Perhaps Hiruzen should have become a gardener. He certainly had the fondness for plants. The Hokage stared at the potted flora wistfully but soon had to admit defeat. In front of him were two reports; one in a sharp, narrow handwriting, heavily coded and full of sealed pages. The other was clumsily coded and looked like a bunch of scratches in ink from a distance. The former was from Owl, the latter from Chi.

He scratched his head with his pipe and sighed. It took him half an hour to get through Owl's report. Each ANBU preferred a different type of concealing but they all liked to make each code more complicated to outdo the rest. No less than four times the Hokage had to backtrack because he misinterpreted a word or number. No less than eight times he had to stop himself from turning the paper into compost.

He set the thick file aside and tried not to think about the brown stains around the edges. He found a scrap of paper on his desk and scribbled a quick message on it. Then the Hokage turned his attention to the two flimsy pages of information Chi had provided. Her handwriting was as bad as Naruto's, if not worse. Ink was smudged and discolored, revealing that she too, diluted her ink with whatever other condiment in order to save money. Most people would do it with milk, which would still be eligible if heated with an iron.

But that clan was nothing if not original.

Ketsueki once used the finest ink, the softest brushes and the most expensive paper. Then, the clan fell into grip of darkness and poverty struck. They reused paper until it had holes in it, sometimes sending cloth instead. When fabric became special, the clan turned their brutality up another notch and send pieces of skin. The message would be carved in. With Chi being the sole heir of the little riches they had, combined with the funding she received, she could actually afford ink and supplies now. Yet, she still mixed her ink. Hiruzen guessed she used oil.

He took another look at the paper. It was as thin as regular paper, but yellowed as if it was decades old. The edges were rough and stiff, shrunken until the corners curled. He pushed his glasses higher up his nose and brought the paper closer. Ink ran in every direction, twirling and bubbling in places it had no business twirling and bubbling. He held it against the light.

Nope.

He patted his desk for his pipe and fresh tobacco. They never strayed far from his hands and only when he clasped the pipe between his lips, did he realize that he had been clenching his teeth in frustration. He lifted the paper again. Tilting it backwards seemed to work like magic and the Hokage could finally read the file. The information it contained was grave indeed, and he could sense Chi's worry from the deep grooves made by her pen and the hastily crossed out words, in favor of formalities.

The clocked ticked by as he reread the file and then set it aside. He cleared his throat and called for one of his assistants. Genma stuck his head in, chewing on that same toothpick.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Come in." Hiruzen nodded at the man.

Genma stepped inside, closing the door behind him. His shoulders were tense and his toothpick stilled.

"Triple the guards everywhere. Alert ANBU and give this note to their captain." He held out the scrap of paper.

Genma took it and asked "What about the visitors, won't they get suspicious?"

The Hokage smiled at him, letting a ring of smoke rise up between them. "Why, they won't even notice."

At the bar, that night~

The kids were asleep. Most of them in their own beds, some in a hospital bed and, yes, a few were curled up at their teacher's homes, but they slept. Most of them. Ibiki knew that his kids were divided. Ryuya was at home, snoring sweetly after gorging herself on pies and sweet buns. Shinji's parents made her meditate for an hour and she fell asleep five minutes in (he knew because he watched). The second the battles were declared over and everyone was outside, Chi saluted and hightailed herself to her clan's district. Many muted looks of horror from other Genin followed her as she entered the Forest of Death again. Ibiki made sure a discreet escort followed her.

Kakashi had dropped Sakura off at her parent's home, giving a lame excuse about her haircut before fleeing. Sasuke insisted on walking alone but didn't really complain when Kakashi walked behind him reading his book anyway. Finally Kakashi watched in fascinated horror as Naruto inhaled six cups of instant ramen and then flopped down on his bed to start snoring immediately.

Both teachers shared a look over their full tumblers. Kakashi eyed the six bottles next to Ibiki and wondered if there were any clinics strong enough to hold the Torture specialist. The rest of the Jonin were elated, completely spent and exhausted after waiting for five days in tense silence, only interrupted by an owl with bad news. The fact that their kids had to battle it out right afterwards did nothing good to their state.

Asuma, always the poet when drunk enough, stood up and declared that he felt as if he had run a marathon and crossed the finish line, only to be told that there had been an unfortunate administrative accident and the finish had to be moved ahead for another kilometer. Kakashi compared it to his battle with Gai, just when he thought the man would stop, he'd do something else that would make Kakashi get up too.

The Konoha Jonin and Chuunin had collectively decided to gather for a bout of training. For their liver that is. The bartender served and served and sometimes added water to the vodka, all the while collecting their precious salary. The Jonin sighed and rubbed their necks, peering through the rosy haze and half lidded eyes. At some point Anko had spilled her glass of spiced whiskey and it had absorbed into the wooden floor. The scent of cinnamon now accompanied the strong scent of alcohol and smoke.

"You got plans made for the kids?" Kurenai asked Kakashi when the noise level had lowered. Kakashi nodded absently, wondering if he had too much to drink after all. If he opened his eye wide enough, he could see two Kurenais and that was scary.

"I am planning to get Ebisu to train Naruto. After all he specializes in private trainin-"

That was as far as he got. Iruka (who had been up since dawn yesterday and was stressing over the creation of a new exam, and perhaps had a bit too much sake) had heard enough. The kind teacher had launched himself over the bar, tanned arm stretched to reach Kakashi's face, only to hit the wooden chair.

Kakashi's glass shattered on the floor but he was too busy trying to defend himself from Iruka. The kind Chuunin was besides himself with rage and Kakashi was absolutely sure that there was more to this situation. It was just that he couldn't think about it properly during a beating where he could barely stand up straight because of the table blocking his knees. Thankfully, Asuma and Kurenai stepped in when the brass knuckles appeared and pulled the Chuunin away, panting and still red in the face.

"Hatake, you unbelievable ass!"

Kakashi shrunk, painfully aware of the staring eyes around them. Iruka continued swearing, in a voice growing shriller as he went on until he reached a point of hysteria that caused fellow teacher Yamanaka Kai to put his mind to sleep. The smart blond smiled apologetically,

"Iruka had some sort of bad meeting today and he's under a lot of pressure these days... I don't know why he is defending the brat though." He looked rather pained towards the end, as if talking about Naruto hurt him physically. Asuma glared at him .

Kurenai did so too but spoke up "Iruka is still completely right if a bit overly emotional. Naruto needs to be trained by his teacher. Even if it isn't the most ideal situation, the kid can't handle so much disappointment."

Kakashi sighed "Yes, I am aware of that. However I need to train Sasuke, I'm the only one who can help him with his... gift. Besides, I'm sure that Ebisu would be a fine teacher to the kid-"

There was a familiar presence in the room he suddenly sensed now that his mind was clear again. Anko choked on her drink and an Inazuka next to her looked away awkwardly. The slender husky next to him looked at a point near the back door of the bar.

Kakashi slowly turned his head and felt his heart skid to a break when he spotted a mop of blond hair, much too bright to be an Inazuka. The bar froze like a deer caught in the headlights. Kakashi could feel the heat rise to his cheeks and ears.

Naruto managed to mask his expression and stepped tentatively in the room, scratching his head.

"Maa, sensei! I don't mind. I'll be fine!" He smiled that smile of his, but it wasn't blinding as it was supposed to be. "Sasuke really needs a good teacher to get his head back to its original size."

He swallowed, shifted his feet and Kakashi felt his heart break. "Naruto-"

The kid waved "It's okay, sensei! Really. Just make sure not to teach him any cool moves or he might surpass me."

With that, Naruto stepped back and closed the door. The sound of the lock send a jolt of electricity through Kakashi's body. He jumped to the door, yanking it open only to find that Naruto had already bolted. With his heart thundering, the Jonin set out to follow him with only his nose to guide him.

As he left, he could hear Kurenai call out to him.

"Don't you forget Sakura!"

Cursing himself, Kakashi chased his student for most of an hour before he spotted him on top of the Fourth's head. He almost imagined his teacher's head turning around to look at him. Kakashi shook his head and tentatively stepped closer. Naruto's shoulders were trembling. The kid sniffed and tried to smother his sobs but Kakashi heard them regardless.

"It's me." He stepped on the rock that looked out on the entirety of Konoha. The legacy of the Fourth froze in shock.

Kakashi was next to him before he could wipe his face. "Naruto, I need to talk to you about what you heard in the bar."

"I told you it is alright." His voice sounded thick and he was still not facing him.

"It is not alright."

Naruto tensed "Are you mad?"

"What? No," Kakashi sighed, "I am not mad at you. In fact, I am rather impressed with your stealth."

This earned him a slight chuckle but the boy still hadn't turned around.

"I want to apologize to you. I-I am not a good teacher." It felt shameful to say it out loud, to his student no less. Kakashi found himself looking at the tiny lights in the streets far below them.

"That's wrong." Naruto spoke with a strength he was lacking earlier. He turned and Kakashi received a full load of those cerulean eyes straight into his misty one. "You are a good teacher, 'Kashi sensei. The best! It's just that I am not a good..." he trailed off.

"Naruto, you are far from a bad student. You have potential, passion and talent. Believe me, I am the one not doing my job right."

The Jonin took a deep breath "I promise that I'll change, for the better. I will train you three, Naruto."

"You won't have enough time, sensei."

"I'll figure it out."

"Hm."

It was time to change the subject.

"Why were you in the bar?" Kakashi leaned back on his hands.

"No reason."

"Sure?"

A lengthy pause followed, Kakashi waited patiently. Eventually Naruto cracked, "Sometimes the barman has leftover food."

"Shinobi can't grow on leftovers."

"I can. I got the F- enough chakra." Naruto's cheeks colored at his slip up. Kakashi pretended not to notice. They spend another hour sitting on the hair of their teacher and father respectively. Kakashi figured that he should do that more often, with more students.

Back in the bar, Iruka woke up with a hangover of worldly proportions. He was wedged between the designated babysitters: Kurenai and Anko, though no one really relied on Anko as she was the one to set fire to the cat of the Daimyo's wife, thus rendering the animal hairless. Gai, for whatever reason, was doing push ups in the corner.

"You feeling better?" Anko grinned at him, "Less punchy and screamy? Or are you feeling stabby now?"

Iruka blinked at her until the earlier events dawned on him. He paled and then flushed in such a fast rate, Kurenai feared he might pass out again. Instead he dropped his head on the table and groaned.

"What have I done?"

"Well, first you launched yourself and then almost punched Kakashi in the eye, which was amazing-" The ever so helpful Anko was shut up by Ibiki, who whacked her over her head with his hand. He pushed her aside and sat in front of Iruka, tapping his finger against his glass.

"Care to explain?"

Iruka looked up and groaned again when he saw his friend. "Please don't do this to me."

Ibiki shrugged "Well, someone's gotta. You didn't exactly act like yourself just now."

Iruka sighed and pushed himself up, resting his head between his hands. "I had a really bad day. Two days actually. Probably should have drank less anyway."

"Details please." Ibiki turned his glass in his hands.

"I had a meeting with the Hokage, about... You know, Chi." Iruka admitted quietly.

"That's not good." Ibiki commented. His glass stilled in his hands, though his eyes were trained on the liquid. Asuma stepped closer.

"Danzo is making his move." Iruka's voice was just above a whisper.

The warmth of the room was gone, temperature dropping to a freezing point. The sweetness of cinnamon turned sharp and burned their noses. Ibiki swallowed and took a breath to talk, but the opening of the door stopped him. Genma barreled in.

"Ibiki!"

He ran to the man. The cluster in the corner broke up and turned to the newcomer. Genma's face was pale and his hands had smears of blood on them. Before anyone could get a word out, he continued.

"Hayate was attacked, Chi found him. All Jonin teachers are expected to be at the Hokage Tower immediately."

Chi was outside? Ibiki narrowed his eyes. Then he downed his drink and grabbed his coat. The Jonin all followed and together they left the bar. Iruka looked after them and called

"I'll let Kakashi know."

The Jonin barely heard him as they jumped on the rooftops and sped towards the large, ivory tower that formed the office of the Hokage. They arrived at the same time as Kakashi, who explained that Iruka was taking care of Naruto now. Ibiki didn't pay attention, instead he eyed the ANBU that stood on guard and entered the tower.

The stairwell was desolated, moonlight was the only thing that gave them a view of what was ahead. Usually these stairs were bustling with people, rushing up and down. It was a place for gossip, for impromptu meetings and more gossip. Now the pearly steps were empty and cold. The light of the office shone from the top, the only unchanged factor.

The Hokage was sitting behind his desk, blowing rings of smoke in the air. Beside him, standing stiff near a large potted plant, was Chi. Ibiki inspected her from a distance. She hadn't even changed her clothes, still wearing the same yellow haori she wore in the first exam. It was wrinkled and dusty, with brown stains on the sleeves. Her hair was still unwashed and in a hurried braid. Her braces were filthy.

"Apologies for bothering you so late at night." The Third started, putting his pipe aside. "I'm afraid this is urgent."

Kurenai shook her head, dark curls bouncing "It's no problem at all, Hokage-sama. Is Hayate alright?"

The Hokage nodded slowly, gesturing towards Chi, "Yes, Hayate is currently under observation but he will survive, thanks to Chi here."

All eyes were on the Genin now. Chi looked like she'd rather face an angry snake instead of her teacher. A light tremor ran through her hands and she hid them in her sleeves.

"Chi?" The Hokage asked, turning slowly. "Why don't you tell them what happened?"

Chi seemed to work on her expression for a moment before she looked up. Her voice was as quiet as she could get, her tone as steely as her gaze.

"I was on my way to my house when I smelled something." She looked uncomfortable but continued."I smelled human blood, so I went to check it out. I found him there, bleeding pretty badly from his nose and mouth. I stopped the bleeding and send a clone to get help."

"Do you have anything else to add?" The Third asked kindly. Chi hesitated but then firmly shook her head.

"In that case, you can wait outside for now, thank you."

Chi nodded and slipped out of the room, not facing anyone else. Once the door closed, the Third sighed.

"Hayate is still unconscious but we found some traces on him. The trail led us to the camp of the Sand delegation."

"So the reports are true." Ibiki clenched his fist.

"Indeed." Hiruzen confirmed. "Sound, Sand and Orochimaru. Those are our enemies now."

"Did the Kabuto kid say anything else?" Gai asked quietly. The fact that he was openly paying attention unnerved Asuma immensely.

Ibiki shook his head "He's good, I'll give him that. We worked him hard and squeezed out as much as we could but eventually he shut down. We're letting him stew for now."

"Good. Make sure that Orochimaru can't get to him." The Third nodded.

"Do you think he knows-"

"That we're holding his accomplice?" Hiruzen finished Asuma's sentence. "I'm sure of it. We need to move fast."

A tense silence fell between them before Kurenai spoke up "Apologies Hokage, but why did you call all of us here?"

The Third put his pipe down and sighed "It was to warn you all to keep a close eye on your students. Orochimaru was my student once and look where he is now. My two other students are far away, waisting their talents and skills. Konoha needs you to keep your students close."

He walked over to his window and looked outside, hands behind his back. "War is coming. It may not be here tomorrow, but it will arrive. We need to be ready and most of all, we need to stay together. Loyalty is our greatest weapon, make sure that the Genin know that."

The Jonin remained quiet even as they were dismissed by their leader. They filed out of the door one by one. Kakashi spared a glance at Chi, leaning against the wall, and quickly moved on. Ibiki stood next to her and walked down along side his student. The rest of the teachers had already left by the time they stepped outside and Ibiki took his chance.

"How did you save him?" he asked, just as Chi tried to get away. She froze and turned halfway on her heel.

"Just like usual." She shrugged.

Ibiki frowned "Did you take his blood? Did he ask you to?"

"I had to save him!" she snapped and then shrunk in upon herself.

"Chi, you can't just take someone's blood without their consent." he told her sternly.

"He wanted to survive." Chi clenched her jaw, looking away.

"Explicit consent, Chi. What if he could've survived if you'd just applied regular care? How is he going to feel now that you hold his blood?"

"Well, I don't know any regular medical care. I just saved him the best way I could, he should be glad." Chi ground out.

"Can you take his blood out of your system?"

His student positively growled before snapping at him "I can't and I won't try it. He's alive and he should be happy. Now I want to get home and sleep!"

"Watch your language." Ibiki barked, towering over her. Chi scowled but forced her features into something less hostile.

"What were you doing outside? " he continued. "I thought you went to your home right after the exams."

She blanched but faced him anyway. Her eyes were scarlet, shimmering in the streetlights. "Went out for food."

"You don't need food."

"I wanted it."

Ibiki wanted to shake the answer out of her, instead he just massaged his forehead wearily. "Don't tell me then. Go home. I expect you to be ready tomorrow at noon in the office. I hope for your sake that you'll be better then."

Chi nodded stiffly and flickered away. Ibiki clenched his fist and briskly turned away, walking towards his own apartment at a fast pace. The shadows seemed to watch him.