~*****~

God, I'd never felt so relieved to be back in the village. Even if I did follow after Tsunade with an excited expression covering my face. Since the news of the new Hokage being my aunt, most Jonin and Chunin who knew took to calling me Honorable Niece. It ticked me off at first, but it constantly reminded me I had someone who loved me like a mother would. And Tsunade was happy to have me around while she attending informal meetings- she gave me plenty of pointers after each meeting made. "And don't forget- Sometimes you have to schmooze just to gain the approval of some of the elders." Tsunade reminded me as we walked towards the stairs.

"I could tell- You were downright polite in there." I mention casually. Just as we reach the entry way, Konohamaru bolts in, and slams his face right into Tsunade's chest.

"So poofy~" He hummed as a delighted expression covered his face. "It reminds me of my baby blanket." He starts rubbing his face all over her chest. Tsunade just glares down at the boy. He leaps away after a moment of my snorting to cover up my laughter. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?!" He shouts at Tsunade.

"What am I doing here?" She snapped back. "Well, what are you doing here, you pesky little runt?"

"Who's a little runt?" He seethed as his face turned bright pink. "I dare you to call me that again!"

"Oh yeah?" A snide smirk washes over her face. "So, you're a glutton for punishment, huh? You're a pesky, little runt." She mentioned again.

"I'm warning you, if you call me that again!" Konohamaru bellowed.

"Okay, okay- That's enough." I laughed as Shizune stepped over.

"She's right- You really should be going in now." Shizune reminded her. "The elders are waiting for you."

Tsunade hummed. "All right, you two. I'm coming, I'm coming." She delicately poked Konohamaru in the forehead. "You watch your step, little boy." Tsunade jeers before stepping away.

"Sorry, Ren- They won't allow you to sit in with her this meeting." Shizune mentioned.

"That's okay- I'll just wait outside." I giggle as I point to the doorway.

"I wish you'd try and behave nicely." Shizune scolded Tsunade as they walked away. "Because of course, I'm the one everybody complains to."

Tsunade hummed in annoyance as Konohamaru finally caught up. "I don't like being called little boy, either!" He bellowed. I stepped back just as Naruto came crashing in, toppling the Honorable Grandson with him. "Hey, why don't you watch where you're going!" Konohamaru shouted at him.

"Why don't you watch where you're standing?" Naruto asked as he nursed his nose.

"Is that you, Naruto?" Konohamaru asked in confusion.

"Seriously? He hasn't changed at all since you saw him last." I mention snidely.

"What the- Konohamaru? Is that you?" Naruto hummed.

"And I forget, you're both idiots." I sigh.

"SHUT IT, REN!" Naruto bellowed.

"You're Ren?! There's no way! You were a washboard the last time I saw you!" Konohamaru bellowed. A flush covered my face as I resist the urge to kick him over the head. "Anyway, long time no see, you two!" He cheered happily.

"Yeah! Ren! You see Grandma Tsunade anywhere?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Who's Tsunade?" Konohamaru asked.

"An old lady around here with a nasty temper." Naruto explained before I could open my mouth. "Actually, she doesn't look that old, but she is."

"I've seen her, all right- Ren was with her a minute ago." Konohamaru explained.

"Where is she?!"

"Who is she, anyway?!"

The both bellowed at the same time. "It's a long story." I giggled as I grabbed both their ears and tugged them apart.

"We don't have the time to tell you now!" Naruto bellowed in annoyance. "We've gotta get up to the infirmary, pronto!" Naruto grasped my wrist and started tugging me down the hall with angry grunting.

"The infirmary?" Konohamaru asked in confusion.

"Yeah, she's supposed to be some hot shot medical ninja. Everyone's making such a big deal about her being Hokage! Has she forgotten what she came here for?" Naruto ranted as he continued to tug me along.

"I thought we were going to the infirmary..." I whine.

"Hokage?" Konohamaru asked.

"Yeah, she's the Fifth Hokage!" Naruto snapped back. "You deaf?" Konohamaru's face split in horror. "Big deal! All I care about is her doing what she promised to do!"

"I don't believe you..." Konohamaru muttered as I snatched my arm back angrily. Naruto hummed in confusion. "You're lying, Naruto!" Konohamaru ran out. "It's not true!" He cried.

"What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked as we leaned out to watch him.

I sighed out in annoyance and quickly slapped him across the back of the head. "You moron,"

"Ow, Ren! What the heck was that for?!"

~*****~

I yawned tiredly as I sat on the railing outside of the doorway I knew Tsunade would be exiting. I finally hear her yawn tiredly as she approached. "My body's sore and stiff," Tsunade moaned. "All I want is to sit down and relax with a nice, hot cup of tea..." I popped upright and smiled happily as she appeared. She grinned and hurried her steps. "Hey, Ren- I know of this great-"

"Not so fast, Grandma!" Naruto bellowed from the doorway. I rolled my eyes at him. "Before you start sucking down some tea, isn't there something you're forgetting about?"

Tsunade raised her eyebrow curiously. "What would that be?"

"Come on, are you kidding me?!" Naruto bellowed.

"You promised to heal Kakashi, Sasuke, and Lee once we arrived." I mentioned as I hopped down from the railing.

"Oh yeah, I did forget about them." Tsunade hummed.

"And Ren's been reminding you the entire day, too." Shizune sighed.

"Well, if it isn't Naruto." I hear a familiar voice echo.

"Shikamaru?" I hum curiously as I step around Tsunade. I unconsciously started fixing my hair.

He stopped at the top step as his cheeks turned a light pink color. "R-Ren-" Shikamaru stuttered. "W-What are you doing here?"

"How about you?" Naruto jeered. "You're usually still asleep this time of day."

"Very funny," He comments as he steps up to us. "My Dad asked me to come along with him, but don't ask me why."

"Good afternoon, Shikaku." I bow as I turn to Shikamaru's father.

"Good to see you, Ren." He chuckled. He then turned back to Tsunade. "Greetings, Lady Tsunade. It's been a long time."

"You're that kid from the Nara family!" She exclaimed in astonishment. "Hope you're still taking care of the deer. I made a lot of good medicine out of those antlers." Tsunade chimes.

"Who's the blonde girl?" Shikamaru asks me. "And why is she talking to my dad like she's his boss?"

"She's the Fifth Hokage." I mention casually. Shikamaru gasps in shock.

"And she's no girl." Naruto whispers. "She's actually an old lady in her fifties!" Another gasp of shock as I turn to shoot a glare at Naruto. He immediately recoils and covers his head.

"And she's my aunt." I add as Shikamaru tries not to laugh at Naruto's cower.

"What?!" He nearly bellows.

"I'll see you again soon, no doubt!" I hear Tsunade exclaim.

"Yes, My lady." Shikaku hums.

"We have to go!" I exclaim as Naruto rushes past. He grasps my wrist eagerly. "I'll see ya later, Shikamaru!"

"We're going to the infirmary!" Naruto exclaims in explanation. "We'll show you some killer techniques we picked up later!"

~*****~

"May we come in?" Tsunade hums as we enter Sasuke's room.

Sakura looks up curiously and stands up immediately when she sees me. "R-Ren! Who are you?" She asks Tsunade besides me.

"Sakura! You'll never believe it!" Naruto bellows as he blows past me. I frown as I start rolling up my sleeves aggressively. "She's gonna make everything okay again! Don't worry, Sasuke's going to be all right now!"

Tsunade leads me over to the bed and crosses her arms over her chest with a prideful smirk. "Show me you've listened to my lectures, Ren." She commanded.

"Ma'am." I hum and press my hand against Sasuke's forehead.

"Uh, Grandma? What are you doing?" Naruto asked. Tsunade signaled me to stop for a moment. I look over with a smile.

"Fixing your friend," She mentioned casually.

"You must be the one Guy-Sensei told me about." Sakura hums as she turns back to us. I hadn't started yet. "If you're going to fix him, why is Ren--"

"Well, She's my student- and she's pretty handy in medical ninjutsu. So let's see what she can do." Tsunade grins happily. She signals once again and my hand ebbs with a faint green glow. The damage done by the Genjutsu was relatively easy to fix. Sasuke's facial expression changed and he started to wake up.

"Welcome back to the living," I giggle as I lean over the bed.

"Ren?" He hums in confusion, and sits up. I sit on his bed side as Sakura leaps forward and hugs him tightly.

"Hey, you're back!" Naruto exclaims. Jealousy sprouts it's ugly head as I stare at Sakura holding Sasuke so tightly. And from the looks of it- Naruto feels the same.

"Okay, okay- He needs bed rest." I comment dryly. "Why don't you go get some fresh fruit for him while I make sure nothing else needs to be fixed, okay?" I coo to Sakura. She sniffles as she pulls away and nods with a grateful smile.

Tsunade ruffles my hair as I place my hand on his chest and concentrate. Nothing else needed to be repaired, except for the exhaustion- But plenty of bed rest would fix that. "Come on, come on- You're not done yet." I hear Naruto mention from the hallway.

"I'll be back after we heal Kakashi, okay?" I hum to Sasuke.

He's quick- even in his tired state. He grasps my wrist and tugs me back and into his arms. A flush crawls up my neck as I feel his face press into my neck. "Come back immediately." He whispered. I pulled away with a soft nod and followed after Tsunade.

"Hey, Ren." Tsunade chirps. "Your face is all red~"

"Sh-Shut it!" I bellow.

Tsunade once again let me handle the treatment for Kakashi as well. She sighed out in annoyance as he sat up. "Disgraceful." Kakashi looked like a scolded puppy as I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck. The fear I'd been feeling this entire freakin' trip had finally went away. "To be take completely out of the game by two low life punks like that. I thought you were supposed to be the best."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Kakashi sighs as he pats my head.

"Well, you did take in my niece, so I guess I could forgive you. The kids got a knack for medical ninjutsu." She praises as she ruffles my blonde hair when I stand up.

"Okay! That's Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto chirps happily. "Now just one more, and you're all done, Ren!" I look over and nearly shriek at the sight of Guy nearly tearing the curtain apart.

"Since when has he been standing there?" I ask in annoyance.

"Ren! Rock Lee! He's right next door! Please! Heal your future husband!" Guy bellowed.

"What the-" Tsunade hums as I groan in annoyance and face plant on the bed. "Actually, I'll be taking care of this case. Why don't you go visit your friend and rest for a bit." Tsunade explains to me.

"Yes ma'am." I hum and trail out of the room.

Sakura hummed delicately as she peeled apples for Sasuke when I got back. "Ren!" Sakura gasped happily. "I can't believe how much you've learned since you've been gone!" She hugged me tightly. Sasuke sat up slowly and stared at me.

"When'd you get promoted?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"What? You're a Chunin?" Sakura shot back.

"Sure am!" I exclaim happily as I tug at my vest. I plopped down at the end of Sasuke's bed and crossed my legs. "Looks good on me, doesn't it?" I giggle.

"You're telling me. Pretty soon, you'll be recommended to be a Jonin." Sakura cooed. "Ah, I need to go grab more fruit if you're going to sit with us."

She quickly skipped out of the room. "She's not insanely jealous that were alone?" I inquire curiously. Sasuke waved his hand in annoyance. "On a serious note- When I heard what happened... I wanted to come back sooner, but..."

Once again, he grasps my arm and tugs me into his arms. "Shut up," He hums. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck. "You smell nice."

I pulled away after a second and try to quell the flush covering my cheeks. I hum in curiosity and let my eyes trail away from his face. "W-Well... You need a shower..." I admit, trying to stop the furious flush on my face.

Sasuke snorted and turned his face away with amusement. "J-Jeez... You're cute when you get embarrassed like that."

"Why are you acting so different?" I question softly.

"The entire time I was out, I've been trapped in a nightmare..." He admits quietly.  "The first thing I see when I come to, are those clear blue eyes. They're the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen." He reaches forward and twists his fingers in mine, and pulls them forward to press a delicate kiss onto my palm. I scootch closer and press my forehead against his. His hands scrape against my cheeks and starts to lean in. My breath catches in my throat.

"S-Sasuke-" I mutter shyly, but he silences me as he presses a delicate kiss to my lips. My stomach twists and turns as an anxious feeling blossoms deeply within.

"Hey, Sasuke- WHAT THE?!" The two of us fly apart and stare at the door. Naruto's standing there with his jaw brushing the ground. "WHOA! HOLD ON A SECOND! WHAT THE HECKS GOIN' ON HERE?!"

"Naruto- You idiot!" Sasuke snaps as I slip off the bed. "Ren-"

"Gotta go!" I exclaim wildly before leaping out the window.

~*****~

"What do you mean he should quit?" I ask Tsunade wildly.

"If I were to operate on him, there would be a fifty percent chance of success. If it fails- He'll die." Tsunade snaps as she sips at a hot cup of tea.

"You're a medical genius- If you research new options, maybe the success rate'll go up! Lee absolutely cannot stop being a ninja!" Tears threaten to fall. Tsunade just sips her tea delicately.

"Do it again," She snaps as she gestures to the large fish in front of me.

"This things colossal." I mention as I place my hands back on it. "I've done six of them so far, my chakra's running low." The faint green glow ebbs from my palms again, but this time it's dimmer.

"Then push Ameonna's into it." Tsunade quipped.

My stomach tightened as I pushed the overwhelming chakra into my palms. A light purple glow ebbed brightly from my hands and the fish immediately flopped to life. I carefully tossed it back into the water.

"That's all for tonight, go home and rest." Tsunade hummed as I forced the purple marks on my hands to disappear. "Report to the hospital tomorrow morning. We'll keep training on the patients already inside."

"Yes ma'am." I sigh in exhaustion and slump over. I exit the Hokage mansion with a languish sigh before descending the steps slowly. I catch sight of a suit of green spandex residing over the buildings. I channel my chakra into my feet and leap upwards. "Lee-" I gasp.

"Oh, Ren!" He perks up immediately and avoids my gaze. "Sakura has been telling me you've learned medical ninjutsu- How amazing!" Lee exclaims with a fake smile. I lean against the pole besides him and sigh softly.

"I'm still a novice. But I think your mentality is rubbing off on me." I explain bashfully. Lee hummed curiously and adopted a confused expression. "Since I met Lady Tsunade and Shizune, I've been training day and night with this medical ninjutsu." I hold out my hands. The skin is raw and singed from excessive chakra flowing out. "Blood, sweat, tears- and sometimes vomit goes into my practicing." I explain bashfully.

Lee's eyes lower slowly. "What... What if someone told you to quit?" He asked slowly.

I gazed upwards and sighed out. "If I felt I still had some fire left, I'd absolutely fan it to prove them wrong- that I'm not quitting just because of an injury." I bounce away from the wall. "Lee can I be frank?"

His cheeks flushed softly before smiling. "Sure. Anything."

"If you promise not to give up, the I will work three times as hard with my Taijutsu and Medical Ninjutsu! And I can't practice my Taijutsu without you!"

Lee's eyes welled with tears before he wiped them away aggressively. "I promise." He said firmly. "You must get home- It is very late, and you look exhausted." Lee admitted bashfully.

"Yeah, Tsunade's had me reviving fish for hours." I giggled. "See you later, Lee~" I call as I whip myself over the railing and run all the way home.