• As Ino and I walked to the hospital arm in arm, Akane emerged from the forest and started walking our way. Ino tugged at me desperately, trying to hurry me along, but I slipped my arm away and turned to Akane. "Hi!" I called. "How's training going?"
    "Good." she tried to avoid looking at Ino. "Where are you headed?"
    "Hospital."
    She cocked her head. "Do you volunteer or something?"
    "No. My Uncle." Ino tugged on my arm again. I sighed. "Akane, gotta go. Talk to you later."
    She nodded and Ino and I went on to the hospital. I looked at her as we passed through the doors. "Why can't you get along with her?"
    "Look, the Sand and the Leaf do NOT mix. Especially not with my family. So just drop it. I'm not going to be buddies with her."
    I yanked the monopoly game from under her arm. "You mean you're not going to try." I reached up to touch Momoko's paw.
    Ino rolled her eyes. "Look. Let's not start a fight over this. We just don't see eye to eye. But we have what, ten years of friendship? Let's not just throw that away over some petty argument."
    I nodded, but raised a finger to her. "But you'll try to get along in my presence."
    "Yes, ma'am."
    "And if I catch wind of you being a jerk to her when I'm NOT around..."
    "I'll promptly end up with your foot up my rear end. Yes, I understand. Now let's go keep your Uncle company."
    Ino took the game back and hurried ahead to the room. I paused, watching the medical nin shuffle by. Akane's words came to mind. Do you volunteer or something? I paused, thinking. Could I? if I did, I wouldn't have to really worry about my friends getting hurt. Or myself, for that matter, if my training didn't help at all.
    I glanced through the nearby window to see Ino setting up the board game, with Iruka glancing around curiously. I turned away and approached the front counter. The secretary looked up. "Can I help you?" he asked roughly.
    "Could i apply to train here? As a medical nin?"

    Matsuo uncle in the hospital? Wonder what happened to him, and if he was okay. He was pretty nice to me in the beginning, when I got here, maybe I'd visit him, if I'd have time in the future. I didn't have any other thoughts, they seemed to like have disappeared. My feet just wandered leading me to a place which I didn't know where I was going. Keeping my eyes on the ground I watched the dirt go bye with each passing step. I should be more social with people. I began thinking again. Maybe I should set something up to get to know everyone better? The thoughts kept flowing about the idea, till I remembered I didn't really have the money at the moment.
    "Why must I be so........." I couldn't think of the word, it wasn't shy, but something close to that. Looking up I had noticed my feet had led me to the Hokage's hill (I can't remember what it's called!!! DX) This would be a great place to think!


    To my surprise, the uninterested secretary handed me a bunch of papers. "Fill 'em out, bring 'em back." Were the only instructions. Beaming, I blurted a quick thank you and hurried to Iruka's room, slamming the door open. "Uncle Iruka!!"
    Both he and Ino spazzed, and the monopoly game flew up into the air. Momoko dove under the bed for cover. Iruka looked at me, eyes wide. "What IS it, Matuso?"
    Grinning sheepishly, I closed the door quietly behind me. I then went over to the nightstand by his bed and grabbed a pen from the drawer. "I might need your signatures soon."
    "What did you do?"
    "Nothing, nothing!" I said, plopping down at the end of his bed. I began to pore over the papers. "Have I been subject to foreign diseases at any time in my life?"
    I looked up at him expectantly. He was silent, face drawn in confused concentration. Ino just looked wierded out. "What did you do?" he asked again.
    "Nothing, I swear." I set a hand on my chest. "I just...well, look." I tossed him the papers. He took them warily and began to read.
    "Matsuo!" he exclaimed. "I had no idea you wanted to be a medic nin!"
    I shrugged. "This is just volunteering here. Maybe it'll help me for when I go through the actual training."
    He looked up at me again, brown eyes brimming with something. Not tears - pride? He handed back the papers. "I'll help you fill it out." he turned to Ino. "We can restart our game after that. If you don't mind?"
    Ino shook her head. "Course not. But considering we might be here awhile," she stood, "I'm going to go grab us some coffee, Matsuo."
    As she left, Iruka turned to me. "You drink coffee now?"


    I had been lying up on the roof, just starring at the Hokage's faces waiting for something to come to me. My eyelids began to grow heavy as the warm sun was pelted from the sky. "Must......... not.... fall... asleep," I told myself trying to keep awake but it was futile. Something on my face started to tickle, I tried ignoring it. But it just kept getting worse and worse till finally I went to itch my face, where it was and grabbed a tiny little thing. Opening my eyes I waited for them to adjust to the lighting, it was black and blurry so far. Oh crap, it's a spider! Making little scarred girly sounds I was about to through it, when someone grabbed my wrist, and took it from me. Looking up I, to see it was the bug loving Shino. "Uh, hi Shino," I said waving from the spot I was sitting at. He just kept examining the bug till he finally opened his mouth to say something unexpected.
    "You know this spiders poisonous?" He questioned me sticking it back into his bug container.
    My eyes widened, "It was poisonous?" I questioned myself, feeling a bit queasy at the thought. He nodded again. "Well then thank you for taking it away!" I told him standing up, and started walking away.
    "Wait," Shino said. I turned around to see him starring at me oddly.


    Ino and I sat sipping our coffee for the next hour, with me leaning against the nightstand and filling out papers as Iruka instructed. (it was amazing all the stuff he remembered...I didn't even KNOW I was allergic to pine!) When we were finally done, he signed them for me and I took them back up to the front, where the same irritable secretary sat. I handed him the papers and he scanned them, before looking up at me. "We'll call." he said. "and figure out hours. We know you genin have a lot on your plate."
    "Okay. Thank you." I smiled at him before going back to the room where Iruka and Ino were talking, holding up pictures. as I approached, Iruka handed one to me.
    "What is it?"
    "X-rays," he sighed. "Leg's broken in three places."
    "Ow." I grimaced, looking at the fractures. "So what does that mean?"
    "Well, the hospital is afraid I'll overwork myself, so they're keeping me here. One week, and then some physical therapy." his eyes darkened - I could tell he was pretty bummed. I sat down in the bed next to him. "Another instructor has to take over for my class. We need to figure out your new living arrangements. Kurenai said she could take you..."
    Ino looked up from the x-ray. "Oh, um, she's staying at my place. She came over and asked me before we came here."
    "Okay." Iruka nodded. "Ino, would you mind running to go take these back to the doctor?"
    "No problem, Iruka-Sensei."
    She gathered up the x-rays and left the room. I turned to Iruka, who was pursing and unpursing his lips, staring at the wall. I reached out to take his hand. "Your students will live a week without you."
    He smiled up at me. "It's not the students that I'm worried about."
    "Come on, you'll be fine. The medical nin here are really great. You'll be back on your feet in no time."
    Iruka smiled again. "I thought so too. But you have no idea how great it is to hear someone say it."

    I turned back to Shino, "Yeah?" I questioned waiting for his answer to why he wanted me to stay. He just kept starring at me till I heard a fly go past my head.
    "Bugs seem to like you for some reason," He stated bluntly. "Would you mind helping me collect some bugs I've been looking for?" Wait what? He wants me to help him look for insects? Well maybe it's not a bad idea. I started contemplating the cons and pros of what he had asked me, till I came to a decision.
    "Uhm sure but I will not touch any spiders!" I said in a rush. "Or anything poisonous," I added quickly. He nodded and began walking. I followed him seeming as he turned his head back to me, I think to make sure I was following him.


    The next day, I trained with my group, working to develop the Tanuki Swap. Halfway through Kurenai pulled me aside to teach me her special Genjutsu, the Flower Petal Escape. If trapped in a Genjutsu, I would be able to dissolve my body into several flower petals and "consume my enemy", as Kurenai put it. "I don't really want to do that," I laughed sheepishly. Kurenai smiled.
    "Then I'll show you my Tree Binding Death."
    After practising this move - on an unwitting Kiba, who promptly spazzed out- and promising to meet him for ramen another day after he asked, I went on to spar with Kakashi, who was still helping me develop my Taijutsu. After what seemed like an endless amount of push ups (which got easier by the day) we sparred. About halfway through, my best move came to play - when he launched a high kick at me, I ducked and spun my other leg, knocking him off balance. Sliding underneath him I kicked him in the square of his back, sending him up high. Somehow I pulled off the Dancing Leaf Shadow (my best Taijutsu move) and planted two hard punches into Kakashi's back before he twisted out of range. We landed hard and, leaning on my knees, I looked up at him. Rubbing his shoulder, he cast me an impressed look. "Been practising, huh?"
    "Trying." I panted. "It's been a busy week."
    "I heard you're training to become a medic nin."
    "Training. And who told you?"
    "Your ecstatic uncle."
    "You visisted him?" I asked, perking up a bit. I always felt bad that I had to wait until the end of the day to visit him.
    Kakashi nodded. "He insists I update him on your training. And don't overdo it, Matsuo. Three different training sessions a day? You're bound to pass out."
    I straightened. "I can handle it. I'm getting plenty of rest." I nodded at Kakashi. "I need to be off to the hospital then. My shift starts in an hour."
    He watched, silent, as I gathered up Momoko and went off to Ino's. Shower, hospital shift, Iruka, dinner at Ino's, sleep. And then in the morning, breakfast, Iruka, squad 8, flower shop, lunch, Kakashi, and then the cycle started all over again. Fun fun for Matsuo. But I COULD handle it. And I would prove it.