Shanan was now focusing on her missions and her training for the most part. But she spent her free time with Neji, Lee and Hinata and also Shikamaru when he was available, which wasn't as often.

But they were growing up, Team Guy were all sixteen now and often behaved as teenagers do and had the occasional drink. Except for Hinata, who was still too young for alcohol. So they only drank when Hinata wasn't around.

And even though Shikamaru was still technically too young for it, Shanan still begged him to hang out with them since he was the most mature and cool person she knew. She had also definitely developed a crush on him and took up most of his free time, because she enjoyed being around him so much. He always came across as laid back and disinterested, so she always thought he'd say no, but he never did.

Every time they had a party, Shikamaru always fell asleep in her bed and Lee always had trouble handling himself in one way or another, but Neji loosened up quite a bit when he was drunk. He was always the last one to fall asleep and they always stayed up talking. Either way, she enjoyed any time they could all get together and be stupid and she was rarely ever alone.

As far as her abilities, she still hadn't unlocked any new Sharingan techniques. But she honed in Kurushimi and was often brought in to question prisoners brought in by anyone in The Leaf. It was really hard watching people experience their most tragic moments, but she learned to push it out of her mind and just do the mission. She knew that it was how Kakashi would do it.

And her water control was becoming a lot more powerful. She could now not only pull water from the air, but she could pull water from other things, including people.

She wasn't a fan of doing it, though. She did it out of fear once when an enemy tackled Lee on a mission and had a kunai to his throat and he immediately turned into a gross husk of a person. She would do it a thousand times to save her friends, but she preferred to just turn them into a puddle of water.

Teams were still often mixed for various missions as the Jonin were still spread thin. But more and more people were becoming Chunin. And at sixteen, she finally got her jacket along with Lee. Neji had had his for six months now and was well on his way to becoming a Jonin.

Guy Sensei had finally returned from a fairly long mission and asked to have lunch with the team since it had been so long and he wanted to celebrate their successes.

They were all really glad to see him and talk to him and Shanan was hopeful that he might have news on Kakashi as she worried about him a lot. Undercover missions really were no joke.

Shanan hated how she had taken all of her anger out on him. All she could remember was the expression on his face that she didn't think he'd even realized he'd had. She knew her words had cut him and at the time she was glad they did.

Once they had caught up a little, Shanan finally brought it up.

"Any word from Kakashi?" she asked him hopefully.

"Not yet," he told her confidently.

Shanan laughed at him. "Sensei, did you forget that you can't lie to me anymore?"

Guy quickly looked away. He had forgotten. "He's alright. That's all I can tell you."

"That's all I need to know," she said softly. "I'd ask if there was any word on Naruto or Sasuke, but I already know there isn't."

"No, but no news is good news, Shanan, don't you worry!" he said encouragingly.

"You're right. It's ok! I'm happier now," she said as she grinned at him awkwardly.

"Good! That's what I like to see! And I'm glad you three spend so much time together. Tell me some stories!" he said enthusiastically.

"We had a sleepover and got drunk last weekend and Shanan and Neji showed me how to dance until I vomited and they fed me crackers!" Lee blurted out as he jumped up.

"Not that kind of story, idiot..." Neji shook his head.

"No, I know you guys are growing up." He started to tear up. "I can handle it. Tell me more," he said as tears streamed down his face.

It was rather comical.

"Oh, God..." Shanan said as she sank down.

"I do not remember any of the dance moves!" Lee yelled again.

"Sit down!" Neji ordered him.

"You're all still the same as you ever were. How about we have some sake!" Guy yelled excitedly.

"Can Lee promise not to destroy the place or vomit?" Neji joked.

"I make no promises!" Lee yelled. "Bring on the sake!"

Shanan and Neji looked at one another nervously. They were definitely in for an interesting night partying with this dynamic duo and it did not disappoint.

But, yet again. Shanan and Neji were left to see that the other two got to bed safely and they stayed up to chat as they passed the last bottle of sake back and forth between them.

"Do you think that when you become Jonin we'll still get to hang out?" Shanan asked sleepily.

"Probably not," he said honestly. "I'm sure it's quite rare for Guy Sensei to ever get to spend time with his friends. Probably why he was all too happy to drink with us tonight."

Shanan looked over at him asleep in the bedroll that she and Neji had stuffed him into after he passed out at the table. After a few bottles at the restaurant they somehow ended up back at Shanan's, since that seemed to be everyone's favorite spot.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Kinda sad if you think about it. But he seems happy too."

"He is happy, Shanan. He knows what he's giving up in order to do what he does. But he has strong bonds and makes the most of every day. I can count the number of times I've seen him not smiling on one hand," he said as he stared off.

Shanan listened to Neji thoughtfully.

"We all make sacrifices. Look at Naruto and Sasuke. They left you, but not in a malicious way. They left you because they had to. I can assure you it wasn't easy for either of them. And it wasn't easy for Kakashi Sensei either. You are blessed with a lot of very strong bonds, even though you don't live the most peaceful life. You're lucky," he said as he smiled softly at her.

Shanan smiled as she felt comforted and less sad for everyone. "Yeah, I am."

She moved closer to Neji and put her arms around him and hugged him tight. He was drunk, so he didn't fight her like he normally did when she hugged him. Once she pulled away from him she rested her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her and let her fall asleep like he often did when they were drunk.