When Kakashi walked down the hall Monday morning, his senses were assaulted by images never meant to be seen in public. It seemed like, everywhere he glanced, someone was in a lip-lock, petting private areas, smushed together, or all around displaying acts best left at home, the most disturbing of which was the Takamura boy kissing and groping both of the Sasaki twins. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that Temari had possessed the entire student body and convinced them to basically have sex with their clothes on in public.

Spring was also definitely in the air, with temperatures warming about ten degrees over the weekend alone. Granted, there was another storm coming in at the end of the week, but Kakashi forecasted nothing more than rain. And, naturally, with the rising temperature, there was a not-so-subtle change in how the girls dressed. Jeans were replaced with shirts so short that when sitting down, they couldn't cover their underwear on the seats, showing off skinny bone-thin legs; sweatshirts and nice think sweaters were thrown out in favor of low-cut shirts and designs to emphasize bust lines, be they large or small (and the large busts didn't need the emphasizing); the cozy look was exchanged for whatever the latest teen magazine said was sexy; boots were put away in favor of sandals and slip-on shoes. The boys also had some changes, in that they were starting to wear short-sleeve shirts.

Kakashi couldn't help but frown. It was a horrendous display, and one he wasn't proud off. These kids were trying to rush into what they thought was adult behavior. Really, they should cherish their childhoods while they still had the chance. Childhood was so much shorter than adulthood, so much more carefree, even for kids like Kiba who fretted about money in the household, or girls who were parents to their entire family. But it was in their heads that they wanted to grow up and it was in their heads that grown ups acted this way, be it through examples at home or the media. It was really quite sad. And when one of these girls got pregnant, there would be no more childhood.

Arriving at his room, Kakashi was in somewhat of a foul mood. These public displays of affection were not the first thing he wanted to see in the morning. So, when he sat down in homeroom, he sent out an email to the entire building.

"Has anyone else noticed all the groping in the halls?"

Naruto came up to him once he sent the email, and Kakashi glanced behind him to see that Sasuke was glaring at Sakura's empty chair. The English teacher raised an eyebrow behind his headband. It was unlike Sakura to be late.

"Yes?" he turned back to Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei... I really wanna apologize for last week. You musta been ready to strangle me, especially during class, and I also wanna thank you for that plus/minus thing you did. It really saved my as-er-butt, especially in social studies."

Kakashi didn't bother to hide his grin. "I want you to realize, Naruto, that all I did was provide a system. You did the rest on your own."

The blond smiled back. "Yeah, well, we refilled my prescription Saturday, so you won't have to worry about all that stuff."

"Good. Does Asuma-sensei know you and Sasuke are here?"

"Of course," Naruto replied indignantly, crossing his arms and squinting down at him. "He always knows before we drop by. Now where's Sakura?"

"Good question. Maybe she's home sick today?"

"You mean she hasn't come in yet?" Sasuke demanded darkly, appearing at Naruto's side.

"No."

"But I saw her get off the bus this morning," Naruto's frown deepened as the announcements came on.

Kakashi was about to add something, when he saw a flash of pink by the door. Getting up, he went to his door, Naruto and Sasuke trailing behind him, and saw Sakura at her locker, unzipping her large warm coat. "There," the Scarecrow smiled. "No go have a seat."

The two looked to each other before wandering back to where Sakura usually sat in front of Kakashi's desk, giving Kakashi a chance to take attendance. He had just sent it in when Sakura, head down, shuffled into the room. The rest of Team 7 was on its feet in an instant and Sasuke got to her first.

"Sakura?" he asked quietly.

The girl raised her head, her face twisted to try and hold back tears. She met Sasuke's eyes for only a moment, glanced and Naruto, sniffled, and put her head on Sasuke's shoulder, grabbing his shirt and letting out a wail of pain as she burst into tears. Sasuke looked stricken for a moment before awkwardly putting his arms around her, patting her shoulder before Naruto engulfed both of them in a warm embrace.

Kakashi called Tsunade before rushing over and kneeling where Sakura had dragged them down, unable to hold herself up.

"Last night... last night..." she sobbed, letting go of Sasuke's shirt and wrapping her arms around him and Naruto the best she could, "my mom... she collapsed... wouldn't let me see her... last night...." she hiccupped, tears continuing to roll down her cheeks unchecked. "Don't know what's wrong... Dad's with her but... I couldn't see her!"

A hand sneaked through the embrace and Hinata squeezed Sakura's trembling hand, her own tiny offering of support while the rest of the homeroom looked on, unsure of what to do. Sakura's sobs were barely comprehensible if one wasn't close enough. Kakashi's main concern, however, was why Sakura's father had sent her to school when she was obviously so upset.

"Sakura?" he asked quietly. "Can you stand? Tsunade-sama is coming and you can talk to her about your mother's condition."

Still wracked with sobs, Sakura only managed a little nod. Naruto and Sasuke immediately gave her a little room, Hinata retreated back to her desk, and Kakashi handed out his handkerchief. Sakura whipped at her eyes, still sniffling, but clearly making an effort to get herself back under control. With Sasuke's help, she stood up and gave a watery smile.

"Thanks," she whispered, struggling to hold back the sobs. Turning she wiped her eyes again with the small square of cloth as Tsuande arrived and put a comforting hand around the small girl's shoulders. The nurse gently led the two out of the room.

Kakashi rounded on Sasuke and Naruto, the dark boy's shirt damp on his shoulder, and Naruto looking pale. Hinata sat nearby, her face even whiter and looking down to her lap.

"Sasuke, Naruto, you'd better get back to Asuma-sensei's room. If I hear anything I'll let you know but you'll probably see her before me. The same goes for you Hinata, I'll keep you informed."

Hinata jumped, seemed to pale even further, and continued to stare down at her lap. Naruto glanced back at her, but Sasuke merely nodded grimly and stalked out of the room, his teammate close behind glancing at the timid Hyuga girl once more.

First and second periods were relatively normal. Rumors about Sakura were flying, but the Scarecrow wasn't letting once ounce of gossip occur in his room. He called everyone on his team and looked up Sakura's specials teachers, letting them know that Sakura was going through something and that she either may not be in class, or may be very distracted.

After he had kicked all the kids out from B Period, Kakashi made a bee-line straight to the health center and found Tsunade giving aspirin to a fifth grader who had a large bruise forming on his knee.

He waited patiently by the curtain as the child took the medicine and the young-looking nurse sprayed antiseptic on the bruise before pulling out a bandaid for a scrape in the center of the purple blotch.

Tsunade filled out a pass to the boy to get him back to class before ignoring Kakashi and taking him to another curtained area further down the hall. Pulling back a curtain, she revealed Sakura, sound asleep on the bed, looking pale but peaceful. She sniffed, snuggling deeper into the pillow, and returned to blissful slumber.

There were very few things that could really pull at Kakashi's heartstrings. This wasn't to say he was heartless, but he'd spent years with disadvantaged kids. He cared. But over time, there was a certain desensitization that occurred to some of the shit that these kids went through. That, and he'd put a wall between himself and the students. He was, after all, a professional. He was friendly with the students, and several of them would call him their friend, but they never really knew him. Thus, when it came to what the kids went through, Kakashi could look at it all with a clear mind.

Whether it be fortunately or unfortunately, however, Team 7 had wormed their way deep into Kakashi's battered and bruised heart. He couldn't say why they'd become so important to him, what quality each had alone or together that generated parental feelings in him that he'd never experienced before, but they had. Sasuke had generated protective feelings in Kakashi that he hadn't felt since he'd had his important people. When Itachi crossed the dark boy's path, the Scarecrow wanted to go that extra mile to ensure Sasuke's safety. Whatever Naruto was feeling, Kakashi wanted to be there for him. When students picked on him, the English teacher wanted to stand in front of him and block out the harsh words. And now, with Sakura suffering, he desperately wanted to take the pain from her.

In a moment of letting his intense caring show, Kakashi leaned down and brushed a few stray hairs out of the girls face, noting her tear-stained cheeks. It really sucked to be powerless.

Sighing, he turned back to Tsunade and saw an unreadable look on her face before following her back to her tiny office, away from the main hubbub of the health center. She sank heavily into her chair and Kakashi slouched into another chair facing her, reaching up to rub his eyes that were stinging and watery.

"Have you contacted her father?" he asked quietly, leaning back.

"Yes. He's back at the hospital while they're running more tests. He apologized profusely about the inconvenience and admits that he wasn't thinking straight this morning." She gave a snort. "He knew he couldn't handle her hanging around on pins and needles and thought that she'd be distracted by school. He says that she was handling everything very well last night and is honestly surprised to hear that she was in tears this morning. Unfortunately, he can't get away from the hospital, since he was just told results would be coming in soon from the tests."

Kakashi snorted this time. "She was probably keeping all that worry inside so that he wouldn't worry..."

"And it all came rushing out this morning," Tsunade nodded. She leaned back in her chair and looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Does he know yet what's wrong with her mother?"

"No." She gazed at him steadily. Kakashi gazed back. He knew better than to mess with the head nurse, but that didn't mean he'd take anything from her lying down.

"Is there a problem?"

Tsunade continued to look at him before arching an eyebrow. "You seem different."

Kakashi said nothing.

"Whenever with Gaara, Kiba, Ryoko, any student of the seventh grade, you're your usual self." She frowned. "But with Sakura, Naruto, or Sasuke, you're very different."

He raised a hidden eyebrow.

"You can't be close with the students."

"Who says I am?"

Tsunade glared at him. "Fine. Be that way. Now get out of here. Now."

"Fine, fine," he replied, easing up and went into Sakura's small curtained area. He sat down by her bed and pulled out a book. It wasn't like he was really going to be able to get anything done this period anyway.

Sakura had woken up shortly before the end of the period and hurried to the bathroom to clean up a little before she went to guidance to talk to Jiraiya. So when Kakashi arrived (late) to his SSR class, he was unsurprised to see Sasuke and Naruto in front of his desk, waiting impatiently for him. He couldn't help but chuckle as he sat down. "Naruto, could you please get Hinata? I think she'd appreciate hearing this as well."

The blond frowned, but disappeared.

Sasuke kept glaring down at Kakashi and the English teacher was overwhelmed with fondness once again for Team 7. They took the concepts of teamwork to what they were meant to be. Not just an exercise in working with other people, but getting to know and supporting others.

"She's never been that upset," the stoic boy murmured.

"I imagine not. This is the first time that she's faced the possibility of losing someone." Kakashi leaned forward onto his hand and glanced up at Sasuke. "You've lost people," he stated simply. "Naruto's never really had anyone to lose. Until now."

Sasuke's frown deepened. The Scarecrow wouldn't say any more on the subject. If Sakura's mother's condition really was serious, then she was going to need Sasuke in the sad and hopefully remote possibility of her mother passing on. But he wasn't the type to talk about what he'd gone through when he lost his parents. All Kakashi could do was put out what should be done. The rest was up to him if it even occurred.

Naruto arrived with a severely blushing Hinata trailing behind him and once all three were in front of his desk, he spoke. "It's still unknown what's wrong with Sakura's mother. She's been sleeping in the health center all morning, and from the looks of things, she needed it rather desperately. She will probably come back to class this period."

Hinata let out an audible sigh of relief, sagging onto Naruto's surprised shoulder.

Frowning, Kakashi glanced at all three of them. "She'll be needing all of you."

"She's got us!" Naruto proclaimed.

"Good, now get back to where you need to be."

Naruto and Hinata left and Sasuke sat back in his usual seat, pulling out a book. SSR returned to normal, with the usual irritation of students who pretended to read the same page (which only had about three sentences) for the entire period. Kakashi was unsurprised, though slightly disappointed, that today Sasuke joined the ranks of those staring at a single page.

About fifteen minutes into the period, Sakura slipped in, barely making a sound, slid into her seat, and pulled out her book. She paused only a moment, turned to Kakashi, and gave a weak smile. Sliding down into her seat, she turned to her bookmarked page, and Sasuke reached over and squeezed her shoulder.

Behind them where they couldn't see, Kakashi smiled brightly.

When class was over, the English teacher followed the students out and had lunch with the sixth grade teachers again, getting more gossip and stories on what the next year's class would bring. He lingered, relishing the adult time that was purely relaxing and not dealing with crisis after crisis. However, he lingered for another reason.

When the second lunch wave settled in, the Scarecrow finally left the teacher's lounge and went across the hall to the cafeteria. The roseate head he was searching for was at a table near the windows, staring out as her team surrounded her, her lunch in front of her but untouched. Kakashi stood behind Sasuke, who was across from her, with Naruto by her side.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto munched.

Sasuke craned his neck around and Sakura looked up. "I just wanted to check in," he replied. "Naruto? Would you and Sasuke mind making sure that Sakura eats her lunch?"

Both looked down at the grilled cheese Sakura had gotten from the lunch line, with one slice of its bread wheat and the other white. Such was the state of poor schools like this.

"No problem!" Naruto exclaimed, taking another bite from his grinder and turning to his female teammate. Kakashi grinned to himself before heading over to the health center to check in with Tsunade again.

He found her with another student, this one taking medication and was probably a special education student from one of the younger grades. She glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, but pulled another nurse to write the student a pass while she walked with Kakashi back to her tiny office.

"Anything new?" he asked.

She glared at him. "You were here two hours ago. Nothing new. Besides, Sakura would be the first to know, the school would be the last."

At that, Kakashi offered a wry grin. "That may be, but after you had to call earlier? I'd have thought that the dad would be a bit more conscientious."

Tsunade snorted. "Let me offer you some free advice. I know about you and the Hyuga. If they catch wind on how involved you are with Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke, you'll lose your job before the end of the day. They keep sniffing around, even here."

The English teacher was taken aback. He knew that the Hyuga weren't fond of him, and frankly he wasn't that fond of them, given how stressed Hinata was (their stress unit really was good timing...), but that was why he'd cut himself off with dealing with them. Kurenai was the one they went to and she had always been forthcoming with her frustrations when dealing with the parents. Apparently, they were still looking for his job.

Well damn.

They wouldn't get it, of that he was certain. He was far too careful in his dealings with students. He was exceptionally careful to ensure that nothing he did could be misconstrued as such vultures would love to do. However, Tsunade had a point. If even she noticed his level of care for his precious Team 7, a nurse who wasn't a part of the every day hustle and bustle of the student's lives, then he was going to have to tiptoe around them. Unfortunately, he had to do so without pulling away. Sasuke had chosen Kakashi as the teacher he trusted, and while he was hardly open about everything in his life, the stoic boy had proven that he'd go to the Scarecrow if he needed to. While Iruka was Naruto's main support, Kakashi seemed to be high up there as well. As for Sakura, well, she'd ultimately come to him about the bullying she was suffering through. Those were ties that couldn't be severed.

Kakashi sighed. He wouldn't abandon them. But he was going to have to be far more careful in regards to how he handled them. The Scarecrow may miss Hinata next year, but he certainly wasn't going to miss her parents. Hopefully, Hanabi, Hinata's sister, would be on the other team when she got there.

"Thanks," he said, and Tsunade just watched him go, leaning back herself to rub her eyes.

With a slow shuffle, the English teacher headed back down the hall to get to Team, stopping in the office briefly to check his mail, when he was stopped.

"Ah, there you are, Kakashi."

Looking up, he saw the young cooking teacher Hagane Kotetsu. "Yes?"

"I wanted to talk to you about C Period. I was trying to find Iruka, but I think he's been busy all day."

Kakashi rolled his eyes. No doubt Naruto's been frantic with worry about Sakura. Busy? No doubt. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I'm not sure," Kotetsu replied. "But I thought you should know about an incident that happened in class today."

"Oh?"

"Well," the cooking teacher frowned. "We were making a simple stir-fry today, and that requires a lot of chopping ingredients."

The Scarecrow felt an empty dread drop into his stomach. One of his students plus knives equals an incident all right.

"Kazekage Gaara doesn't have anything in his IEP about handling certain things. I mean his disability has nothing to do with motor control, right?"

Kakashi vaguely nodded, visions of what Gaara would do with a knife swimming into his mind. And he'd just eaten lunch too...

"So he was chopping up the onions when he started swearing a blue-streak. I mean my father would have turned red with the curses that boy was throwing around."

Oh no...

"I was getting concerned that he'd start using the knife in his hand when Kankuro, of all kids, walks over. I don't know what he was whispering under his breath, but Gaara seemed to calm relatively quickly."

...Kankuro? The puppet-master troublemaker who was almost never caught?

"I sent Gaara out, in any case, but I was getting concerned with him and the knife." Kotetsu gave a pointed look. "I'm not sure about keeping him in my class if he's going to snap with sharp objects in his hand. I need to talk to Iruka about his modifications. Would you mention this to him?"

Kakashi nodded again, the weight of the day dropping his shoulders heavily.

"You're late!" Iruka shouted when Kakashi finally arrived in Asuma's room. "Much later than usual!"

The English teacher just slumped into his seat without an excuse. "It's been a long day," he replied. Quickly and precisely, he told them everything that he'd learned thus far.

When he got through what was going on with Sakura, Gai and Iruka were frowning. Once he finished explaining the Hyuga, Asuma swore and Kurenai gasped in indignation. He rounded off with what Kotetsu had told him and all of them were slack-jawed.

"Is it Friday yet?" Asuma growled. "It feels like it. This much can't happen in just one day. Hell, the day isn't even over yet..."

"Immediate concern: Gaara," Kakashi stated flatly, opening his book. "His episodes are starting to increase in frequency. Iruka, how was that PPT last Friday? You didn't look happy afterward."

The special education teacher let out a harsh laugh. "Yashamaru's digging in his heals. Says nothings wrong with Gaara; that he's been doing what we've told him to do in the small amount of time he has with Gaara. He's getting fed up with all the suggestions we're making, saying they won't do anything and are useless. If I didn't know any better, I'd have sworn he was hinting at us making it all up, despite all the documentation we had. Ebisu almost blew a gasket when Yashamaru suggested that we cut back on some of the restrictions we've been placing on Gaara."

Asuma let out a word that everyone was thinking of.

"Yeah," Iruka retorted, a slight bitterness coloring his tone. "We're basically on our own with Gaara. I'd say we can't trust any support at home anymore."

"I think he does mean well," Kakashi muttered, "but he's just not ready for parenthood."

"Ya think?" Asuma growled. "What we need is to try and discern what triggers Gaara's episodes."

"It's SED," Iruka grumbled. "You'd need to be a trained shrink to figure that out."

Together, they started discussing how to best modify to try and prevent these episodes. While Gaara was going to have to learn how to deal with them and that whatever the triggers were, they couldn't always be avoided, the increasing frequency was their primary concern at the moment. They all agreed that Gaara would have to be limited away from sharp objects, just in case, since he had proven to be violent on occasion when he overturned Kiba's desk.

Ultimately, while they had some ideas, they got nowhere. Without support from Yashamaru, anything they did wasn't likely to stick for very long.

Sometimes, being a teacher really sucked.

They continued their discussion for the remainder of the period and Kakashi lingered to talk to Kurenai about ensuring that Hinata had plenty of support.

He was late for F Period as a result, naturally, but was pleased to note that everyone was working on the warm up. Shikamaru and Ino were leaning over with each other, discussing the question on the board. Team 7 was already writing down answers and the rest of the class was hard at work.

While they worked, Kakashi spoke with Iruka briefly, changing what the assignment for the day would be and who would go with Iruka to his classroom. Once it was clear that everyone had finished their warm up, class began.

"All right," the English teacher started, "I know you were all excited to review grammar today for the tests next week--" the class groaned loudly, "--but we're going to do something different today. We're going to be working on the tumultuous five-paragraph-essay." The class groaned even louder. "Now you still have it easy, you'll be working with your teams, brainstorming, and structuring. You'll be peer-reviewing your essays like we've done before, so make sure you leave enough time to write your individual essays in class. Time management, after all, is important when you actually take the state tests. The topic," Kakashi turned to the whiteboard and picked up a marker, "A friend of yours is in an extremely stressful situation at home. Due to the strain they are under, when confronted with another stressor, they strike out. Was this person right to do so?" Of course, he had chosen that topic because it would help Sakura work through, at least a little bit, of what she was going through with her mother.

"Even teams, you're with me," Iruka called out.

The class trudged about doing their assignment, half following Iruka to his room across the hall, the remainder huddling together. They started their discussions and Kakashi wandered around, making suggestions or clarifying as the situation required. Teams 3 and 5 tended to get side tracked, and Team 9 wasn't even discussing, they went straight to writing. When he walked by Sakura, he saw her talking quietly while staring at her hands to her teammates and Kakashi noted that Naruto and Sasuke were listening attentively and offering support in their own way. The blond boy was nodding and interjecting his usual proclamations while Sasuke sat just a little closer and would hesitantly reach out and squeeze a hand or shoulder if Sakura was feeling particularly emotional. The Scarecrow kept his overflowing pride to himself.

Team 1, however, was the most interesting to eavesdrop over. Temari and Kankuro together were a very good paring. The blond girl had the brains for each assignment, but not necessarily the drive. Kankuro, by contrast, may not be the smartest of the team, but he did care about his grades. So, being the manipulative little sneak that he was, he could goad his teammate into working. However, they weren't a two-person team. They had Gaara as well. As a teacher, and having worked with disadvantaged kids for years, as well as having been overseas, Kakashi could handle just about anything that a student could dish out. While Gaara's outbursts were hardly pleasant, Kakashi had seen much worse, so doing what he needed to for Gaara was a breeze.

For the average student, however, the redheaded boy could be petrifying. Seeing the insomniac suddenly screaming for no reason, cussing out teachers, and then just as suddenly crumple into a muttering ball of nonsense, was disconcerting, shocking, and unlike anything they'd probably witnessed before. Before recent changes in NCLB, Gaara had been kept in an isolated classroom, but with a push for more mainstreaming of special education students, the redhead was now with his classmates, facing whatever triggered his episodes regularly. The redhead wasn't stupid. He could do all the work that his classmates did, but he wasn't a social creature.

So when observing Team 1, it was always fascinating for Kakashi to see the anti-social Gaara interact with Temari and Kankuro. Kankuro, caring about his grade and being the puppet-master, would try and cajole Gaara into working with them. Under most circumstances, Gaara would agree and do his work separately, then share with the group to see whose answer was best. Temari would offer positive praise for whatever Gaara did, even if her answers were better and Gaara would either say nothing or just nod. While not the ideal way to work together as a team, it was something that worked for the three of them. So Kakashi couldn't help but wonder why Gaara, who kept himself isolated from everyone, would listen to Kankuro so readily and calm down.

Thus, Kakashi eavesdropped. Given the topic on the board, the English teacher was unsurprised to see Gaara contributing more than usual. He thought the violent reaction was correct, especially if there is no other outlet, it had to come out somehow. Temari was disagreeing, saying that a different outlet was always available, such as writing, drawing, or other such things. Kankuro, contrary to both of them, stated that it all depended on the situation. Since they weren't given specific details, both of them were correct.

Listening to them was fascinating, especially with Gaara participating more than he usually did. However, Kakashi couldn't linger, since his phone rang.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei speaking."

"Hello," Shizune's voice replied. "I'm calling for Sakura for an early release."

The English teacher glanced at Team 7, all of whom were writing their essays. "Do we know what the problem is?"

Shizune gave a dry chuckle. "I had a feeling you'd ask that. All her father said was that it was 'subclavian steal syndrome'."

Kakashi scribbled down the medical jargon to search on his own, but thanked Shizune and hung up.

Since Sakura was right in front of his desk, he reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Sakura, you're being given an early dismissal. Your father's here to pick you up."

The color that the girl had gained since when she'd collapsed into tears during homeroom drained from her face. "My dad's... here?"

"Yes." He handed out her pass. "If you're here tomorrow, I'll expect you to hand in the essay during homeroom."

"Yes, sensei," she whispered, gathering her things in a daze.

Naruto and Sasuke said their good-byes, offering as much support as they could, while Kakashi picked up the phone and called Iruka across the hall.

"Kakashi?"

"Have Hinata in the hall. Now. Sakura's on her way to the hospital with her father."

Iruka didn't reply, instead, hanging up and from across the hall, Kakashi could hear Iruka calling Hinata over. Discreetly, the English teacher meandered over to the door and saw the timid Hyuga and the pale Haruno hugging in the hall. That done, Kakashi wandered around his students once more before sitting by his desk to do some research.

After school, Kakashi finally had a chance to look at his email. He was surprised to see the number of responses to his message that morning. Apparently he wasn't the only one disturbed to see all the public displays of affection so early in to morning and Sandaime had replied, saying that he'd schedule an assembly later that week to address these concerns with the student body. The English teacher was pleased, to say the least.

He'd also gotten a fair knowledge of Subclavian Steal Syndrome. Basically, Sakura's mother's blood was flowing backwards due to narrowing arteries. Or at least, that was what he was able to make sense of. While a dangerous disease, it was treatable from what Kakashi understood, and it seemed unlikely that the Haruno would lose their matriarch. However, it was blood flowing to the wrong place in the brain, so they'd have to be careful.

Kakashi sent out an email to his team with links to the more resourceful sites he'd found, before pushing the students hanging out in his room to other people, since he had a PPT to get to.

It was a strange echo of Friday when the English teacher plopped down next to Asuma while waiting for the conference room to empty of whatever meeting they were having. Iruka came in a moment later, rubbing his eyes, and with stiffness in his gate.

"We'll probably be called in in a minute," the special education teacher stated, sitting and stretching a leg. "The Akimachi are taking with Sandaime and Ebisu right now."

Almost on cue, the door opened, and the secretary motioned for the three teachers to come in.

"Thank you for meeting with us," Chouji's mother nodded to all of them.

"Yes, thank you," the father greeted. "I'm certain you all want an update on how our son is doing."

"We have a little bit of an idea," Asuma replied, fingering a missing cigarette. "Shikamaru's been talking a little bit about Chouji and when he gets to see him. I understand he's lost weight?"

Both parents nodded. "Yes. He's gotten quite skinny," the mother responded. "But he's taking the rehab center fairly well. While it's still hard to tell, we were thinking of sending him back to school around the beginning of May."

"That soon?" Kakashi asked. "Do you think he'll be able to handle his peers?"

The father nodded. "We've talked a lot with him about that. He just wants to get back to normal. Hanging out with Shikamaru and going to school. Of course," he grinned wryly, "when he comes back he's going to have a lot of restrictions."

"You bet he is," the mother growled. "He's still going to be grounded until he's fifty."

"How has he been doing with the work we've been sending in?" Iruka asked, redirecting the conversation. "We'll probably have to test him before he comes in again, make sure he hasn't missed much and can pick up where the classes will be."

"He's been maintaining his work," Chouji's father replied. "There's a fairly good tutor at the center that's been helping, and whenever Shikamaru visits, or Ino, they help him out as well."

Ino was visiting? Kakashi glanced at Asuma who had on a sly grin. How interesting.

They spent the better part of an hour talking about what Chouji would need if he did come back to school and realistic looks at what he'd be facing from his peers. Chouji's parents listened to everything they had to say and offered their own observations and ideas. There wasn't any definitive plan made yet, but it got the ball rolling. As always, Kakashi was pleased with the Akimachi and how supportive they were. Why Chouji got into drugs, he'd never know, but it was a refreshing change of pace.

Still, it had been a loooong Monday. Once the Akimichi had left, Kakashi turned to his teammates. "Let's go out. I'm buying."

Meh. Next week, state tests, I believe.