

"Iruka?"

"Was pulling kids for various midterms. I went solo."

Kakashi waited.

"Mother died giving birth to him... was an addict and was lucky he wasn't a crack baby... Father didn't want him... made that abundantly clear... when Gaara turned eight he tried to kill him... And people wonder why he's labeled as Socially and Emotionally Disturbed. DCF put him with Yashamaru... an uncle who doesn't know a damn thing about parenting... had only just gotten out of high school and saddled with a kid... Too lenient, let's Gaara get away with almost anything... isn't home enough to make sure he's doing as told... For the first time he's been able to find time to come in and see us, even if it's usually cut short... he's surprised at how much we've been saying about Gaara, doesn't believe he'd do anything once he's spoken to him... Doesn't know a damn thing about setting limits. Thinks just talking will work. Not with someone like Gaara." Asuma took a deep breath through his unlit cigarette. "Only learned all this because Gaara was in the PPT and turned into a mumbling headache... Yashamaru's never seen this behavior before... Fucking idiots." To whom Asuma was referring, Kakashi wasn't certain, but it really didn't matter at that point.

Asuma took a deep breath once more and brought his arm down, turning his head to the quiet English teacher. "What the hell do we do with that? What are we supposed to put into his IEP to try and get him over that? If Gaara hasn't even talked about this with the school shrink, or his guidance counselor, or any teacher at all since he entered school, let alone his uncle, how the hell do we set up a support network for him? We've been going about this all wrong for five fucking months. Half a year! Fuck, it isn't just Gaara that needs counseling, it's Yashamaru. He's not prepared. He thinks just paying the bills and talking to his nephew will be all he needs to do. Schools been the only stability and not only have we been doing a shitty job for five months, he hadn't been worked with about these problems since he entered school. We've never had this information before because Yashamaru didn't think to tell us. Thought Gaara would talk with the school shrink and that'd be the end of it.

"We're supposed to teach Gaara over twelve years how to be a functioning member of society, a responsible citizen, the ins and outs of how to live life from day-to-day. How the fuck can we do that?"

And that was why Asuma was near the breaking point. He was feeling helpless in regards to one child who really needed someone in his corner. For all that NCLB was about making sure that no child ever fell through the cracks of the American education system, there was just no way to prevent it. In the case of Gaara, they were fortunate. Iruka would be able to write up a new IEP better suited for the disturbed student and teachers from there would have the necessary information to make the modifications and adjustments to help support Gaara better. Assuming he finished high school of course. There were students where such support systems wouldn't be discovered until they were almost upon graduation, and by then, there was almost no time left. Of course, NCLB wasn't about making sure that students grew up healthy so much as "having enough knowledge" by passing standardized tests. But that was another issue that Kakashi didn't particular feel like pondering at the moment.

"How?" Kakashi replied. "You mean that what we've been doing all year hasn't shown him what responsible adults are like? That he can't function in society? That he can't live from day to day and will need to be in a group home? You're saying that Gaara wouldn't be able to hold down a job and make ends meet? He may not have many friends and I rather doubt at this point that he'll ever get married or have a relationship of that nature, but won't he still be a contributing member of society?"

Asuma offered up a bitter laugh. "Oh, he's smart all right. He'll be able to live day-to-day. By those definitions, he'll be fine. But what about being happy? It may not be in the job description, but isn't part of our responsibility to try and give them some happiness?"

To this, Kakashi threw a dark glare at the math teacher of his team. "No one," he stated flatly, "can be the sole means of happiness for someone else. You need to find happiness on your own or you will never be truly happy."

"Sorry," Asuma mumbled, leaning back with his arm over his eyes. "Forgot about all the shit thrown your way."

"Do I look happy?"

"You weren't SED, Kakashi."

"Do I look happy?"

"Most days, yes. When anything comes up, you dim."

"You may not know all the details, but you know I had no hope of happiness when I left school. How do you know all the details that Gaara's life will hold? Who's to say that he won't be able to find his own happiness one day? They may not be the best team, but he works with Temari and Kankuro. It's taken, as you say, five fucking months, but they're starting to bond as a team. Who's to say that they won't continue to be there and support him? Who's to say that Yashamaru won't, once he's gotten his wake-up call? Who's to say anything?

"You're deciding his future for him, Asuma. And you're being stubborn about it. Stop it."

The math teacher let out a long tired sigh. "Sometimes I'm the hopeless jackass, aren't I?"

"You're a jackass who's welcome on my couch any time."

"I'm tired."

"No doubt. Go to sleep."

"Hnn."

They stayed silent. Kakashi observed the tired man out of the corner of his eye. Within moments, Asuma was asleep, snoring quietly, the cigarette still dangling from his lips. He waited, letting the tuckered out math teacher rest. If he could manage it, he would make Asuma take a few days off. But first things first.

He slipped out of his room and looked in across the hall. "Iruka-sensei? We need to meet after school. Kurenai-sensei's room."

"Eh? Why--?"

But Kakashi left without answering. Iruka was still with students and he wouldn't get into it then. He might have signed the explanation, but the English teacher needed to find someone. He checked in at the office first, found where he'd be taking his midterm and made a straight line for the sewing room. As expected, the midterm was a project and students were finishing up that day. Also as expected, several students were finished and were talking or studying in the center of the room away from the sewing machines. Among them was the student he was looking for. After a brief talk with the teacher, Kakashi pulled the student he wanted.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered. "What do you need? My midterm with you isn't until tomorrow."

"This isn't about me," he replied, "it's about Asuma-sensei."

"That doesn't make any sense; my math midterm was with a different teacher."

Kakashi merely smiled and shoved the student into his room, leaving the door open (teachers couldn't be alone with students in closed rooms any more) and went across the hall.

"Gai? Come with me."

"My Eternal Rival, what is the problem?"

Once he and the social studies teacher were in Kurenai's room, Kakashi gave them the lowdown. Outside they heard the bell ring and the loud drone of students and slamming of lockers. It wasn't until the halls were once more quiet did Kakashi finish, with Iruka coming in halfway and still getting the basic gist.

"So?" he asked. "Any ideas?"

With the door shut and all of them hidden around the corner in Kurenai's room, they plotted well into the afternoon.

The following morning started with D Period, which was normally SSR for the seventh grade. So many students opted to come in late, or do a quick make up if they missed or were going to miss an exam, or just come in and study.

Kakashi did a good job of shooing the few people who arrived for his SSR to other teachers, since he had a PPT to go to and they were short on substitutes that day. He meandered across the hall to see that Iruka was setting up the paraprofessionals with the students who had been pulled to take their finals here. Naruto was there, looking worriedly at his computer, with the special education teacher trying to calm him down.

"Iruka-sensei? Shall we both be late?"

His response was a signed word that the students didn't know but one that made Kakashi chuckle.

"You're meeting Yondaime-jiji, aren't you," Naruto said anxiously. "Am I doing fine? Will everything be okay? Did I do something wrong?" The list of questions began. Kakashi wondered absently if the young blond had picked up the habit from him, given that he always pelted people with inquiries when they were being disorderly or stubborn. He reached over and ruffled Naruto's head in the familiar way of both Yondaime did with him and what the Yellow Flash had done for the English teacher years ago.

"Focus on your exam, Naruto. It's the usual progress report type of meeting. Unless of course," he grinned, "you have anything to add that we should know about?"

"He--Heck no!"

"Good," Iruka replied. "Now get to work."

"Yes, sensei," he grumbled.

Kakashi and Iruka left together, the special education teacher once more walking stiffly with the cold aching his joints. They both arrived late, to Kakashi's pleasure and Iruka's irritation, and sat down with Yondaime and the usual extras, special education secretary, Jiraiya, Ebisu, case worker, etc.

"Sorry we're late," the English teacher offered, slouching into his seat with the same unease in his stomach that he had whenever he saw Naruto's foster father. "An owl just flew into my room and dropped off a parchment letter saying that Iruka and I were needed as teachers at some English school for witchcraft and wizardry. They needed a reply post-haste, but the owl wouldn't take any normal paper, so we had to hunt down parchment and a proper quill. Then the owl kept poking into my pocket to find money, but I don't think I know the proper exchange rate for American coins with the silver and gold coins I found already in the pouch."

Chuckles filtered around the table, with Yondaime's eerily familiar laugh being the loudest. Insisting on always being the one to go to Naruto's PPTs were a bittersweet experience for Kakashi. On one hand, it brought up a lot of painful memories and loss, but on the other, it was like he was alive once more. In the end, Kakashi couldn't say no to the PPTs, no matter how they made his guts twist.

"So," Iruka started, "Nartuo's doing very well in his classes this year. We'd set a goal for him to get Cs and he's not just maintaining, but in some classes, he's exceeding."

Kakashi nodded. "Depending on his midterm later today, he'll probably have anything from a high B to a low A. Gai tells me he's got a steady 81 for Social Studies. In science, Kurenai tells me he's a bit more varied. Material with the labs produces good grades, but the rest not so much."

"The only class he's still struggling in is math," Iruka agreed. "His splotchy education up till now is bringing him down since math is always building on itself. I'm doing what I can when he's in resource, but he often has other projects and assignments he needs to do."

The blond man nodded with a half grin that was so similar to the Yellow Flash.

"I think he's about to get some extra math lessons over the weekends," Yondaime chuckled. "He'll hate them, but I'll see what I can do about that 'splotchy' education. Seventh grade math can't be that hard right?"

"Hn," was all Kakashi would say on the matter as Iruka made a note to have Asuma (when he was feeling better) email some of what Naruto was missing.

They discussed a few more basic questions and concerns, mainly from Ebisu in regards to Naruto's habit of ending up in ISS when he got very rude in class.

"That's actually a question I have," Yondaime replied. "What's been going on here?"

"Many things," Jiraiya smiled coyly. "What, specifically, are you referring to?"

The foster father leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head in yet another familiar gesture. "Since I got him, Naruto's been a pretty normal healthy kid. But for a couple of weeks now he's been really peevish about something. And... I guess the word is protective. But he's not talking to me about it so I was wondering if any of you knew what was up?"

"Ah," Kakashi replied. "I think you're talking about something that happened to a classmate of Naruto's."

"The girl he's always going over to, or having over. His teammate." Yondaime nodded.

"That's Sakura, and she's been going through a very severe case of bullying." The Scarecrow leaned back as well, mimicking his foster father from years ago. "She'd been being teased about various things, including her teammates and what she did with them." Yondaime frowned angrily. "She finally broke down and went to guidance. She also had been keeping it from Naruto and their other teammate."

"Ah." Yondaime's frown deepened however. "That explains my dropping him off at her bus stop the other day."

The English teacher nodded. "Sakura was extremely grateful for that."

"You still seem concerned, however," Jiraiya stated.

"Is this normal? He's been a perfectly natural pre-pubescent boy since I got him, but I'm a little nervous with all this loyalty his throwing at his teammates. He's only known them for a few months. Trust and loyalty are things that take time to build and establish and I'm concerned that Naruto is giving his too quickly. What does he really know about these kids? Can you really know someone so well after such a short time?" Yondaime frowned further. "By giving his trust so freely, I'm worried that they'll do something to hurt him further down the line."

At last, a significant difference from the Yellow Flash. Kakashi's foster father would have encouraged Kakashi to go out and give his loyalty and trust as freely as Naruto did. But it appeared that Yondaime was worried about his young charge getting hurt by the trust he gave so freely being broken. Something that the Scarecrow had argued many times with the Yellow Flash about. And now the roles were about to be reversed. If it wasn't so bizarre it'd be amusing.

Jiraiya glanced at Kakashi with a broad grin, knowing what he was thinking.

"Maaaah," the English teacher drawled. "I disagree." Iruka glanced sharply at Kakashi, knowing that the Scarecrow didn't give trust easily and was no doubt interested in what Kakashi would have to say. "What Naruto is doing is good for him. He's a passionate boy. While his fervor may lead to trouble, especially when he doesn't think before he acts," Ebisu nodded emphatically, "his loyalty is inspiring to others. Sasuke and Sakura are both good people, but by having such unwavering devotion from Naruto, they are inspired to be better. It's not something that will happen to them overnight, but I'm already seeing aspects of their growth. Sasuke, for example, is following Naruto's example of sticking up for others, though he's a bit more selective. Sakura is learning how to face the difficulties of life and support others, something she'll need for her dream career.

"I'd love to see how others grow with Naruto's faith in them, such as a shy girl I know of who has a crush on him."

"Well," Yondaime lowered his arms, crossing them in front of him. "You seem to think that my new brat's working for the best?"

"This previous incident you were so concerned over is proof of that," Iruka replied, a wry grin on his face as he glanced at his colleague.

"Hm. I guess that's good enough for me. For now."

Kakashi slouched further, in great amusement. Yondaime was wary about his foster son, and would except the advice of those who knew Naruto better for now, until he himself became the expert on his new child. A very wise parent.

A few more miscellaneous items were discussed, but Kakashi was immensely pleased with how this PPT had turned out.

After the D Period midterm, came E period, which Kakashi had been looking forward to all day. He, Gai, Iruka, and Kurenai all met in Kakashi's room, reviewing what they would do one more time. Then, as one they walked single file around the corner and into Asuma's room, Gai bringing up the rear with a boombox playing the 70s classic Staying Alive from the BeeGees.

Once inside the math teacher's room, the volume was cranked and the four of them went into a simple dance routine, each singing horribly off key on purpose. With the new verse, Gai discreetly slipped out of their dance line and proceeded to flicker the lights on and off like a disco ball was shining around the room while Iruka through out handfuls of confetti from his pockets that filtered down as Kurenai stepped up, letting Kakashi and Iruka become background dances as she caroled horribly off key with a specific dance and almost karaoke-level butchering of the words.

Asuma sat at his desk, an unlit cigarette dangling from his gapping mouth, his face somehow looking almost ten years younger when slackened by shock. As the song ended, he coughed and grinned in a what-the-hell-was-that kinda way before the next song started. Gai and Kakashi seamlessly switched places as a new song came on, this time a classic from the game Dance Dance Revolution. As the Scarecrow played with the lights, Iruka took the foreground and did a stiff imitation of what the actual game play might be like while Kurenai and the Green Beast supported with outrageous hand gestures to compliment Iruka's bizarre and stiff footwork.

By now Asuma's grin had spread, and he was hunched over, laughing uproariously as the song finished. Panting and slightly sweaty, the four of them took their normal seats for Team Time, except for Kurenai, who slipped back to her room to bring in some cold drinks. Who'd have thought that it was the middle of January?

There was, without a doubt, nothing discussed during Team Time, because every time Asuma looked up at them, he burst into laughs all over again, wiping tears from his eyes and his guffaws echoed around the room. Naturally, Kakashi did everything he could to encourage the laughter, occasionally when things started to return to seriousness, he'd hum the BeeGees and send Asuma and occasionally Kurenai into peels of laughter once more.

Naruto and Gaara's PPTs were discussed only in the barest of terms before someone would start laughing all over again. Now the songs themselves weren't all that long, and Iruka had trouble dancing for any more than two songs. So all told, their song and dance routine was less than five minutes long. However, the fact that they took the remainder of their midterm time to laugh was probably the best team time they've had since the beginning of the year. Kakashi knew that for the rest of the year, all he'd have to do is hum a few bars and Asuma would be chuckling and laughing without any control over himself.

Frankly, Asuma needed it, and Kakashi couldn't have been more happy to provide.

And for the record, every single thing Asuma said is true. All of it. It's depressing.

But Asuma's cheer-up bit was cool. Once again, it actually happened once. Of course, the details were a little different, one of the popular teachers of a team found a note on the floor calling him, among other things "a greasy poop stain" (direct quotation). The following day, there was a recorded song and drawing waiting for him in Team Time. Weeks afterward, he was still laughing. It was fun then, and it was fun now to write about it.