The weekend had proven very out of the ordinary for Kakashi. Saturday had Asuma and Gai kidnapping him from his doorstep. The three then proceeded to kidnap Kurenai and go to the supermarket for a bottle of really good wine. Then the four teammates appeared on Iruka's doorstep and proceeded to give him a weekend that he wouldn't soon forget. Kakashi himself had stayed relatively sober, but Iruka had watched Gai spin around his kitchen singing and dancing with Asuma and Kurenai clapping the beat and singing along. The special education teacher laughed so hard. Kakashi wasn't one to complain. They all ended up staying over, none of them being really clearheaded enough to drive. The following morning left Kakashi as the only one without a headache.

Naturally, he was as loud as he possibly could be as he clanked skillets, slammed cabinet doors, and stomped around the kitchen, making breakfast for his team. They all growled and barked at him, but Kakashi just smiled blithely. Sunday was spent discussing Gaara thoroughly and from every possible angle, and worrying about other various students and how they'd do. It was still worrying, but it was more of a release than the tight hold Iruka was keeping on things. All around, it was a good weekend.

So when Monday morning came around, though things were still rather heavy, the English teacher had a much cheerier outlook on things than he had at the end of Thursday.

Homeroom seemed much cheerier. Team 7 was gathered around his desk, as usual, Hinata and Kiba were talking, and there didn't seem to be much gloom hanging around the room without Gaara. To that, Kakashi had to sigh. Gaara himself wasn't a bad kid, but he needed help beyond what a public school could provide. After the morning announcements finished, Naruto and Sasuke headed back to their homeroom and the Scarecrow couldn't help but feel things were finally getting better for the kids somehow. There were still students he was concerned about, but it was the first week of May. April, bloody as it was, had finished. Just a month and a half of school remained. Things could finally start winding down.

"Um, Kakashi-sensei?"

The English teacher looked up, seeing Hinata blushing brightly and staring at the floor. Behind her, Sakura was smiling gently and Kiba was watching over her. The timid Hyuga girl looked much better than she had before vacation. Instead of bulky clothes to hide in, she was in leggings, a knee-length jean skirt, and a modest short sleeve shirt. Her hitae-ate was still wrapped around her wrist, hiding her bandage and scars, but it was the most "open" in appearance that she'd been in all year.

"Yes?"

"I... That is... Um..." she floundered. "... Here." She dropped an envelope on his desk and fled as the bell rang. Sakura chased after the timid girl and Kiba growled something before trotting out of homeroom with the rest of his peers.

The Scarecrow glanced down at the pale lavender envelope and smiled to himself. As students filtered in slowly, still trying to catch up on the latest gossip of the weekend, he opened it and found a small homemade card inside. His smile widened into a broad grin as he read the contents, all proclamations of gratitude towards him and his kindness. With a warm feeling in his chest, Kakashi carefully placed the card back in the decorated envelope and opened a drawer in his file cabinet that he almost never used. He oh-so-carefully placed the card into a leather portfolio that was clearly labeled as "Reminders". Inside the portfolio were other similar cards, photos of students past, and other thank-you items he'd received over the years. It wasn't often he required himself to look at that collection of happy moments in his career, but it was something that he always went through at least once a year.

He would have to bring the folder to Team Time to sort through. Iruka and Kurenai hadn't seen it yet, and he felt like sharing.

Of course, such sharing couldn't occur to just plain old regular lunch, so Kakashi arrived late to E period with his leather bound Reminders and a bag full of Italian take-out. Spaghetti, Italian Sausage, various parmesans, and a lot of garlic bread that had been making his SSR smell divine.

"Why my Eternal Rival, what brings such delightful aromas on this glorious Monday?"

Kakashi pulled his portfolio out from under his arm. "I wanted to relive a few things. And that always requires proper etiquette."

Asuma coughed out a smoker's laugh. "I haven't seen you drag that out for a few years. You usually stare in private."

"Well," the English teacher shrugged. "To each their own."

"What is that?" Kurenai asked, leaning over her helping of veal parmesan.

The Scarecrow glanced down at some of the envelopes and photos spilling out. "Oh this? They key to survival in a poor school system."

"This I gotta hear," Iruka grumbled from his mouthful of garlic bread.

Team time was spent going over memories, sharing stories, and, for the first time in a while, honestly laughing. They only made it through about a quarter of Kakashi's Reminders, and only the more recent additions that Iruka might remember, as well as Hinata's lavender envelope. It was some of the most enjoyable time they'd had together in a while. Nothing got done other than lifting everyone's mood. And, frankly, it was Kakashi's job as team leader to ensure that they were all still doing well.

During the last period, Kakashi's phone rang. Since Iruka was giving the presentation, he picked up and tossed a crumpled piece of paper onto the desk of a student who wasn't paying attention.

"Yes?"

"Kakashi," Ebisu greeted. "We were short a sub today. Would you mind doing bus duty this afternoon?"

"No problem."

"Good. I'll see you outside after school."

The English teacher thought nothing of it. He'd been on bus duty the previous year, and there wasn't too much to worry about. Keep an eye on the kids; get them on their buses; deal with any fights if it came to it. With Iruka in the room, he'd be able to slip out a moment before the bell and watch as students flooded out of the building. It was part and parcel to what an educator did. He had been on hall duty at various points during the year based on rotations and it was just part of the job.

That day, however, the stars seemed against him.

The Scarecrow was outside and talking with Ebisu about where he'd be needed when his finely tuned military training put him on high alert. The vice-principal noticed the change and, after having worked with Kakashi long enough, understood something was up.

"Excuse me," the English teacher left Ebisu at the main entrance and shifted through the shadows of the buses, letting the whirling of engines mask his footsteps as he ghosted between them. Whenever school let out, there were two rows of what the students referred to as "Twinkies" outside the school, staggered so that students could find their bus.

Kakashi easily slipped through the first row of buses and was covertly looking between the second row, aware of how silly he looked to anyone without military training. Something had set of his concerns, and he wasn't about to ignore it. He maneuvered carefully through the busses, each new open space between the towering yellow vehicles offering a different vantage of the teacher's parking lot. The Scarecrow was almost halfway down the line when he spotted what had spooked his senses.

He raised his walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"Ebisu, have the office call whatever class Sasuke's in and hold him."

"Why?"

"His brother is here."

"Dammit."

But they were too late. The bell rang. Even surrounded by the loud rumbling of the buses, Kakashi could hear the yells of students as they ran to their lockers, or already had what they needed with them and headed out the door. No doubt, Kurenai, the last teacher Sasuke had for the day, would be called, but she'd have to find him in the halls right now. There might not be enough time.

So the Scarecrow stepped out from the second row of buses and made himself visible to the elder Uchiha. The glare he was pinned with was swarming with hatred, but Kakashi wasn't going to let Itachi get within a hundred feet of his little brother. Period. The End. Ebisu would no doubt also be calling authorities, especially if Sasuke's foster parent, Kabuto, had gotten a restraining order. Even if, for some messed up reason, Itachi had visiting rights, (which Kakashi doubted strongly), he was certain they didn't include school.

"You."

"Yo," he replied congenially as the yells of students continued to pour out of the building.

"You can't stop me."

Kakashi grinned, lifting his headband. "I beg to differ. I'm between you and the school. You can't make a move without me getting in your way."

Itachi's eyes narrowed before he glanced at the car he was beside.

Ah, that's what set off Kakashi's senses. The Uchiha had brought back up. An ugly, sharp-toothed muscleman with skin that was tinged bluish. The large brute stepped out of the car. Students filtered pass, unknowing of what was going on as they mounted the steps to the buses or left the parking lot to walk home, or meet parents.

"Kisame would be my witness that you are the one who instigated anything... untoward. Besides, your job is already in jeopardy, is it not? From the Hyuga, I believe."

"Tisk, tisk," Kakashi replied, eyeing both. "You're not exactly up on current events."

"You can't stop both of us."

"I'd heard you were a very bright student, Itachi. You're disappointing me."

Both glared.

"Kisame can go and get Sasuke, or try to. But Sasuke's smart. He wouldn't go anywhere with a stranger. Especially a brute like this."

"Bastard!" the muscle-man hissed, earning a few stares from the students that were walking by. As long as they kept walking by, that was fine for Kakashi. He was sure that CIA rumor about him would be getting new life for this, but as long as the students didn't get involved, all was well.

Until he heard the click and slide of a window on the bus behind him open.

"Kakashi-sensei! What was our homework for tonight?" Genjimaru called down.

The Scarecrow kept his back to the bus. "Check with your team," he pitched his voice to carry behind him.

"But they're on different buses."

"Then call them when you get home."

"But sensei!"

"Call your team," Kakashi repeated, eyeing Itachi's grin warily.

"Yes, sensei."

Itachi whispered something to his companion and the sharp-toothed brute nodded, a sick smile sliding onto his lips.

"I say again. You can't stop me."

And with that, Kisame lunged forward, slamming Kakashi onto Genjimaru's bus, making the students who had seen it scream. Itachi sped past, but the Scarecrow, nimble and flexible, reached out, grabbed the older Uchiha's arm and spun the man back. He broke Kisame's hold on him easily, shoving him away and took a defensive stance between the two intruders and the children behind him.

He really was going to lose his job over this. A teacher in a fistfight with a student's sibling? The reporters were going to lap this up.

Kakashi hazarded a glance to his watch. He still had ten minutes before the buses left and that was assuming Ebisu didn't try to initiate a lockdown and muck things up. The one thing going in the Scarecrow's favor was that he'd had plenty of training in how to fight. (Those CIA rumors about him were about to get more interesting, that was for sure.) Kisame appeared to be the basic brute-force approach and while Itachi definitely had the muscle to beat up a little boy, how would he be against a trained martial artist?

The two-on-one wasn't too bad at first. Itachi kept hanging back to slip by, but the Scarecrow was too fast and would send the older Uchiha back. Kisame's punches and kicks were strong, but Kakahsi had faced much worse oversees. Around him, he could hear students screaming and crying; some were calling out "pointers" to him and at one point he was certain he heard Hanamaru's voice placing bets. (He was so getting written up for that...)

This couldn't last forever, however, and with one last roundhouse kick, the Scarecrow finally felled the brute, leaving him winded and dizzy on the pavement. Kakashi maintained his defensive stance as Itachi looked on impassively. The Scarecrow hadn't even broken a sweat taking down Kisame, his military training coming in handy.

"Is that the bastard!"

"Naruto! No!"

In one horrifying moment, Kakashi watched Naruto appear from between the rumbling buses, Sakura behind him, trying to grab his shirt. Sasuke wasn't anywhere to be seen (hopefully tied up by Kurenai). The hyperactive knucklehead lunged at Itachi, the man who had abused Naruto's teammate, Sakura trying to keep him back where it was safe.

In the older Uchiha's hands, the Scarecrow saw a glint. Without thinking, the Scarecrow dove on top of Naruto, feeling something pierce his shoulder as he rolled, getting his student out of harm's way.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed. "Kakashi-sensei!" Then after a pause. "SASUKE!!"

The Scarecrow ignored his shoulder, stood and dashed to where both Uchiha were struggling. In Itachi's had was a bloody knife and Sasuke had wrapped himself around that arm, yanking and tugging, growling in a feral manner, his eyes murderous. With his good shoulder, the Scarecrow plowed into Itachi's chest, shocking him enough to release the knife that Sasuke grabbed.

"Sasuke," Kakashi commanded, harkening back to his days in that hot desert sun, "your team."

The twelve-year-old was shaking, glaring at his brother, but nodded and ran back to Sakura, who had pulled off her jacket and was using a sleeve to wipe blood off of Naruto's scratched cheek.

The Scarecrow resumed his defensive stance, ignoring the screaming and crying of students around him and above him in the buses.

"What now?" he asked. "I'm still between you and Sasuke. You have no students to hold hostage, and you're smart enough to know that it'd be a stupid ploy since the police are no doubt on their way."

Itachi glared.

"Sensei!" Sakura screamed. "Behind you!!"

Kakashi turned to see Kisame looming behind him, both fists held together high above his head to pommel him. The Scarecrow easily caught the fists and used the momentum to roll onto his back, shove his legs up, and flip the large brute over him towards Itachi. He leapt back up to his feet nimbly and resumed his defensive stance, vaguely wondering where the rest of the faculty was. Or at least security. Where was Ibiki?

"I'm still between the two of you," Kakashi repeated, his shoulder stinging like crazy. "You won't touch any of my students."

"For even if one falls, another guardian of youth will stand," Gai stated, appearing on Kakashi's right.

"Because it's our job to keep our students safe," Asuma agreed on Kakashi's left.

"And together, you have no chance," Kurenai finished, beside Asuma.

Behind them, Kakashi could hear Iruka with Team 7, talking quietly over the rumble of buses to the upset team. Finally, in the distance, sirens were heard.

Itachi glared. Even as the police put him and Kisame in handcuffs.

The rest of the afternoon was a circus. The students were taken off the buses and into the school to be interviewed on what they saw and give statements, as well as faculty, administration, and parents who were still on in the parking lot. Tsunade looked after Naruto who only had scrapes and bumps from Kakashi's rough rolling to get him away from Itachi, and Sasuke, who'd pulled several muscles in his arms when wrestling to get the knife away. Kakashi, however, was taken in an ambulance to the hospital to get stitches for the stab wound in his shoulder and an IV of antibiotics to prevent infection.

They were going to, unsurprisingly, keep him overnight for observation. Sandaime dropped by to talk to him, giving him some basic news. Reporters were circling, and not getting much of a story from the staff. What parents were saying would be a different story. They'd see with the paper the following day. Ibiki was vowing to never have a day off again when he was called about what had happened. The old man emitted a sense of great pride while he spoke. Particularly when he said that a substitute had been arranged and that the English teacher would have Tuesday off.

Kakashi scowled at that in a light-hearted way. He then laughed.

It was then that Team 7 arrived.

"Well, Kakashi-sensei, you'll have to excuse an old man. I need to be going."

"Of course."

"Kakashi-sensei! Are you okay?" Naruto demanded, glaring at the English teacher.

"There was so much blood!" Sakura exclaimed, still looking pale.

Sasuke said nothing, merely glared at the hospitalized teacher.

The Scarecrow laughed again. "I assure you, I've survived much worse."

"Your time in the CIA?" Naruto asked, seemingly convinced that yes, Kakashi was just fine.

"In a manner of speaking. I did serve oversees and have been through a few tours of battle."

"But, but," Sakura sobbed, scrubbing at her eyes to stop the tears, "sensei, that was scary!"

Kakashi dropped his light-hearted tone. "Battle, no matter what the circumstances, is always scary."

"You weren't scared," Sasuke muttered, looking away.

"Oh I assure you, I was very scared." He looked down at the three of them. "I was scared he'd get a hold of you. That he'd hurt you. That he'd use you as a hostage to get through me. That he had some sort of back-up plan and other comrades stationed around the school. I had plenty that I was scared of. And, later this evening most likely, I'm going to have to deal with it." He gave a soft chuckle. "Probably this weekend too. And a little bit of the summer, now that I think about it."

"That long?" Sasuke asked.

The English teacher looked at the dark-haired teen straight in the eye. "There are still things I'm dealing with now, even years later. I've lost a lot of things in my life. It takes time. This is relatively minor. I'll probably have sorted through all the 'what-if's and reminded myself that everything's fine by the end of July at the earliest. At worst, I'll be checking in on you three next year frequently."

"I wouldn't mind that," Sakura mumbled. "That way I'd know that you were okay."

"It's not like I'll be gone the rest of the school year. I'll be back Wednesday, reminding you of the test you have Friday."

"Sensei!" Naruto whined. "You mean we'll still have that test this week?"

"Of course," Kakashi replied. He glanced over to Sasuke, who was still looking sullen. "I'll see if you've been studying or not." Sasuke glanced at him and nodded. If Sasuke didn't perform as well as he normally did, Kakashi would take that afternoon consideration. Hopefully, however, the studying would be a welcomed distraction.

"Now," the English teacher leaned back into his soft pillows. "What time is it and have you done your homework yet?"

"Sensei!"

Tuesday, the following day, Kakashi was released from the hospital and given pills that he stuck in his fridge and ignored. If he could survive explosions that ripped out his eye, then one tiny stab wound wasn't going to get him down. Still, he wasn't one to ignore a day off. He lauded about his home, caught up on his very neglected book, and spent a good hour and a half soaking in a piping hot bath. Once that was done, he rewrapped his shoulder, put on a light jacket, and went out to the memorial for a while.

However, as was usual, Kakashi felt the pull deep inside to go back to school. Unless it was a vacation or a professional day, both instances usually being extremely well planned out, the Scarecrow couldn't stand being left to his own devices. Too many memories came up. So, Kakashi got into his car from the memorial, and headed to school.

He slipped into the office somewhere during F Period and was rather surprised when several of the secretaries came right up to him, abandoning their desks, to ensure that he was all right. He could barely get to his mailbox without stepping on someone's toes as they engulfed him with praise, concern, and proclamations of how stupid he was do to that!

"Kakashi."

The secretaries scurried back to their desks as the Old Man arrived, holding his pipe to his lips with a large grin on his face.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I gave you today off."

Kakashi gave a wry grin. "You did. But the students are calling."

Sandaime gave a hearty laugh. "You are exactly the kind of teacher we need more of."

The English teacher chuckled quietly.

"Please come with me."

Pulling his mail out of his mailbox, Kakashi followed the Old Man into his office. It wasn't much a surprise that Sandaime pulled up one of his more loved and comfortable chairs, but the Scarecrow accepted it graciously and let his bandaged shoulder sink into it's soft goodness. Both had seen the morning paper, and the reporters had definitely had a field day with the news of a teacher brawling with someone else in the parking lot of the school. But despite all the concerns that the reporters brought up about how the school wasn't a good place with the drug bust and lockdowns earlier that year, etc, Sandaime confirmed what Kakashi had felt from the article. That it actually did more good than harm.

Parents, it seemed, had been calling all day, asking if what their children were saying was true and that an educator that the middle school employed defended the children from a madman at the risk of his own life. The students, it seemed, were telling more of the truth than the papers.

"I didn't do it to improve the schools reputation."

"Of course not," Sandaime replied. "You weren't even thinking long term, beyond ensuring that Sasuke would be safe, and other students as Itachi threatened them. It is that thinking that makes you such a hero to these parents."

Kakashi waved it away. "By the way, Hanamaru was placing bets on who would win between me and Itachi. Do you have a referral form handy?"

Sandaime laughed. "Ebisu as already addressed the matter. Several students were very disturbed at what he did on the buses. He will be in ISS for the rest of the week. The young man tried to lie about it and was rather defiant about Ebisu's inquiries."

"Hn." The Scarecrow looked out the window at the blooming tree and bushes in front of Sandaime's office. "How are the students?"

"Remarkably subdued." Sandaime looked out the window as well. "You would think the excitement yesterday would have them rather energetic today. However, I was surprised when I was walking down the halls today. The students are quiet, hurrying from one class to another."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

The Old Man gave another smile, looking younger than he had in a long time. "Of course. Your team's little display has shown the students that the teachers will keep them safe. And with many of our students lacking safety at home, they're clinging to it while they have it." His smile faded a bit. "After all, in about a month and a half, they won't have this safety."

The English teacher sighed, sinking deeper into his chair. "Are you sure we can't just kidnap the students and raise them ourselves?"

The Old Man laughed.

Kakashi spoke with Sandaime for a while, and then wandered down the hall to guidance and chatted with Jiraiya. He was keeping them off task and he knew it, but both the Old Man and the Pervy Sage needed the distraction. Jiraiya tried to direct the conversation, as usual, to the English teacher's usual issues, but Kakashi avoided them all and focused on how the kids were doing. Naruto had come down that morning and blathered Jiraiya's ear off about how cool his English teacher was and how scary it was to suddenly be faced with being seriously hurt. Beyond whatever blows he'd gotten in bad foster homes, since his foster homes would, at worse, spank him or slap him if he did something wrong. Jiraiya had spent the better part of a period making sure that Naruto understood that such heroics were best left for those who had training.

Hinata had come down afterward, timidly asking if Kakashi was all right and feeling bad that she hadn't been able to do anything like Team 7 had. The Pervy Sage didn't spend as long straightening her out, but he did have to chuckle that she was blushing up a storm when she saw Naruto leaving.

"Any other students visit you about my stupidity yesterday?"

"Several. I won't bore you about the details. Suffice to say that you certainly made an impression on the younger grades. I've had lots of sixth graders come down to ask if they'll be on your team or not. Some fifth graders are also coming in and trying to make sure they end up with you."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He hardly expected that.

"On the other hand, I've had some parents call to make sure that their children aren't on your team. They don't want your violence rubbing off on their precious sons and daughters."

"Let me guess. They probably have some friends who work with newspapers?"

"However did you guess."

The Scarecrow sighed. "Can't please everyone."

"Indeed."

The phone rang and Jiraiya reached over to lift the receiver from its cradle. "Yes? ... Yes he is. ... Okay, I'll tell him." The Pervy Sage laughed and hung up the phone.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Quote. 'You're late. Very late. We have a meeting after school in Asuma's room. If you're late, I'll make sure your shoulder never heals again.' Unquote."

Kakashi grinned.

So it was. After school, Kakashi weaved his way through the surprised students down the hall to the math teacher's room. The kids kept trying to stop him, asking if there was another lunatic outside, why was he here and not in the hospital, and the expected "You're alive??"s. He answered them all blithely, stating that he'd forgotten a good book in his room and needed to be collected to properly enjoy his day off. Despite the jostling crowd, every single student was unusually cautious of him, like the entire student body knew he was injured and was trying not to aggravate it. Kakashi was touched.

"You seem to be on time. What an amazing thing," Iruka stated flatly as the English teacher closed the door behind him.

"Well, that's a shame," the Scarecrow smiled. "I'll try harder to be late next time."

Iruka offered a rude gesture before smiling. Everyone was there and they all walked over, shaking his hand and oh-so-gently slapping him on the back.

"My Rival! What courageous fortitude you displayed yesterday!" Gai boomed.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kurenai asked quietly, inspecting his shoulder, but not seeing any blood.

"Stupidity. Pure stupidity. But I'll be damned nonetheless, if you didn't put us all to shame." Asuma grinned widely.

"I've never been so scared in my life." That was Iruka, still fighting between a scowl and a smile.

They all sat down in their usual seats during team. "So, we all know what happened outside," Kakashi stated, leaning back carefully. "That's boring. What happened in here? How'd our little Team 7 get outside?"

"Don't you mean your little Team 7?" Iruka grumbled.

The English teacher only grinned.

"I got the call while I was putting up the chairs," Kurenai started. "My class was running late, so they left without putting up their chairs like usual." She shrugged. "When Shizune told me that Itachi was outside, I rushed to the halls."

"Sasuke and Naruto were at their lockers," Asuma picked up the tale. "You know some of the dolts in my homeroom. I was keeping an eye on the kids when she came rushing over."

"I was trying to pull Sasuke into Asuma's room--"

"But I wasn't letting her get a word in edgewise because I couldn't understand what the urgency was."

"Sasuke waited in Asuma's room, like a good student when Sakura came over. I think they were planning on going to her house this afternoon."

"But Naruto was listening in when she finally told me that Itachi was outside--"

"And he took off like a shot. Sakura raced after him screaming--"

"So of course, Sasuke heard her and tried to take off as well." Asuma chuckled. "You've crafted one fine team, Kakashi."

Gai continued the story. "By this point, the halls were emptying and our esteemed special education teacher and I heard the commotion around the corner."

"The way Sakura was screaming after Naruto, I'm not surprised," Asuma chuckled again.

"So being educators of youth, we went over to see what the trouble was."

"By that point," Kurenai interjected, "all of your Team 7 had taken off down the hall. I tried to be discreet in what I was explaining--"

"But I knew that my Eternal Rival would be in need of assistance."

"Hah." The math teacher chuckled again. "More like he got the sense that Kakashi was stealing his spotlight and went to claim it back. I've never seen Gai run so fast before."

The social studies teacher blushed and started various proclamations of youth.

"And of course," Iruka grumbled, "all of you were getting in font of Itachi and not looking after the students." He scowled at the team, a grin tugging at his lips. "So I went to Team 7."

"Ah," Kakashi nodded. They'd almost kept Sasuke out of harm's way, but it was one of those times when things just fell apart, no matter how hard you tried. "I understand the students have been remarkably well behaved today."

Asuma snorted. "Won't last. Rumors about you were flying today though. Including quite a few that you had died."

"Well, I'll be sorry to disappoint them when I arrive alive and kicking tomorrow."

"We were hard-pressed to replace you at the PPTs we had today," Kurenai smiled. "The parents wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?"

"Yes, Kiba's father seems very impressed with you," she replied. "He wanted to talk to you about how you learned how to fight. I think he thinks it will keep Kiba out of trouble."

"But it will cost money."

Kurenai shrugged, smiling brightly. "He just got a rather well-paying job at a factory. He gets paid by how many items he makes, but he's been making good headway and learning on the job. He doesn't have the money to get him and Kiba a proper home and they're still crashing with friends, but things seem to be improving. Kiba's been doing very well lately in class and I think that's the reason why."

Kakashi nodded. "And he has other things to focus on than his own woes. Hinata's been a good distraction."

"Yes, he's really helping her in social studies and science." She smiled. "I spoke to Hinata's father the other day. He's still on the stern side, but I think a lot of the pressure to succeed has been removed from her."

"At Neji's outright defiance of his parents and aunt and uncle," Gai gave his brilliant grin-with-sparkles. "Neji has been ensuring Hinata a stress free environment at home by being rude to his family in making them leave her alone. It is not the best of methods, but I applaud his heart of youth!"

"There was also some talk of outing Kiba from the special ed program," Iruka added. "Kiba's been doing so well this year that it was discussed, but I suggested that they wait and see how next year holds up, since that's his triennial. If your team keeps working with him, then he might be okay if he's outed, but I think he'll still need support systems."

"So Kiba and Team 8 are doing well," Kakashi grinned. "What else did I miss today?"

"Chouji's PPT," Asuma was still grinning widely. "You're little display yesterday had made him rather obscure to the student body and he's rather grateful for that. Nobody's bugging him with questions about why he's been gone for so long, etc."

"He's been doing very well in classes, and I think we can thank Shikamaru for that," Iruka added. "The two of them and Ino seemed to be doing okay during class today, but we'll see. They've been apart for a while so it will be like working out the kinks all over again."

"How is Chouji?" Kakashi asked. "Is he clean now?"

"Oh yes," Asuma nodded. "And skinny. He looks like a ninety-pound weakling, but he's constantly pulling out a bag of something in the halls. He'll probably work his way back to plump by the end of summer. Parents have restrictions on him up to wazoo. He won't be using again." Sudoku-sama leaned back in his chair. "I talked to him today after class. He's telling me that it was probably the stupidest thing he's ever done. He could just be telling me what I wanted to hear, but I don't think so."

The English teacher nodded. "If he thinks the restrictions are bad at home, I think we should make it clear that we're keeping restrictions on him as well. I have a field trip with my class next week and I think we may want to keep Chouji off of it and any other specialties until he's proved himself a bit."

"He already knows that," Iruka relied. "I laid those rules down hard this morning."

"Good. At the same time, don't be extra hard on him. Just think of these past few months as never happening for him. With any luck, he'll go through the rest of the year quietly."

Everyone nodded.

"Now that we've recapped," Kurenai smiled, "I want to know about the boring parts of yesterday. We know what happened inside. What happened outside?"

The following day was interesting for Kakashi. The students all wanted to discuss what had happened Monday afternoon, in minute detail. The Scarecrow couldn't exactly begrudge them, on some level, they did have a right to know, especially since a vast majority of them witnessed it. But it wasn't something he was all that ready to discuss with students. Getting them back on task was a curious mix of students being unusually willing to do what he told them to but still desperate to talk about his fight.

Of course, there were students who, through the rumor mill, thought that he was dead, fired, captured by the FBI (not the CIA, the FBI), etc and were surprised to see him in school. The one unanimous thing that all the students did was be careful of Kakashi's shoulder, which he kept bound to prevent jostling and aggravation.

Chouji was sticking to the sidelines, clearly glad not to be the mainstay of gossip with his return, and the English teacher kept an eye on how Team 10 was working together. Ino was still rather abrasive, but they seemed to have worked out a better system than they'd had before Chouji needed to go into rehab.

Team 7 seemed to be stuck to his side like glue. Either Sakura was inquiring on how he was feeling; Naruto was pestering him with questions on where to learn how to fight like that; or Sasuke was just stoically by his side. It was almost annoying, but Kakashi didn't have it in him to be irritated. Team 8, similarly, seemed glued to Kurenai's side. The English teacher didn't care who objected (if anyone did), she was staying on his team.

The most amazing thing about Wednesday was that Kakashi didn't have to throw anyone out, hand out a detention, or even so much as give a firm reprimand. All the students did like he asked without question or resistance. They didn't necessarily stay on task, but they tried to obey him.

Really, he should be stabbed in front of the buses more often.

Thursday was similar to Wednesday and Kakashi didn't mind in the slightest. Friday continued the pattern and the English teacher wasn't going to complain. It felt bizarre, but he wasn't going to say a word. He knew it wouldn't last, in any case. Something else would happen to get the rumor mill running and he'd be forgotten. But for now, he lavished.

So when C Period came around Friday, there was a distinctive skip in his step as he wandered down to the conference room in guidance to have another PPT. Asuma and Iruka were already there, as well as Shikamaru and his father.

"Ah," Nara grinned broadly, "here's the hero of the hour."

"Yo," Kakashi waved his free hand, his other arm still bound to prevent his stitches from ripping. "I see my reputation precedes me. Whatever you've heard is a lie and I didn't do it."

Nara laughed, slapping the table. "I will miss you next year. You and your team are certainly interesting people."

"Daaaad," Shikamaru mumbled, looking away.

"So," Iruka started, passing over the sign-in sheet. "Do you have any questions or concerns?"

"Plenty, but not with regards to my son." Nara continued to grin broadly. "He's been doing great this year. His friends are doing well and I'm very proud of him."

"We're looking at what math course he'll take next year," Asuma started. "You know that he's already in eighth grade math--"

Shikamaru groaned what sounded like "troublesome".

"So for next year, I want him to try Algebra I."

"Sounds fine."

Asuma grinned. "I've been giving him some sample problems when he visits me in SSR. As the year goes on, you may have to bump him up to Geometry, so bear that in mind."

"Asuma-sensei!" Shikamaru growled. "Are you trying to be troublesome? That's way too much work and effort."

Nara put a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder, calming him. "Settle down, son. We'll face that hurtle when we get there."

The student slouched back, still mumbling "troublesome".

Asuma continued. "There will be some concerns if you choose to sign him up for Geometry. He'll be with students a few years older than him and there's the question of how to get him back and forth with the high school, etc. There will be a lot of things to think about if the subject is brought up. You can discuss it with your wife over the summer so that you're prepared."

Iruka frowned. "He still has a bit of a lazy streak. He's keeping his grades up, but I'm still unsure if he's really doing the best he can."

Nara turned a stern look to his son, who winced.

"He may get his laziness from me, but even I know when to buckle down and work."

Shikamaru, yet again, mumbled something about "troublesome".

Kakashi couldn't help but smile. Despite how it started, this week had turned into something rather splendid.

Several of reviewers at Fanfiction.net have asked about Gaara. The two of us debated back and forth on whether to explain or not all week in regards to this. One of the things that makes a story really good (in our opinion) is going back and picking up more things than you did the first time round. We've left several things explained, but unsaid throughout the story, so that a second reading might put pieces together. All our Kaka/Iru stuff is sublte so that you have to squint really hard to see it. Similarly with any parings amongst the students. Just as the actual anime/manga leaves things open to interpretation, we tried to honor that. However, after reading Jill Bioskop's review at fanfiction.net, we decided to detail Gaara a bit more thoroughly.

Gaara, clearly, wants to spend time with Yashamaru. To that end, Kankuro and Temari, in their own way, sought to help by stealing money from Asuma to give to Gaara. The plan was that Gaara would then use that money to help Yashamaru pay off some bills to take a day off. (Three hundred bucks isn't nearly enough, but students don't have that fine a grasp of budgeting at that age usually.) Of course, Naruto threw a wrench into the works by stealing the money back. So when vacation came around and Yashamaru's spot was, yet again, vacant, Gaara got more inward and more pissed. Yashamaru brushed off Gaara at one point and thought Gaara only saw it as disappointment instead of the serious blow it was. So with Gaara stewing on that for almost a week, it isn't really a surprise that he finally exploded. The explosion was based off a real-life student and incident. Neither of us ever found out what that student's problem was (beyond being SED - Socially and Emotionally Disturbed). So anyone's guess on Gaara's new diagnosis is as good as ours. We did a lot of melding for Gaara's character, from SED students we've met and worked with to Gaara's actual problems in the anime/manga, such as insomnia and mumbling to himself/clutching his head.

We hope that answers any questions.