Sunday, October 19th, 2017

Homecoming had been okay, Shikamaru supposed. He had spent the night in a constant state of self-consciousness from entertaining someone he hardly knew. Despite a nagging feeling of awkwardness, he was glad he had taken Temari.

He knew he was only Temari's date so that she was allowed to come to the dance to hang out with Tenten. He wasn't sure how long he was supposed to hang around. Should he act like a date the whole night, or should he take some pictures, give her a corsage, get her into the dance, and split?

He decided he'd hang by Chouji as much as possible. Hopefully, Tenten, Temari, and Sasha would be socializing, and they'd stay together as a group. This plan had gone well for a while. After taking photos and arriving at the dance, he and Temari had become comfortable enough around each other. They'd gotten through some of the small talk, and he found her easy enough to converse with.

After about thirty minutes at the dance, though, people actually started to dance. He watched as Tenten and Sasha walked onto the dance floor, and Sasha pulled Chouji with her. He didn't care how much he loved Chouji; he would not follow him there to those depths of hell. He wasn't even sure where Kankuro had gone. The guy had been there one minute and had disappeared the next.

He looked at a Temari,

"Hey, you should totally join them. I'm not much of a dancer, so I'm gonna sit this one out."

She raised a brow at him and smirked.

"No, I'm with you. I don't dance sober. That sounds like a nightmare."

"You're a pretty good friend to come to a dance when you don't even like dancing." He pointed out, mostly just trying to be friendly and make conversation.

They had both started walking slightly farther away from the dance floor. There were cocktail tables set up to stand at, and Shikamaru led them over to one.

"I don't mind. I wanted to see Tenten, but I didn't want her to miss the dance. It's hard to be new as a sophomore, and she needs to stay involved to make friends."

Shikamaru imagined that would be difficult. He'd known his friends for so long. He didn't even know how he'd make friends from scratch at a new school. He figured he wouldn't have to worry about that until college.

"She seems to make friends quickly," he noted as he caught a familiar head of blonde hair in the distance. He caught Ino's eye and saw her walking toward them. As she approached, Shikamaru noticed she was frowning slightly and looked upset about something.

"Hey, Temari, you met Ino yesterday, right?" Shikamaru introduced the two trying to remember if they'd interacted the day before.

"Hey, Ino, yes. It's nice to see you again. You look stunning." Temari smiled at her, perhaps noticing her frown as well.

Shikamaru glanced back at Ino. Temari was right; Ino was stunning. They both looked very pretty, he thought. Ino was a very classic type of beautiful. She had big blue eyes and perfect lips and the most gorgeous white-blonde hair Shikamaru had ever seen. She wore a skimpy black dress and ridiculous-looking heels that he couldn't fathom how she learned to walk in.

He thought Temari looked lovely, too, though. She had a slightly less girly look— more understated and relaxed. Her sandy blond hair was wavy and loose, and it looked no different from the night before.

"Thanks, Temari," Ino smiled politely, "Unfortunately, my date never showed up, so I dressed up for no one." She scoffed, her frown reappearing.

"Sasuke isn't here?" Shikamaru asked in surprise. The guy was an ass, but he didn't think he'd stand Ino up.

"Something about a family emergency or something," she said in a frustrated tone. "He doesn't even have family!"

Shikamaru shook his head at her callousness. "He's got a foster father. And an estranged brother…." Ino's eyes snapped open wide at that.

"Oh my God, Shikamaru, you're right. I didn't think about his brother," She gasped, "I have to go tell Sakura!" She spun around quickly, and Shikamaru watched as she dashed away effortlessly with her ridiculous shoes. He looked back at Temari,

"Sorry about that… I guess she's having a rough night." He sighed.

"That's okay." She paused as if contemplating something. "It seems to me like tonight may be your chance. She's sad because her dates not here. You swoop in and comfort her." She grinned. Shikamaru raised a lone brow at her in question.

"What?" He asked stupidly, not knowing how else to respond.

"You like her, right?" Temari asked with a knowing smirk. Shikamaru looked down at the empty table in front of him., and considered her question. He shrugged noncommittally. Shikamaru would never do anything to put his friendship with Ino in danger. To him, that meant he would never make a move on her. She had never given him any indication that she was interested in him that way, and he figured it was better that way. She was his friend.

"What makes you think that?" He asked, wondering how he'd been so transparent. She looked into the crowd at no one in particular, presumably thinking his question over.

"I just got that vibe last night. I don't really know why. Maybe a little bit just now, but it was more of a guess."

He nodded, though her answer was utterly unhelpful. He didn't want other people picking up on a 'vibe.' "You might want to get in there before my brother does, though. I caught them hooking up last night."

Shikamaru looked up at her in surprise and laughed emptily,

"You saw her hooking up with your brother last night, and you think I should go for her?"

Temari shrugged back. "Knowing my brother, it was completely superficial. And they looked super drunk. I wouldn't call that much of a threat."

Shikamaru forced himself to keep a straight face. He hadn't known she'd been with a guy last night. First, the whole thing with Kiba, then Kankuro. It seemed like she was throwing herself at guys who couldn't care less about her.

"You know," Temari said after a few moments of quiet, "it doesn't have to be anything huge. You don't have to like- go up to her and her do anything wild— just something that will make her think of you differently."

It was a compelling point. He didn't have to make a gesture that would sacrifice their friendship. There were more subtle things. He could test the waters with something a little less platonic than usual to see how she'd react. If things got weird, he could back off…

His musing was cut short, and he never responded to Temari because Sasha and Chouji came from the dance floor and found their table.

"Temari, don't look now, but Tenten and the guy we mentioned last night are dancing, and it's Super. Freaking. Cute!" She squealed excitedly, trying to keep her voice down but still shrieking too loud for Shikamaru. He looked over and was shocked to see her dancing with Neji Hyuuga. He didn't know Tenten well, but he was loose friends with Neji. The guy was completely standoffish. It was bizarre seeing him slow dancing and smiling at a girl like an idiot.

Temari covertly turned her head and grinned at her friend's success.

"Oh wow, he's cute! Go, Ten!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Oh yeah, Sasha, why was Tenten weird about that last night? It was like she didn't want the quiet girl to know?"

"That's his cousin. I guess she was just worried she'd tell him or something… I don't know."

"God, she's paranoid." Temari laughed at her friend fondly.

As Shikamaru watched Neji and Tenten dance, an idea formed in his head. He didn't like dancing, but it didn't take a genius (which he'd been told he was) to get through a slow song without looking like an idiot. Then again, he did a double take as he saw Rock Lee, who was continuously mouthing " one-two-three-four," and realized it was definitely possible to make a fool of yourself…

If he asked Ino to dance to the next slow song, he could play it off as something casual. He'd just "happen to be" near her when the next song came on, and he'd look around as people formed pairs. Then he'd look at her, shrug, and nonchalantly ask her to dance. She'd never know it was intentional. Then he could take some small, calculated risks while dancing and see how she'd react—and maybe Temari was right. Perhaps he just needed her to see him a little differently than she usually did.

He wouldn't get his hopes up. He knew she was out of his league in many ways, but it was worth a shot. There weren't many downsides to one dance. With a new plan in place, Shikamaru excused himself to find her.

Unfortunately, Shikamaru didn't see Ino for the rest of the night. He wasn't sure where she had gone, but she never returned to the dance floor, and he was forced to scrap his plan. He knew she was supposed to go to a cheer sleepover, but it seemed early, and he saw several other cheerleaders around. He spent the rest of the time with Chouji, Sasha, Temari, and Tenten when she'd returned from dancing. He looked around the crowd every few minutes but didn't see his blonde friend again that night.

He wouldn't know where Ino went until she burst into his room without knocking the following day. He was finishing a lab report for AP bio when he heard her chipper voice fill the room.

"Hey, come with me to the store." Ino swung open the door and was loosely gripping the knob.

"Ino, I'm kind of busy…." Shikamaru grumbled. "And knock next time- we could be changing!"

She rolled her eyes and shut the door, leaning against it with no remorse.

"I can't go to the store. I have an assignment." Shikamaru said again since she was still looking at him like she was expecting him to jump up and go with her.

"This is why you shouldn't always leave your assignments until Sunday," she scolded.

"Why? So I can't run your errands?"

"I only have 72 hours to take plan B, and it's already been like 16 or something."

Shikamaru openly gaped at her. "Is this your way of telling me you had sex?" he gritted out, annoyed.

She grinned at him devilishly. "Come with me." She repeated, this time more demanding. Shikamaru continued glaring at her as he tried to take in the information. Finally, he shook his head.

"Shouldn't the guy you slept with be the one to go to the store with you for that?" He asked defiantly.

She smiled, shaking her head. "That would be weird- we're not together or anything."

Shikamaru couldn't believe the conversation he was having. Who the hell was this guy? She let him take her virginity but was too uncomfortable around him to go to get birth control?

"Ino, what are you talking about? You are telling me you literally let someone inside of you, but it would be 'weird' to go to the store with him?' Ino coughed and pretended to gag as dramatically as humanly possible.

"Ewwwwww. Please never become an erotic writer. That description was disgusting."

"I'm not trying to turn you on. I'm trying to understand what the fuck is going on in your brain."

"What's going on is that I really don't intend to become a mother right now, so I'd appreciate it if you'd be a friend and come with me to the store." She said, her voice beginning to raise as her patience wavered.

Shikamaru stood up, brow furrowed, looking for his wallet, "Plan B isn't going to protect you from STDs. Who the hell even is this guy?" He demanded, wracking his brain. He knew she had made out with Temari's brother Friday night, but he hadn't seen them together Saturday— though he'd hardly seen Ino at all. Her official date hadn't been there.

"Shikamaru, I'm not asking for your input." She rolled her eyes, "And he doesn't go to KPA." She said evasively. It sounded like Kankuro unless she managed to find another guy.

Shikamaru raised his hands to his head in exasperation. He stopped arguing, though. He stood up slowly and shut his laptop. After putting his wallet in his pocket, he opened the door, and the two began walking away from campus and into town.

They walked in tense silence as Shikamaru tried to sort through his irritation. He felt like an angry parent scolding his child. Why was she being so immature? Unreasonable? Why would she let someone put his hands on her like that? Kiba was one thing, but she hardly knew this guy at all. She wouldn't even admit who he was! He was overcome by troublesome feelings of confusion, distaste, and he begrudgingly admitted jealousy.

Ino was the one to break the silence, "I don't understand why you're being so uptight about this. You're my friend,"

Shikamaru regarded her quietly, "Friends don't do this, Ino." He was pretty sure it was not his job as a friend to help her buy contraception.

Ino glared at him, "You know, you didn't have to come if you're this upset about it." She said haughtily.

"I'm not upset about coming with you. I'm upset he's not. He can't just sleep with you and not be here for the unpleasant part."

"That's a sweet sentiment, Shikamaru, but more than a little unrealistic."

He shook his head, beginning to feel sad for Ino. He wasn't the most romantic person himself, but even he didn't want a one-night stand for his first time.

"You deserve so much better."

Ino was tired of his condescending tirade. She wouldn't have asked him to come in the first place if she had known it would take him so long to get over it. Sure, his protectiveness was sweet, but it was becoming more and more aggravating.

"Look. I'll be the judge of what I deserve, and what I deserve is the dignity to choose when, where, and with whom I lose my virginity to and who I sleep with for the rest of my life. This isn't a fairytale, Shikamaru. I don't need to be taken on a bed of rose petals by the love of my life."

Ino lifted her chin contemptuously, daring Shikamaru to disagree with her. She had all kinds of comebacks prepared if he uttered a word.

In the end, he didn't say anything else, and they returned to walking in the tense silence from before. It wasn't until they were at the pharmacy counter with Ino holding the purple box and the cashier told her the price that Shikamaru's annoying, indignant voice filled her ears again.

"Fifty dollars?!" He gaped, staring at Ino. The pharmacist looked at him like he was a complete asshole. She probably assumed he slept with her and wouldn't pay the price. They were likely as shocked as she was when he pulled out his wallet, declaring, "You're not paying for that."

She tried to stop his hand from pulling out his credit card. What an idiot. He knew money wasn't an issue for her, and she wasn't sure what point he was trying to make. "Stop, Shikamaru, that's weird as hell. I can pay for it. It's not a problem."

"I don't care." He handed the card to the pharmacist, who was looking at him with more respect. The pharmacist obviously didn't realize he literally had no reason to be buying her Plan B. He was very much not involved.

That was Shikamaru, though. Logical until he wasn't. Logical until his deeply ingrained chivalry kicked in, and he went and spewed his antiquated code of honor at her.

Sometimes that boy could be so freaking troublesome...

After the dance, Sakura had gone with the other freshman cheerleaders back to one of their fly Karin's, house for a sleepover. They had all stayed up until two, eating popcorn with MNMs and blathering about drama that had ensued at the dance. Sakura was sad for Ino that she had missed the sleepover because there had been so much gossip. Sakura knew Ino would have plenty of her own to divulge to Sakura later. The last time Sakura had seen her, she had been being scolded by one of the chaperones for dancing too promiscuously. The next thing Sakura knew, she had gotten a vague text with an uncomfortable winky face.

Sakura had packed up all of her things from the sleepover and was finishing a plate of poorly executed Bisquick pancakes that Karin's dad had made for the girls. They were all eating breakfast before they went their separate ways. Many of them were returning to campus, but others with family nearby planned to spend time with them off campus. Sakura herself planned to go back to campus for the morning and meet up with her parents for dinner that night. She needed to shower and do her homework before anything else.

Most of them were tired from the night before, so much of the chatter had died away into fragmented stretches of silence where everyone stared lifelessly at their phones.

The only noise that seemed relentless was a soft whistle from Karin's dad as he flipped the last few pancakes.

"Dad, stop," Karin told him in a sassy tone, not looking up from her phone.

"Stop what?" He glanced around, completely unaware, confusion evident on his face.

"Whistling." She groaned in annoyance

"Stop whistling, please, Dad." He muttered under his breath. Then louder, "You guys are so quiet, all antisocial on your phones. I was just trying to entertain myself." He reached for a remote and turned on a small TV on their kitchen counter in a corner. The news flashed on, it was muted, but it looked like it provided some entertainment for the man regardless.

Sakura cleared her plate and politely attempted to clean her dishes until Karin's dad told her not to worry about it.

"Wait, turn on the volume," one of the girls spoke for the first time in several minutes. Everyone looked up at the TV, wondering what had caught her attention. Sakura turned around to face the screen showing a local news channel, and Karin's dad turned the volume on as a reporter spoke to the camera.

"—partially decomposed corpse identified last night as the main suspect for the Konoha Police Department fire that caused mass casualties several years ago. 24-year-old, Itachi Uchiha…."

Sakura's jaw dropped. This explained Sasuke's family emergency… he must have found out yesterday. She couldn't believe his only remaining family member had been found dead. She wondered how Sasuke had taken the news. He rarely talked about his brother, but from what she could glean, he hated him. Would he be relieved he was gone? Or would he grieve the brother he once loved? She wanted to check in on him and make sure he was okay, but she hardly felt like that would be well received.

She heard her friends murmuring.

"Poor Sasuke," Karin said sadly. Everyone knew Karin was obsessed with Sasuke— even though she hardly knew him. "It would be so embarrassing to have such a messed up brother,"

Sakura raised a brow, and she noticed some of the other girls looked at Karin quizzically as well. Embarrassment probably wasn't what was going through Sasuke's head right now… Karin didn't stop talking despite the funny looks she received as she continued.

"Do you think he'll be at school tomorrow? He's going to need someone to comfort him. I'm really good at making people feel better. I helped Kelsey so much when her hamster died,"

Sakura couldn't continue listening to this. She gathered the remainder of her things and thanked Karin's father for having her before she slipped out the door. She needed to find Naruto.

Rain pounded on the windowsill, making it difficult to see out the glass. It was a steady, powerful autumn rain that left Kakashi entranced by the thrumming of the pelting droplets, the streaks they left on the window, and the thoughts that couldn't stop plaguing him. Only a few days ago, Kakashi had seen a picture of Sasuke's fifteen-year-old homecoming date and remarked how much older kids seemed these days compared to when he was that age. He had noticed this with Ino, but he had also seen it with his ethics students, the kids he coached, and Sasuke.

In ethics class, he was often pleasantly surprised. His students spoke far more articulately about the world around them than he would have as a teen. When he was in high school, he doubted he ever once thought about ethically sourced coffee beans, healthcare coverage, or cultural appropriation. There had been a whole student-led movement at KPA to enhance the inclusion of trans youth, and he knew no high school student in the 90s could have talked about that maturely. His ethics students were informed and concerned about what he would have considered adult topics.

The football team was a bit more 'colloquial.' It seemed locker room talk was still as profane as ever—still, even they seemed older, they could surprise him with a shockingly mature statement here and there.

Kakashi had once overheard a conversation between two of his dumbest-looking students. They seemed popular, and he doubted they had good grades—typical jocks always making offensive jokes. Therefore, Kakashi was somewhat astonished when he heard a conversation between the two.

"Tyler's such a fucking dumbass."

"I know, bro. I mean, who drinks and drives? That shit is careless as fuck, man."

"Some people just don't care about others; you know what I'm saying?"

It seemed even the football players had shattered stereotypes and were more mature than his generation had been.

This didn't mean modern teens were completely mature and innocent. One of their favorite hobbies seemed to be to make fun of his clothes, hair, word choice, and music taste (really anything about him).

One kid told him his mask was super 'sus' and made home him look like an 'e-boy.' Whatever the fuck that sentence meant.

Even some of these mean, teasing comments made them seem older, though. Why? He honestly had no clue. Perhaps it was how they acted like they knew more about the world than him. He just knew he felt like someone's little brother, unable to keep up with the cool kids.

Not that he tried. Kakashi knew the kids liked him and were just having fun. He also knew they thought he was cool enough, and he knew he was cooler than a bunch of kids—half of whom couldn't drive themselves or see an R-rated movie alone in theaters.

Still, they were impressively effective at making him question everything.

Perhaps more than any other kids, Sasuke seemed older than fifteen. He depended very little on Kakashi. Before he'd moved into the dorms, Kakashi had felt comfortable treating him like an adult. He didn't bother telling him to go to bed at a particular time or harping on him to eat his vegetables. He got good grades independently, so there was no need to question him about homework. Sometimes they seemed like roommates because besides providing a space to live and food to eat, Kakashi didn't need to do much. Now, with Sasuke boarding at KPA, he didn't even need to do that.

Occasionally, Kakashi would realize the error of his thinking. Just because these teens looked like adults and often sounded like adults didn't mean they were. Most of them were naïve, sheltered rich kids who knew nothing about how the real world worked. Their brains were still developing, and they made questionable decisions.

When Kakashi told Sasuke his brother had been found dead, any illusions that Sasuke was an adult crumbled. Every vulnerability became apparent, and instead of an almost-adult, he saw the uncertainty, confusion, and defenselessness of a child. Emotions flashed across his face quickly. They were so brief and so subtle, but they showed Kakashi just how hurt he was.

Here was a kid who thought he had already lost everything, only to realize he could lose more. As Kakashi had learned himself, things could always get worse.

Sasuke was young when he lost his family, and not much time had passed. He was a kid who lost every sense of security he had. So while Kakashi was tempted to let Sasuke grieve on his own, like he clearly wanted to, he knew he needed to be involved.

Sasuke needed an adult to guide him through his grief, and Kakashi knew he couldn't just let him stay locked in his bedroom. It was unnatural for Kakashi, though. He had always believed in staying out of other people's issues. He had never wanted anyone else involved in his own.

Hesitantly, Kakashi knocked on Sasuke's bedroom door. There was no answer, so he knocked a little harder.

"Sasuke, why don't you come out? I got takeout." Kakashi knew teenage boys could usually be lured with food. When his words continued to be ignored, he yelled through the door, "Sasuke, answer the door, or I'm coming in." He waited, attempting to be patient. Even a grunt of acknowledgment at this point would be fine. Finally, he cracked open the door and peeked in. What the hell?

Sasuke was not in his room. He had left a window ajar, and rain was puddling by the window. Kakashi groaned and walked into the bathroom next door to grab a towel to mop the water. Why Sasuke felt the need to leave out the window when there was a perfectly functional door was beyond Kakashi. It's not like he was being held captive. Kakashi wouldn't have objected if he'd said he was going somewhere.

Though, he didn't know where he was going in all this rain. The idiot would get hypothermia out there if he wasn't careful. Now that it was dark outside, it was fifty degrees, and there was a 100% chance he was soaking wet. He should get in the car and look for him.

He was supposed to be protecting this kid, and he was God knows where, wandering around Konoha, an emotional wreck, probably numb from the cold. Great job, Kakashi. Excellent foster dad right there. Number one. Fucking fantastic.

Sasuke had wanted to get out of his room all day, but he didn't want to accidentally put himself in a position where he'd have to interact with anyone. He knew Kakashi was waiting for him to come out of his room to try to have some annoying, unnecessary conversation. He also knew he didn't want to run into anyone outside, so most of the day, he had decided it would be better to stay quarantined in his bedroom.

It was 7:30 that evening when rain started coming down in sheets. There was no thunder or lightning, but the storm was relentless. He realized it might be a good opportunity to get outside for a bit. The downpour was loud, so Kakashi wouldn't hear him opening his window and leaving, and no one would be walking around in this weather.

He didn't care if he got wet. He hardly cared about anything. He'd had this dull feeling in his chest for the past few hours. His eyes were constantly prickling with frustrated tears he would not allow to fall. Not only would he not let himself cry to preserve his pride, but Itachi didn't deserve tears.

Sasuke grabbed a rain jacket before climbing out his window, leaving it cracked so he could get back in unnoticed.

The moment he stepped outside, he was grateful for the way the beating of raindrops drowned out all other noises around him. The barrage of rain blurred everything, so he could hardly see twenty feet in front of him. It was the kind of isolation he needed—a moment away from any useless attempts of consolation.

He tried to let the cold liquid clear his head. His mind had been so clouded with conflicting thoughts and emotions. In the last 24 hours, he'd felt heartache so powerful he felt breathless and anger so intense he couldn't see straight. He felt regret and confusion, and nostalgia. He felt grief, fear, vindication, and shame.

For two years, Sasuke had questioned how his brother could have done something so despicable. It was like the big brother he had known for his entire life had been an illusion and, in the blink of an eye, was replaced by a murderous psychopath.

Sasuke needed to know why he had committed the atrocities he did. Now there was no way he could ever find out. He could never ask his brother. He could never beg for an explanation. Itachi was dead.

Something about knowing that no one from the earliest years of his life was around to remember them made Sasuke feel incredibly lonely. It was hard to believe his childhood had even existed. There had been a time when he had been a carefree child with a mother and a father—A brother he looked up to. His brother had played with him. He'd taught him how to play basketball, how to kill the most zombies in Call of Duty, and how to protect himself (outside of video games).

When Itachi had been in the police academy, he had taught him some of the close combat techniques and defensive skills he had learned. Sasuke had been an eager twelve-year-old overzealous to learn everything his brother would teach.

Guilt always followed the bittersweet moments of nostalgia that plagued Sasuke when he remembered times with Itachi. How could he remotely miss someone who had murdered his own parents and fifteen others? He couldn't. It was despicable. Itachi only deserved contempt.

Sasuke's teeth started to chatter, and he reluctantly acknowledged the cold spreading through him. Not a spot on him was dry, and he sloshed through puddles and mud even as he mainly kept to the sidewalk. He was approaching a small park he used to go to as a child, and he decided to sit on one of the swings. It was filled with water and annoyingly too low to the ground to be comfortable, but he sat there anyways, rocking a few feet above the earth.

He sat with the crushing memories he had at that same park. He wouldn't have been surprised if Itachi had pushed him on the same swing at some point in the past. Before Sasuke was old enough to walk around Konoha alone, his brother sometimes took him to the park. This park had been farther away from their house than some others, but they'd still come here on occasion.

Itachi hadn't been an evil person. He could be serious but never callous. Sasuke didn't know what could have happened to have changed him immensely. He sat there mourning his old life. The life where he had holidays surrounded by family, where his parents would harp on him about doing his chores. He remembered how his father had been terrible with technology, and he and his brother always teased him. He remembered how his mom would constantly be exasperated by how quickly his hair grew and how often she'd need to take him to get it cut.

Sasuke didn't know how long he sat there, but he couldn't stop his body from shivering, and his fingers had turned so white there couldn't have been any blood left in them. He registered the bright headlights of a car shining on him before he realized he recognized the vehicle.

So much for time alone. It looked like he had been found.

AN: As always, please review, follow and like. They are very inspiring!

In chapter 2, I believe I referred to Itachi as an intern at the KPD. I did a smidge more research on the process of become a cop and I will be change that. Consider him a full-fledged (though fairly new) cop at the time of the fire.

Also, I need help. What kind of car do we think Kakashi would drive???