Christmas vacation was always an unusual and surreal time of year for Kakashi. While not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, he did go to the Midnight Mass every year, huddled in the back. He never went for himself, but rather, because the Yellow Flash, Obito, and Rin, had all been Christmas-Spirit advocates. So, he sat back and watched with Obitio's eye and hoped that they could all see. Afterwards, he would spend the rest of the night at the memorial with a nice large bottle of sake and twiddle time away before watching the sunrise. Christmas Day itself was spent lounging around the house, snoozing on occasion, and watching all those stop-motion-animation Christmas Specials that were on. As he watched the original Technicolor "Christmas Carol", he spared a brief thought on if Sakura had somehow convinced her parents to let two lonely boys come over, before taking another sip from his sake bottle and falling asleep.

The week between Christmas and New Years was spent with Kakashi doing things nobody thought Kakashi would do. That snowy week was always devoted to cleaning. The English teacher would dust, vacuum, wash and wax, polish, and scrub everything in his home from floors, to sinks, to stove tops, to microwaves, etc. He also gave a thorough inspection to all his electrical, plumbing, and things that required maintenance. If occasion called for it, he'd even repaint a room, or rearrange things to better suit his comfort. Definitely an un-Kakashi thing to do, but with neighbors either away or involved in their own "family time", there was no better point for Kakashi to do it.

New Year's itself was when he'd go down to the local pub near the school and catch up on gossip of the teachers. During his second year, he'd started the "tradition" of the school faculty spending New Year's Eve together, so as to wish the students well in the coming year. Kakashi kept his ears opened to catch up on what he might miss, given his tendency to focus on the students first. Not as many teachers came as he might have liked, since many had their own traditions for ringing in the New Year, but it was slowly growing.

Thus, Monday morning, when Kakashi finally wandered in, late from having slept in for over a week, he could smile easily. He took all of one step into homeroom before a resounding call forced him to turn around.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!!"

"Yes, Naruto," he replied, trying to get some hearing back in his ears.

The blond barreled into his room, bouncing on each foot, polite enough, at least, to let Kakashi get to his desk and drop off his coat and bag.

"I have to tell you! I've had the best Christmas ever! The best vacation ever! Listen, listen!"

"I am listening," Kakashi placated, slumping into his chair and into a relaxed slouch.

"Yondaime-jiji took me down to Main Street Christmas Eve, and the whole street was filled with people who were caroling, and singing, and playing and stuff! I saw Hinata-chan, Kiba, Shikamaru, Temari, Asuma-sensei, the Old Man, Pervy Sage, and even some of my old foster parents! So that's where they went whenever they grounded me for Christmas, but anyway, there was a buffet, apple pie, ham, stuffing, brownies, cookies, and so much food! Yondaime-jiji and I had so much fun, but there was something missing, so I started a snowball fight and got Kiba right in the face, he got so mad!"

Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh! Behind the bouncing blond, Kakashi could see Kiba glaring and offering his nonverbal thought on what Naruto was shouting about. The Scarecrow gave a glare, raised an eyebrow, and Kiba backed down.

"And then, and then, Sakura-chan invited me and Sasuke-teme to her house on Christmas Day to watch some old flick about Christmas ghosts. It was in black and white! How ancient is that?"

Kakashi noted that Sakura didn't have the Technicolor version that was shown on TV that day. She must have had a VHS cassette to watch whenever she wanted. Ah well, the black and white was more classic in his opinion.

"Her parents were awesome, they let us stay over for the night! Yondaime-jiji seemed a little put out that I didn't come home, until I came back with Sakura's mother's fresh-baked cookies! I've never had a Christmas like this before! Who knew it could be so much fun?"

The English teacher just smiled brightly, glancing over at Sakura who was looking down and bright red. Kakashi had to work very hard to Not Laugh as Naruto went even further to describe how absolutely wonderful his vacation was. He grinned and nodded appropriately, quieted the boy as announcements finally came on, before shooing him off to Asuma, his actual homeroom teacher.

Team Time that day had all of them mentioning Naruto's loud proclamation of how incredible his vacation had been.

"He just wouldn't shut up this morning," Iruka groaned with a smile. "He didn't stop until he saw you, Kakashi, come in."

"Oh yes," Asuma nodded. "He was damn near shouting about it when he got to my room last. Poor Sasuke looked embarrassed to even know the boy."

"Such youthful exuberance should be encouraged," admonished the Green Beast, "for their times as children is far too finite and should be experienced to the fullest."

"Agreed," said Kurenai, "but at a lower volume. I already knew about seventy-five percent of the story by the time he got to my room because he was yelling it to Iruka, you, and Kakashi."

Kakashi turned a page, letting them joyfully complain about Naruto's fun over break. To see a student so happy was a rare sight, and one to be enjoyed, even if there were a few miniscule grumbles about volume. A few minutes later, after Kakashi felt they all had enough time to relish Naruto's good fortune, he redirected his team back onto more pertinent topics.

"So, how have the students we've been concerned about been?" he asked.

Asuma chuckled, a deep smoker's laugh. "Despite being mortified during homeroom, Sasuke was his usual quiet self A period. No problems. I think being with Sakura and Naruto over break really did a lot to keep him feeling good, even if he doesn't show a damn thing."

"The same occurred in my class," Gai agreed, "He participated with his usual reluctance. My only concern was that Hinata was unusually jumpy."

"I noticed that as well," the science teacher noted. "I tried to talk to her, but she just hemmed and hawed."

"Gaara's absent again," the English teacher commented.

Iruka and Asuma growled at that. "He can't afford this many absences!"

"Did anyone else notice Kiba's smell?" Kakashi asked. "He smelled of wet dog during homeroom today." Kurenai and Gai nodded.

Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Really? He was fine during Resource. Ah, but he just came from Gym. He probably showered."

"He also seems a little...gaunt when I saw him in the halls," the Sudoku master replied. Kakashi thought back to the conversation he overheard after Thanksgiving and replied,

"He may not have eaten much during vacation. We should keep a closer eye on him."

Concerns continued, as well as plotting possible platforming to offer support for the students they were still worried about. Kakashi noted the good ideas, shot down the bad, and brainstormed for the puzzling. Through it all, however, he noted that Kurenai had a distant look in her eye.

"What's wrong?" he asked, completely interrupting conversation.

Flustered, Kurenai blushed and stuttered for a moment before plowing ahead with her concern. "It's Chouji. He looks... different, I'm not sure how to describe it. During homeroom he was arguing with Temari and he usually doesn't argue with anyone. He even threw a few insults to Shino."

"He has been getting rougher around the edges," Iruka pointed out, "much as I don't like to admit that."

"I know," the science teacher agreed. "But something felt... different this morning."

Asuma grunted. "Sakura was also acting a little strange in class today. She was quiet."

Kakashi frowned. This didn't sound good. "Keep an eye on everyone this week. Something doesn't feel right."

Wednesday ended up being a snow day, a nice little blizzard blowing in from the Northwest covering their town. It was a wonderful excuse to read by the fire or to just sit by the window and watch the snow falling silently. Despite the temptation to just stay indoors where it was warm and cozy, Kakashi did go out every few hours to scrape the coating off his driveway. As the physical labor numbed his mind, he took the opportunity to reschedule his lessons, since he had another professional development day coming up at the local university.

Thus, Thursday, with a 90-minute delay, Kakashi's driveway was barely coated, so he shoveled the last layer of the foot and a half of snow they'd gotten and started to head in. Now normally, this would be considered a sin for Kakashi, since he would essentially arrive at school early. However, a 90-miute delay presented untold opportunities to get work done without students shouting all around you, so all teachers tried to get in early and take advantage of the quiet time. Besides, Kakashi would, no doubt, be the last of his team to arrive, so he was still "late".

After getting his morning coffee from the coffee shop at the end of his street, he slowly made his way to school and found a most unusual sight. Sakura, who always took the bus as far as he was aware, was walking to school today. Now, since the sidewalks weren't yet plowed (and probably wouldn't be for another few days), that meant that she was taking sinking footsteps into over a foot of snow, plus whatever the plow trucks had piled up on the side of the road.

Ignoring all the possible legal issues such as parents suing him if he got into an accident and Sakura got hurt, being alone with a student in his car, etc; Kakashi pulled over and rolled down a window.

"Yo!" he called out.

Sakura paused, looking down the slight incline from the sidewalk to the street blankly at him. She sniffed in the cold before smiling. "Oh, good morning Kakashi-sensei. How are you?"

"Warm and toasty. You?"

She gave a small laugh. "Frozen through."

"Care for a ride?"

Sakura looked around, her cheeks rosy in the frigid air, and gave a small smile. "Why not?" she muttered, climbing over the harder snow that the plows had piled up.

Unlocking his doors, Sakura took the front seat and looked surprised when she entered his car. That, Kakashi had expected. Given how lazy and tardy he could be, the Scarecrow was usually thought to be a slob. His room had stacks and stacks of books and papers all around that it was a miracle to the students that he could find anything so quickly. His car, by contrast, was extremely neat and tidy. He never ate in his vehicle, since that would mean he was rushing somewhere. No, he ate in kitchens, cafes, restaurants and other designated food areas. The only "food" that was ever in his car aside from lunch was his morning coffee, which he didn't sip from until he was at school. So, crumb and stain free, his car was also not a storage-bin. Whenever anything went into his car, it needed transport somewhere. An attaché case carried any student papers, curriculum or lesson plans he needed from home to school, and his lunch, if he brought it, was in a small bag.

Thus, Sakura, had to reconcile her vision of a messy teacher with his very clean car.

"Is something wrong?" he asked brightly.

"Ah, no," Sakura replied, looking once more around his car.

"Good. So what brings you out into the cold? Shouldn't you be waiting for the bus?"

Sakura looked away as he pulled away from the sidewalk. Something was up, but he wondered if she would talk to him about it, or maybe she would open up to Tsunade. Letting her be, he turned up the heat and aimed the vents to her sopping wet jeans and boots. Hopefully, she'd have a change of clothes at school; otherwise, he'd recommend that she get any gym clothes she may have. It wouldn't be healthy for her to wear soaking pants all day.

The care ride was silent, save for NPR, which Kakashi always had on.

When they got to school, Kakashi said nothing, but the pink-haired seventh-grader trailed after him and followed him into his room. As he unlocked the door, Gai poked his head out from across the hall, and the Scarecrow threw a glance at the Green Beast, and then down to Sakura's dripping jeans. Gai nodded and headed down the hall to see Tsunade about extra clothes.

With his room open, Kakashi sat back at his desk and Sakura dropped her stuff on the floor and sat in front of him. He leaned back and waited. She needed to talk, and he was merely providing an open ear. It was up to her to use it or not.

Finally, leaning forward onto the desk and resting her head on her arms, she glanced up.

"I looked up something in the student handbook over break," she started. "Bullying is 'any overt acts by a student or group of students directed against another student with the intent to ridicule, humiliate, or intimidate the other student while on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity, which acts are repeated against the same student over time'."

Kakashi nodded. "I remember telling Kiba that definition after flying food and fists occurred."

"Oh yeah," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I'd forgotten about that."

Silence.

"How long is 'over time', Kakashi-sensei?"

The Scarecrow leaned back, hands behind his head, and looked at the ceiling. "This is one of those times that the English language can be very ambiguous. There is no definition of time because it can be different for different situations. Ambiguity can work to your advantage, or, if you need and thrive on precision, it can be terribly frustrating."

"I see," she mumbled. "And if it doesn't happen on school grounds? How do you prove the 'intent to ridicule, humiliate, or intimidate' when the response will always be 'I was only kidding'?"

Kakashi frowned. "I'll tell you what. When a student comes to me about bullying, it's very hard as a teacher, to witness every incident. What I usually tell the student to do is to take notes."

Sakura opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Take notes?" she replied, unconvinced.

"Of course," her homeroom teacher replied. He pulled out a piece of paper and made four columns. "Date, Time, Who, and What Was Said," he pointed to each column. "If a student comes in with three or four pages, it's rather hard for administration to ignore. Even if the events don't occur on school grounds or school-sponsored activities, having that many notes is still very convincing that something is going on." Kakashi passed the paper over and leaned back again. "As a teacher, it's very hard to see everything going on in a room. I might be helping Team 4 while Team 9 is just drawing on their worksheets, while someone from Team 3 is trying to slip out of the room. I can't see everything, but I can do something about what I know and see. If that student is missing from Team 3, they'll have a detention on their desk when they come back. If Team 9 isn't doing anything, I'll sit and work with them."

He glanced at her. "You've seen how I am about students who talk rudely to one another. I don't tolerate it in my room. I despise it when somebody shouts out about whatever they dislike is 'gay'. I'm disgusted when students refer to each other as 'retarded'. Students can't shout out how 'racist' something is when it doesn't go their way in my class."

Sakura smiled sadly, looking away.

"I always try to make my room safe for all students, Sakura. But I can only work with information." She nodded, and then lay her head back down on the desk.

So, why was Sakura out walking in the snow that morning? She lived a fair distance from the school, taking the bus would have been better. There was also the talk of bullying. Sakura had shown, on several instances, that she could stand up for herself. Not only that, she'd stand up for others, like with Hinata just a few weeks ago. So what was bothering the female member of Team 7?

"Kakashi-sensei," growled the busty figure of the nurse Tsunade, "I need to talk to you and you're always late!"

"I've been here the whole time," Kakashi replied blithely. "Where on earth were you looking?"

"I have several possible places, but I won't say it in polite company," she growled. "Sakura," she said, smiling gently. "You left something with me the last time you visited," she handed over a small bag which Kakashi hoped would have a spare pair of pants for her. "Go to your locker and get prepared for the day."

The girl looked up, looking tired, smiled weakly, and took the bag, shuffling out of the room. "What did you do to her?" the nurse growled.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, obscured by his headband. "I haven't done anything. She's been seeming a little down all week, but she's not talking about it."

"Yeah right," she growled. "You probably know exactly what's going on, but you're just not saying."

"No," he sighed, "that's not the case." She still held his first year against him. She wouldn't stop him from helping students, but she would not trust him in certain arenas. He sighed again. "Is there anything else, Tsunade-sama?"

"Hmph." She frowned down at him. "Kiba's family seems to be in bad straights right now. He's going to need the shower in the gym every morning, and we have to make sure he's having breakfast and lunch. I've already spoken to the gym teachers about that, they'll tell him today, but there really isn't enough money in his family and I think he's sacrificing for the rest of his siblings."

Kakashi frowned. "We noticed that something was up and Kurenai's been trying to get him to open up, but he's been shut about as tight as a welded corner. Hinata and Shino have been worried all week."

"They should be," Tsunade whispered. "He won't give details to administration either..."

That wasn't good.

Given the delay, classes were shorter and students were rowdy, all of them having been praying for a second snow day, and still stoked from playing in the snow. Plus, the schedule was all topsy-turvy and nobody knew when classes began, ended, or what order they were in. So, when Kakashi finally grabbed his lunch and wandered back to Asuma's room, he was ready for a break from the brats.

"Yo," he greeted tiredly, plopping down in his usual seat and setting his Styrofoam tray of macaroni and cheese down. "Anyone have some good news?"

"My Eternal Rival, the best of news is what I have to present! Aoba has graciously accepted the role of representative of our union and has already rescinded the ridiculous regulations that his uncivilized predecessor initiated." Gai beamed.

"Aaaaah, at last," Kakashi murmured through a mouthful of food.

"Midterms are in two weeks, have you forgotten?" Asuma grumbled. "We'll actually have some peace and quiet for a change."

"Two weeks?" Kurenai asked. "Nobody told me when midterms would be! Ah, that changes everything." Frowning, she pulled out her planner and started looking ahead.

Iruka looked up. "Wait, you didn't get the email from our computer people about all the damn procedures we need to go through to submit midterms?"

"Huh?" the science teacher replied. "That wasn't just about submitting grades for second quarter?"

Asuma sighed. "Come here, I'll show you what needs to be done." He pulled her over to his computer and started tapping at the keyboard and clicking the mouse.

"How's Sakura and Kiba been?" Kakashi asked Iruka and Gai, his worries from that morning still strong.

"I fear our little flower petal has become more reserved in my class," the social studies teacher noted, "and I've seen that she seems to have a heavy burden weighing on her sharp mind."

"I've noticed it too," Asuma said from the computer. "Her grades are a little lower this week than normal, but it could just be she's having trouble with the new unit we're covering, most students do."

"Kiba's been unusually harsh lately," Iruka added. "He's been snappish and almost cruel towards other students, but he won't tell me what's going on. I know something must have happened over break, but he's not telling."

"Ha," Asuma grunted as he and Kurenai sat back down. "You should haven seen him last period with me. I've got Naruto, Kiba, Gaara, and Kankuro all in one class. They're always in some sort of scuffle about something. Monday and Tuesday ended up being just seatwork because they couldn't behave themselves. Kankuro's usually the instigator, but Kiba's been just as bad."

The science teacher nodded. "He and Chouji have really been going at it in A period." She sighed. "About the only thing he'll tell me is that the bills are getting more expensive. He's just a kid, he shouldn't be worrying about bills at twelve years old."

Kakashi nodded, turning another page and waiting a moment for Iruka to finish writing everything down. "Kurenai, since Kiba's willing to open up to you, continue to be supportive of him. Try and talk to Hinata and Shino as well, they might have an idea of what's going on, or they might not. But he'll talk to them on occasion about things as well. I'm going to try and pry open Sakura. I know she usually goes to Tsunade first, but even she doesn't know what's going on with her. Iruka, try and sit on Kankuro if you can, if things are going like I think they are, he needs a watchdog and to not make things worse. Asuma..."

"I'm already working on Chouji and Ino. Send Ino to me during SSR," he said to the social studies teacher, "I think they need some team work."

Kakashi nodded again. "Gai, I want you to see if you can work with Gaara, see if you can find a good incentive to get him to come to school." So far, they had all been attacking the various problems the students had individually. It was time for a more controlled and united front.

Of course, none of this is actually saying whether Sakura is being bullied or not. She could be interested in the definition of bullying for someone else. One wonders, ne?