Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Many thanks to Amatyultare for the betaing!

AN: I'm sorry about the super long delay on this chapter—last semester was insane. But, I graduate in May, so things should be easier then.

Monday, January 22

Nothing interfered with Lee's training regimen, not even the weather. Thus he was outside in the negative-three-degree chill, bundled up in Underarmour, sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and a fuzzy hat, running a circuit through campus. The Ko-U campus was on a hill, and he had picked a course that was a third uphill, a third downhill, and a third flat. He estimated that it was about a mile, and he tried to do the whole thing at least five times three days a week. Winter weather didn't stop him; he preferred running when the air wasn't thick and humid.

He had two classes in the morning on Monday and one in the late afternoon, so he set off for his run as soon as his lunch settled in his stomach. He considered waiting until later so he wouldn't have to shower again before class, but last night had been sufficiently stressful that he wanted the jogging time to work off the energy and consider everything he had learned.

He had no idea that Sakura and Sasuke had broken up over break, but apparently they had. Not that it mattered, seeing as how they were dating again. Since Lee had always suspected that Sakura and Sasuke's relationship was a little unhealthy, he wasn't sure how he felt about the winter break developments. Not that he had a right to feel anything personally, but they were his friends and his residents, and he was allowed to worry.

And then, there was Sasuke's strange behavior toward Temari's brothers. Sasuke was dead set against Gaara staying with him and Naruto over Spring Visit Days, and had been saying as much to anyone who would stand still long enough for him to get a sentence out—it was clear from the volume and tone of his voice that he was truly angry. However, the only reason for the anger that he'd articulated to anyone was that Shikamaru had suggested their room without asking him first. The virulence of Sasuke's response was bordering on irrational. And yet, underneath the rhetoric, he had a point. Who would want someone else lending out his room to people he didn't even know?

"It's only two nights, right?" Tenten had asked from her chair after Temari finished telling the story the previous night. "It's not permanent or anything."

"Seriously, you'd think he could share for just a little bit. I guess this is proof he's an Uchiha," Temari said, her lips pursed. She and Shikamaru were sitting on opposite ends of Temari's bed. Lee wasn't sure why Shikamaru was suddenly an upperclassman, but it seemed natural for him to be there.

"Think about it, though," Neji spoke up from where he leaning against Tenten's lofted bed. "Maybe he was going to volunteer, but then someone else came in and stole his chance without even asking him. I think it's kind of rude too."

"But is it REALLY worth throwing a temper tantrum over?" Temari demanded, and Neji shrugged.

"Personally, I wouldn't waste the energy; I'd go straight to Admissions and put a stop to it. Sasuke obviously has a . . . louder way of protecting his personal space, though."

"That's an understatement," Shikamaru said dryly. "Like I told Temari, he just about bit my head off when I was leaving for dinner. I wasn't trying to start anything, but he was just lurking in the hallway outside my room. He tried to play it off like he just happened to be walking by, but it was obvious he'd been waiting. And you know what he wasted all that time for?" Shikamaru sounded disgusted. "He walked up to me, told me I had no right to give away his personal space, and then demanded an apology. He actually said he couldn't be my friend anymore if I refused to apologize because it was—and I quote—disrespectful. That's when you saw us," he added, nodding toward Lee.

"Well? Did you apologize?" Tenten asked. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Yeah, why not? It made him shut up and saved us all a lot of trouble in the future. When someone has an ego that big, there's no sense in fighting the small battles."

"I still think you didn't have to do that. There was no reason for him to be angry in the first place," Temari complained.

"Like I said, I didn't want this stupid drama hanging over my head forever. Now it's over and done with. Besides, to be honest, I can see his point. I didn't think about it when I recommended him and Naruto to you, but they probably would have liked to make the decision about hosting a prospective student on their own. I jumped the gun, so it's partially my fault anyway. I don't mind apologizing for something like that." Temari shook her head at him, but Lee spoke up before she could say anything.

"Listen guys, there's a bigger problem here than Shikamaru's pride. I don't want this to cause a rift in the group." Lee sighed. He hated breaking the rules, but this was the only way to do it and ruffle as few feathers as possible. "I'm not supposed to tell you this, but after Shikamaru left, I talked to Sasuke, and he basically said that if Kankurou apologized, he would be okay with Gaara staying with him and Naruto. I think he just wants to feel in control of his space, you know? And Shikamaru, you didn't hear anything I just said."

"What?"

"Exactly. Temari, can you talk to Kankurou? I don't want this issue getting in the way of club, or making Gaara feel unwelcome, so let's just get it over with. In the future, we all just need to respect each other a little more, that's all."

"I still think this is bullshit—" Lee raised an eyebrow, and Temari winced. "But if you think it would help, I can talk to him on AIM tonight.

"Thank you. Man, who would have thought the freshmen could already have drama?"

"I don't know, we had drama about this time last year," Tenten reminded them unthinkingly. Lee shifted in his seat and looked chagrined while Neji turned to stare out the window, and it was Shikamaru's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"It was nothing," Tenten said quickly, her cheeks turning red. She'd only wanted to correct Lee, not make everyone uncomfortable. She grabbed quickly for a new topic.

"But, while we're talking about Sasuke, does anyone know what went on with him and Sakura over break? They broke up, you know, and then got back together."

"No, I didn't know! How'd you find out?" Lee demanded, leaning forward, glad of the subject change.

"On Livejournal. It originally had something to do with them just wanting to be friends, but then I think they started missing each other more than they thought friends ought to. So, they decided to get back together. They were on some sort of vacation together when this thing with Gaara exploded."

"Wow, that all happened fast," Lee marveled. Neji shrugged.

"I saw it coming," he said dismissively, as if anyone who looked could have seen the same thing. Lee frowned.

"I didn't. I mean, Sakura seemed awfully upset a few times right before break, but I thought she was stressed out over finals. And Sasuke, well, he's always kind of sullen. I didn't know there was an actual problem."

"The problem is that Sasuke is freaking nuts," Temari muttered.

"That may be the case, but he's with Sakura and he's our friend, so we can't do anything about it besides sit back and watch. I got myself out of it; it'll be easier if we all stay out." Shikamaru yawned and stretched, as if they were casually discussing the weather instead of important gossip. "Anyway, I need to get to bed, because I have a nine-twenty tomorrow morning."

Everyone's good-byes were subdued as Shikamaru grabbed his messenger bag and picked his way over half-unpacked luggage to reach the door. He glanced back into the room as he shut the door, and Temari gave a little nod as their eyes met. Lee barely noticed the exchange as he sat slumped in Temari's chair, wondering how everything could have gotten so complicated so quickly.

Even after a day of consideration, Lee hadn't gotten very far in untangling the relationships between this year's freshmen. They were on a campus with three thousand other intelligent people, and still, every year, it took the freshmen only a few months to start drama. Dating, breaking up, alleged backstabbing—if it started out like this, how much worse would it be by the time he graduated? Hell, how much worse would it be when his freshmen graduated?

He had to admit, Tenten was right that they too had had drama their first semester, but it was so much simpler. He and Neji both wanted Tenten, so they fought over her. It was easy to figure out what was going on and how to fix it. But this situation, it was a whole different story altogether. Sasuke was fundamentally right on the Gaara debacle, but he was reacting in such a ridiculous way that no one could take him seriously; it was hard to come to a decision on Sasuke and Sakura, since they did seem to care for each other, even if inexplicably, neither of them ever seemed happy. Lee was glad that true friends weren't supposed to pick sides, because as of right now, he was stumped.

BREAK

"I'm SO GLAD to be back!" Naruto exclaimed at dinner that night, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his stomach. Orphanage food was strictly no-frills, and it felt great to be back to the Ko-U all-you-can-eat buffet of fried and faux-ethnic foods. It also felt great to be back with his friends, and Naruto gazed around the table with a simple joy.

Kiba sat to his left, leaning around Hinata to tell Chouji about a video game he got for Christmas. Neji and Tenten had pulled seats up to the end of the table, and Neji ate quietly while Tenten chatted with Temari, who was sitting across from Chouji. Shikamaru was next to Temari, and he was talking to Shino, who was in the seat across from Naruto. Next to Shino, Lee was smiling patiently across the table at Ino, and Sakura and Sasuke shared the end of the table, seemingly engrossed in some private joke and ignoring everyone else. Kankuro was conspicuously absent, however, and that bothered Naruto.

Naruto was not the sort of person who cared about "drama"—he rarely even realized that drama was occurring. All he noticed were people's actions, and he took them as he saw them instead of in the context of the larger group dynamic. His reactions were often quick to appear, passionate, and just as quick to dissipate. He would certainly remember someone doing something very good or very bad, but he hardly kept a catalog—unlike some people.

Naruto had spent the last two days listening to Sasuke complain to him and Sakura about Kankuro and Shikamaru. At first he almost made sense, when he was talking calmly about people making decisions that were none of their business. Naruto could almost agree, even though he personally had been thrilled to get a prospective student, whether it was his idea originally or not. But, after a while, Sasuke started adding in older, unrelated wrongs. Kankuro tossing him to the mats too hard, Shikamaru not saying hi in the café, Kankurou not lending Sasuke a pencil—even Shikamaru getting mad at Naruto for the french fry incident, when Sasuke had actually sided with Shikamaru about it at the time. The way Sasuke talked, it sounded like there was some huge anti-Sasuke conspiracy operating at Ko-U. The whole thing was wearing on Naruto's patience, especially since both boys' apologies hadn't stopped Sasuke's occasional muttered comments. And now Kankuro wasn't at dinner even though he and Sasuke were supposedly friends, and Naruto had had just about enough. He hadn't spent a month at home waiting to come back to a group of friends that seemed unwilling to get along. Sasuke needed to relax a little, and then he wouldn't be so angry and everything could go back to the way it was.

"So," Naruto continued, as if he hadn't just taken a few minutes to stare into space, "I think we should go the movies on Friday. What do you all think?" There was a moment of silence as everyone stopped their conversations and turned to him.

"Friday? I don't know," Tenten said thoughtfully. "I think the Theater guys are having another party then." Naruto frowned.

"We can always go afterwards, right?"

"I suppose so, but we didn't get to see them much last semester, so Neji, Lee, Temari, and I said we'd go. You guys can go to the movies without us, though."

"No, we should all go. What about next week, then?" Naruto liked doing things in large groups—and how would he get everyone to behave nicely to each other if some people weren't even around?

"That works for me," Kiba shrugged. Chouji nodded enthusiastically as well while Sakura turned to Sasuke.

"I think we're open next Friday, right?" she asked.

"I can't imagine why not. But, I don't want to go see something stupid."

"Duh, why would we do that?" Naruto asked with a roll of his eyes. "I think we should see something exciting—"

"Or a horror movie!" Ino exclaimed. Hinata and Sakura looked at her dubiously.

"I don't know, I don't really like horror movies," Sakura said tentatively. Barely anyone heard her, though, because Kiba was yelling about what an awesome idea that was, and how maybe Ino wasn't so bad after all.

"Hey, simmer down," Lee laughed, gesturing for Kiba to be quiet. "I would go see a horror movie, but is that really okay with everyone?"

"I guess it's okay with me, since Ino will be in the room and everything," Sakura said with a sigh.

"Great! Okay, I'll look at what's playing and let everyone know," Lee told them with a grin. Naruto smiled back at him. He certainly didn't want to organize anything, just to put the idea in someone else's head. Now they could all go as a group, and everything would be okay. Temari would remember to invite Kankuro, right? Maybe Naruto himself should send him an IM—

"Hinata, are you okay with a horror movie?" Shino asked quietly, interrupting Naruto's thoughts. He turned to the girl sitting beside him to see her fidget.

"Er, um, I'm not really into, you know, horror movies," she murmured, glancing around the table. Most of the others had started talking about what scary movies they thought were out, but Neji, who knew that she didn't like horror movies, was watching her with a faint smile. Shino followed her gaze to Neji; although he must have seen Neji's expression before Neji turned away, his own face remained stoic. Naruto was the only person who saw the exchange, but its meaning completely escaped him.

"It's okay. You don't have to come," Shino told Hinata. She shook her head.

"No, um, I want to go with everyone," she insisted, looking down at her tray. She really wanted to go just to sit next to Naruto like she was doing right now, but she couldn't admit that here. Or, well, anywhere, to anyone.

"Are you sure? It won't give you nightmares?" Shino prodded. Naruto took Shino's elder-brotherly concern for a misguided attempt to ruin his plans for group peace, and jumped in before Hinata could respond.

"Don't worry Hinata! I'll make sure it doesn't give you nightmares!" he proclaimed, slinging his left arm around her shoulders. Hinata froze, her head flying up and cheeks turning bright red. "Just come with us, okay?"

"Y-y-yes," she stuttered, unable to even look at Naruto. Satisfied and completely oblivious to her reaction, he removed his arm and continued eating, a huge grin on his face. Shino watched Hinata a moment, gave Naruto a searching look, and returned to his meal as well.

BREAK

Friday, January 26

Ino knocked on Shikamaru and Chouji's door, rather proud of herself for being ready before them for once. Shino and Kiba or Naruto and Sasuke were the ones who usually rounded everyone up, and Ino and Sakura were almost always the last ones. But tonight, Sakura was having a hard time finding something she thought would suitably impress Sasuke, and Ino was sick of listening to her. So, she threw on something she knew she looked great in and left the room with her purse and a hair clip so she could finish her hair somewhere else.

Out of all of their friends, she felt most comfortable with Shikamaru and Chouji. It never occurred to her that this would look incongruous—she simply found Chouji refreshingly genuine and Shikamaru bitingly funny. They were both a lot of fun to tease, and neither one of them spent much time arguing with her. Chouji was too good-natured and Shikamaru was too lazy to bother, and that was okay with Ino.

"Come in!" Ino opened the door at Chouji's yell and found the roommates playing chess on Chouji's bed. Shikamaru glanced at his watch.

"Are we late?" Ino sighed and plopped into Chouji's desk chair.

"No, I'm early," she said, dropping the purse and hair clip on Chouji's desk before reaching back to put her hair in a ponytail. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.

"Ino, I don't think you've ever said that exact phrase before in your life," he commented, as he glanced quickly at the board and moved his bishop ahead three spaces to take one of Chouji's pawns. Chouji groaned.

"I've been early before," Ino responded defensively, reaching over for the clip. "It's only when I have a lot of primping to do that I'm late."

"But tonight's a party, isn't it?" Chouji asked, still staring at the board. Ino shrugged.

"Yeah, but I already know I look good."

"Then, in theory, you know that every night, since you look the same every night." Ino glared at Shikamaru, who looked at her expectantly.

"I do NOT look the same every night! Sometimes my hair is different, or I wear different make-up colors." She paused, and then continued more subdued. "But I know what you're getting at. You think there's some other reason, don't you? Well, there's not. I can irrationally make up my mind not to go all out if I want to."

"I don't believe you," Shikamaru told her casually as Chouji finally reached out to move his knight. Shikamaru blinked, then swooped in with his queen. "And check, Chouji." Chouji swore under his breath.

"Well, it's true. I wasn't in the mood, so I grabbed my favorite skirt and halter top and came over here to annoy you guys until it's time to go."

"Why not annoy Sakura?"

"We're girls. We don't pester each other."

"Oh, so she hasn't annoyed you?" Shikamaru turned his full attention from the chessboard to Ino. Puzzles, especially those involving human thoughts and emotions, intrigued him. It was an added bonus that solving those sorts of puzzles also often involved making people happier. For all he seemed like a lazy bum, Shikamaru actually spend a lot of time subtly working on each of his friends. Not that they made it easy for him, though. In fact, Ino was kind of a mess.

"Well, sometimes she annoys me. But not today," Ino said somewhat defiantly. She unzipped her purse to take out a compact and eyed her hair, not meeting Shikamaru's eyes.

"If she didn't annoy you, who did?"

"No one! Well, you're getting close. But, I was perfectly happy before you started harassing me." Ino was still staring intently into the compact's mirror, refusing to look at Shikamaru. He sighed as Chouji quietly moved a bishop, and then reached down to shift his queen.

"Checkmate. I think we're out of time for the night anyway," he told Chouji, who nodded, glanced uncomfortably at Ino, and began to put all the pieces in their box.

"Ino," Shikamaru continued, sounding slightly impatient, "Why don't you want to admit that Sakura annoyed you?"

"You know, I hang out with you guys because you don't usually bother me like this."

"Answer the question." Ino was silent for moment, then shut the compact with a loud snap.

"Fine. I didn't want to say anything because it makes me sound like a bad person, alright? I admit it, I'm a bitch—I'm annoyed at Sakura because she doesn't do anything but giggle over Sasuke. It's infuriating! Every time she opens her mouth, all I hear about is how cute he is or something he said to her last night, and I'm scared she's going to start talking about sex. I don't want to hear that!"

"Why does that annoy you?"

"I'm jealous." Ino shrugged. "I said I was a bitch."

"Yeah, complaining about your friend's relationship because you're jealous is pretty bitchy," Shikamaru agreed with a snort. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Well, you asked. It's frustrating because even though she says great things about Sasuke when he's not around, they don't look happy when they're together. She's just not right for him—it feels forced. He'd be happier with me."

"What if the problem's not Sakura? What if it's Sasuke?" Chouji asked as he put the lid on the chess board box. Ino raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know, I just . . . Sasuke is kind of more irrational," Chouji stuttered. Ino snorted.

"People have these ridiculous ideas that he flies off the handle at people, but it's not true. He just defends himself where necessary, that's all. There's nothing wrong with saying that people should treat him—or any of us—with respect.

"But not every disagreement is disrespectful. Sometimes it just seems like he can't tell the difference, that's all." Chouji ducked his head and reached over to stash the chess board box under his bed, clearly not wanting to argue.

"I think people misjudge him."

"So you really think Sakura is a bad girlfriend?" Shikamaru asked. Ino shrugged.

"I don't know. Probably not. But, she doesn't have much experience, and, well, you know Sakura. She doesn't really compromise very well."

"And Sasuke does?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, and Ino sighed.

"I don't know, but does it matter? He doesn't have to be perfect for me to like him. Everyone has flaws, alright? I can handle Sasuke's, but I don't think Sasuke can handle Sakura's. We'd all be happier if they broke up." Chouji frowned, disapproving, but Shikamaru shook his head at him.

"Listen Ino, it's none of your business if they're happy together or not. Even if you like him, you can't be trying to break them up if you want to stay friends with Sakura. Is that what you want, to not be friends anymore?"

"No, but that's part of the problem. When she's not talking about Sasuke, we get along perfectly. We like all the same movies and music and things. Everything was fine until she started dating Sasuke, but I'm worried it's going to ruin our friendship. I'm jealous of her because she got Sasuke, but then I feel horrible for being jealous" Ino slumped forward, her expression fading from stony to sad. Shikamaru watched her for a moment, and then sighed.

"You're just going to keep getting more and more upset if you keep going on like this. Talk to Sakura and get it out of your system, come to an agreement, and that's that. Try to get a crush on someone else."

"I don't want Sakura to know how I feel . . . she'd hate me." Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Women are so troublesome," he muttered. "Fine. Don't talk to her, but you still need to take some action on your own here. To save your friendship, you're going to have to get over her and Sasuke. It's up to you what's more important, but it's not worth worrying yourself sick over."

"I guess I can try . . ." Ino looked down at her shoes, and then glanced over at Shikamaru and Chouji, the thinnest of smiles on her face. "Thanks guys. I do want to keep my friendship with Sakura. I don't know, maybe I'm just a bitch at heart, but I do want to try. I do."

"So no more crushes on Sasuke?"

"Well . . ." Ino glanced innocently at the ceiling, and they all laughed.

"Seriously, you're better off without him. Go find a nicer guy to latch onto."

"If you keep being so nice to me, Shikamaru, I'll get a crush on you," Ino said teasingly. Chouji laughed harder at the look of utter horror on Shikamaru's face, and Shikamaru shot him a glare. Ino smiled to herself. Even though she was still worried about Sakura, at least she would always have two friends to turn to.