AN: I have many more chapters waiting on my computer! Chapters from now on will be released based on the amount of interest (aka story alerts, favorites, and reviews) I get.

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"Since he died, it's all seemed empty to me. It's all seemed worthless. He loved me. Me! And I never even knew it. I can't stay here anymore. Can't be trapped here in his memories. I've got to go."

"That's a cowardly thing to do."

"That's what you've got to say? That I'm a coward??? You know what? I see right through you. I understand you completely. I finally get you."

"Don't leave. The school needs you."

"Forget you and forget the school! For one moment, I thought that you…that you actually…never mind. I hate you! I'm leaving this place before I'm as caught up in it as you and the others are. I'm breaking free!"

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Genma was not having a good day.

For one thing, his first period class contained Naruto, Lee, Ino, and Kiba. Never a good combination. Especially so early in the morning. He was going to have to take two Advil with breakfast every morning if he wanted to make it through the morning without a splitting headache.

For another, Tsunade was back. And the last time she had been in the school, so had someone else. A someone else he didn't know if he wanted to see again. Or maybe he'd been dying to see her for all this time. He wasn't quite sure.

It was hard to think with such a splitting headache.

He staggered into the nurse's office and opened up the cabinet where they kept the Advil. It was gone. Figured.

"Can I help you find something?" A familiar voice that he hadn't heard for a while. But not Tsunade. And not her.

He turned. "Rin? You're also back?"

"Don't sound too surprised or anything," she said dryly, putting a hand to his forehead. "Your temperature's normal. What are you looking for? The Advil? I moved it here." She handed him the bottle.

He shook out two and swallowed them dry. "Seems like this school is a quicksand. Once you're in it, you can never break free."

Rin sighed. "It does, doesn't it? I mean, since I've gotten here an hour ago, all the teachers I've seen were either kids when I was here, or teachers then, too. All the kids look just like their parents, and I remember all of them, too. There's even a little dog running around that I could swear Inuzuka Hana used to keep in the garden during class. It's like nothing ever changes."

Genma leaned against the door. "I thought I was going to grow up to do something. I thought I was going to be something great. Instead…I'm just reliving the same few years over and over again." He toyed with the senbon in his mouth. "There are some new schools these days, you know. Dangerous ones like the one that got Obito."

Rin nodded. "I've heard about Oto High. There were some pretty fierce rivalries going on between them and Konoha a little while back, huh?"

"Them, Suna, Akatsuki…the neighborhood isn't as friendly as it used to be." Both laughed with little humor. The neighborhood hadn't exactly been friendly back then, either. "We've lost a lot of kids to the other schools. Remember Uchiha Itachi? He was a freshman when we…well, you were already gone back then. He was in elementary school back when we were in high school, maybe four years younger? A good kid, very bright…one day he just got up and left the school. Went to Akatsuki High. Uchiha Sasuke, his younger brother, also left the school. Broke Haruno Sakura's heart, too. He went to Oto. Oh, and Oto? Remember Orochimaru?"

Rin's eyes widened. "Then it's true! Orochimaru really…"

Genma shrugged. "It's never going to end, you know. The hate, the gangs, the rivalries… but Konoha always stands tall, and we just keep coming back."

Rin smiled at him. "You're still the same old Genma, you know. Some people…it's good to see again."

"Like Kakashi?" The words had slipped out of his mouth without restraint, and it was too fast to retract. It had been common knowledge in high school that Rin had had an enormous crush on Kakashi. Obito had hated it, had made them stop talking about it every time they'd tease Kakashi about it. Kakashi had been supremely uninterested, right down to the moment Rin left.

Rin frowned at that. "He hasn't changed a bit, has he?"

Genma shook his head. It wasn't his place to criticize other people's love lives. Especially not now.

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Tenten caught up to Neji breathlessly. "How was class so far?"

Neji shrugged. "The same."

Tenten cocked her head. "Aren't you going to ask me about my day?"

"No."

"Neji!" She considered bopping him on the head, like Sakura always did to Naruto, and then reconsidered. This was Neji, after all. "Well, I'll tell you anyway. First period I was with Lee, and we had Gai. What a nightmare! Those two spent the whole morning talking about the glory of youth! Then Hayate did health with us, but he had to leave in the middle because he was seriously about to have a seizure. Next I have Asuma, but he's been distracted all day, so we probably won't have much work to do…Neji? Are you even listening?"

Neji repeated everything that she had just said verbatim in a monotone.

Tenten stamped a foot on the ground. "Neji! At least pretend to be interested in my life!" She turned around and stormed off.

"Tenten…" Neji's call stopped her in her tracks.

She turned. "Yes?"

He gestured. "Math class is right here."

She blushed. Why was he always right?

Neji watched Tenten go into the classroom and smirked. She is so cute when she's annoyed.

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Asuma entered the teachers' room and gaped. It was packed with teachers, even though the bell had just rung. Hayate was wheezing in the corner. Kakashi was staring up at the ceiling blankly, while Gai bellowed into his ear about youthfulness and his usual repertoire. Genma sat in the back corner, rubbing his temples with a look of long-suffering agony on his face, and Raidou spoke to him, concerned. Anko and Ibiki were arguing about something right in front of the door, and Kurenai was bent over in the last corner, reading a small book. Kurenai…

He crossed the room in three long strides and sat beside her. "How's the book?"

She lifted it so he could see the cover- Educating Teens on Growing Up. "I've got to sub for Hayate. He's not doing too well." Said teacher started hacking up blood.

"So you're stuck explaining to a bunch of teenage boys why they're…" He thought better of it and stopped.

Kurenai watched him for a moment, then laughed that sweet, ringing laugh of hers. "You're so funny." She put a hand on his and met his eyes.

He gazed back at her crimson ones, ready to stay like that forever.

Kurenai tilted her head, then shook it. "I'm sorry," she murmured, rising. "I've got to get to class."

"Wait…" Asuma tried. "Would you be interested in joining me for dinner tonight? As a date?"

Her face fell. "I'm sorry, Asuma. I just don't think that that would be appropriate." She left the room slowly, and Asuma tried to ignore the pitying looks from his peers who had overheard.

I wasn't going for appropriate…

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