Later that day Aceso was at the ramen place with Naruto, he was telling her all about his training with Jiraya and she told him all about the hospital.

" I can't seem to get the summoning Jutsu down," Naruto complained. " All I keep getting is tadpoles."

" Have you tried doing something different?" Aceso answered.

" There is only one way of doing it," Naruto huffed.

" Maybe you really need to use up all your chakra as Jiarya said," Aceso said,

" What do you think I've been doing?" Naruto asked.

" Sorry," Aceso apologized.

" You've been picking at your food since you ordered it," Naruto pointed out. " If you won't eat it, then I will."

" Go on ahead," Aceso said as she pushed the bowl towards him.

" Yeah!" Naruto cheered as he began to chow down on it. " Everything alright little sister?"

" Sasuke left the hospital," Aceso informed. " He's no condition to be walking around the village on his own, Lee left his room today as well, but he didn't go far thankfully."

" Sasuke is tougher than you think," Naruto said. " As for Lee, he just wants to get stronger. How's Hinata?"

" Out of the hospital," Aceso answered. " She's doing a whole lot better and so are Kiba and Akamaru."

" That's good to hear," Naruto smiled. After ramen, they went home, Aceso made it up to her room, and now laid in her bed, reading the book Lord Hokage gave her as the moon shined in.

*****

A week passed and Aceso spent almost every day attending to patients and doing other errands, everything night she was practicing Lee's surgery in a spare surgery room on a fake skeleton. At the current moment, the Sand Village Genin was at the front desk.

" What do you mean you haven't seen Doctor Matsuba?" Temari demanded. " It's 2 pm, she has to be around this hospital."

" I'm sorry, but we haven't seen her," the nurse apologized. " Normally I would be concerned, but since it's her day off, I'm not."

" But nobody else in the village has seen her," Kankuro pointed out. They heard a crutch tapping this way, they looked to see Lee limping this way.

" Lee, what are you doing out of bed?" the nurse.

" Is Aceso around?" Lee asked.

" We're wondering the same thing," Gaara said as he eyed Lee.

" If anything she could be hiding in her room," the nurse said.

" Can you take us to her?" Temari asked.

" I can't see why not," the nurse gave in. She led them to Aceso's room. " Aceso?" She knocked on the door, she then opened it, not a person in sight. " Doctor Matsuba?"

" This is so neat," Temari noted as they walked in. They looked around to see things in place, not a sign of dust.

" And her bed is comfy!" Lee exclaimed as he sat on it.

" We are not here to make ourselves at home," Gaara reminded him. " We need chakra medicine." Gaara looked over a photo frame, by the background he could tell it was fall. It was of Aceso when she was much younger, she was sitting on Gai-sensei's shoulders, and both had huge smiles on their faces. 

" I need medicine as well, as much as I hate it," Lee said.

" Well, she's not in the bathroom," Kankuro informed as he left the bathroom with the hand soap.

" We aren't souvenir shopping," Gaara reminded him. " Put it back."

" That's a poster of the muscles and bones," Lee said, they looked up to see two posters, one with the muscles labeled, front and back, and one of just the skeleton, front and back.

" I think I know where she is," the nurse informed.

" You didn't the first time," Kankuro reminded her as the nurse helped up Lee. She led them to a surgery room and opened the door. On the far side of the room was Aceso fast asleep while holding on to a skeleton, there were papers all over the place. 

" Doctor Matsuba!" the nurse sighed as they went to her side, Lee slowly limped on over.

" Is she dead?" Gaara asked as the nurse knelt in front of the girl. 

" No," the nurse answered. " But from the sight, she won't be awake until tomorrow."

" No red rose?" Lee asked sadly.

" She's trying to get your surgery down Lee," the nurse informed as she looked over at the skeleton and papers. " Little by little it's becoming more of a success." Lee's eyes went wide, as the others glanced at him. " Can you four stay with her while I go get orderlies?" She stood up.

" No need," Kankuro said as he picked up Aceso, Temari picked up the book and supplies. " Where do we put her?"

" Back in her room," the nurse answered they began to walk back to her room.

" Madam, why does Aceso have pictures of a lot of her and the senseis in her room," Temari asked.

" Well, they helped look after her," the nurse answered. " She was raised in this very hospital, I shouldn't go into more detail, we aren't really allowed to talk about it around her."

" How would you describe her time at the academy?" Kankuro asked.

" Oh, well she got into the academy, but never went to the actual place, we insisted on making her a doctor, so a sensei came here and taught her everything she would need to know," the nurse answered. " She barely leaves the hospital as a matter of fact."

" Doesn't she get lonely?" Lee asked.

" Not really," the nurse admitted. " But if she does she finds comfort in the staff her and the patients as well." The nurse opened Aceso's room door and Kankuro went and put her down on her bed. " Why do you four ask so many questions?"

" Just want to know more about the young doctor," Kankuro answered. " If she can know us and our medical needs, then I want to know her."

" Fair," the nurse giggled lightly. " Kakashi-sensei always visited her, Gai sensei taught her to fight early on. Both tend to appear to Aceso as father figures."

" Gai-sensei is so cool!" Lee smiled with tears running down his face as he sat in the chair.

" Does she still train?"Temari asked.

" Yes," the nurse answered. " Before Gai and Kakashi had teams to teach, they would team up on her. And she tried to sneak up on them, didn't really succeed. I recall one night when she was five, she tried to attack Kakashi from the ceiling when he was coming in to put her to bed. "

" Sneaking up on Kakashi is impossible," Lee said.

" I barely know the guy, but I can't picture him reading bedtime stories to a child," Temari said.

" She must have really pushed herself last night," the nurse frowned. " That much motion should have wakened her."

" Why would she put herself through that?" Temari asked as she put the book and papers on a desk.

"This is all my fault," Lee cried ignoring the question.

" It is not your fault," the nurse denied. " If anything you are one of the people pushing her to be stronger, so it's a good thing. Close the door when you leave." She then left the room.

" I still need the medicine," Kankuro grumbled.

"Should be in the right cabinet on the second shelf," Lee answered.

" How do you know this?" Temari asked. " Perv."

" I've been up here before," Lee informed as he looked over at her. Gaara went over to the right cabinet and opened it. He then took out the medicine and started for the door.

" We got what we need, now let's go," Gaara ordered, the sand villagers left leaving Lee, he remained sitting in the chair.

" Let her rest Lee," Kankuro ordered.

" But-" Lee began.

" Come on, let's go," Temari ordered as she popped her head back in.

" Goodbye Lotus Flower," Lee dismissed as he slowly got up.

*********

Two days passed and Aceso was just waking up, her eyes opened to see Naruto in the room. He sat on the bed, staring down at her.

" Naruto?" Aceso asked as she rubbed her eyes.

" I knew you would come around sleepyhead," Naruto laughed as he looked at her.

" What happened?" Aceso asked as she sat up.

" Overworked yourself into exhaustion," Naruto answered. " The Sand Village Genin, bushy brow and a nurse found you passed out in a surgery room."

" Huh?" Aceso asked.

" You need to take it easier," Naruto advised. " Won't be able to heal Bushy Brow if you end up killing yourself."

" Sorry," Aceso apologized. " But I am getting stronger, like you."

" Say after the Chunin exams and I become a Chunin I will train with you! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

" I believe it," Aceso laughed. " You better get back to Jiarya, and continue your training."

" Do you want any tea?" Naruto asked.

" Tea would be nice," Aceso nodded as she looked over and saw some flowers in a vase. " Thanks for the flowers."

" They aren't all from me," Naruto said. " I got you the purple ones, Lee gave you the rose and a lotus one."

" He left the hospital?" Aceso asked as she snapped her head back at Naruto.

" Don't get mad at me!" Naruto yelled as he shot to his feet. " Kiba picked them out for Lee, so they are from Kiba."

" They are pretty," Aceso smiled. " I am going to be fine, you should get back to your training."

" See you later sis!" Naruto yelled before getting up and running out of the room. Right after he left Sakura came into the room.

" You're so pathetic," Sakura said as she stuck her nose in the air. " Completely useless."

" Huh?" Aceso asked as her smile dropped.

" You're a respectable doctor, yet you can't land this surgery?" Sakura asked.

" It's pretty hard," Aceso informed.

" I'm just glad I'm not the one letting down Lee," Sakura said. " You should just give up the headband like you wanted to and give the surgery to someone else."

" But I promised Lee I would heal him," Aceso informed. " I'm not going back on my word."

" That line may work for Naruto and Hinata, but you should find a new one," Sakura advised. " All you are is a failure. I'd quit now if I were you." She then left the room, slamming the door shut.

***

It was an overcast day, Aceso was now sitting in Lee's room, she was applying ointment on his leg. The ointment was to ease his pain, Aceso was quiet as she worked.  Maybe Sakura was right, she was pathetic, this surgery should be easy.

" Is everything alright, Red Rose?" Lee asked. She looked over to see that his eyes were pinned on her.

" Yeah," Aceso smiled as she moved on to his left arm. " A lot of things on my mind, nothing important."

" Something seems to be bothering you," He pointed out. " Why are you working so hard for this surgery, what makes me different from the others?"

" You're my friend," Aceso told him as looked back at his arm.

" Really?" Lee asked as he smiled as his eyes sparkled.

" Yeah," Aceso smiled. " I didn't have a lot of friends around my age till I went on the mission to the Land of Waves and the Chunin exams. Having friends as patients make me want to work harder, I don't want to let them down."

" You haven't," Lee said.

" So you are not feeling let down?" Aceso asked as she looked back at him.

" Not one bit," Lee denied with a smile.

" Even though this will take a long time?" Aceso asked.

" I am being patient like you advised," Lee informed. " As much as I would like to be back training, I am taking your requests, I would be silly to ignore my doctor's orders." The sun started to shine, she looked out the window to see the clouds were breaking. " Do you have any other patients after me?"

" No, why?" Aceso answered.

" Want to have tea with me?" Lee asked.

" I always have tea with you if you're my last patient or not," Aceso reminded him.

" Right," Lee smiled more, his eyes were squinting from how big he was smiling.

*****

A week later Aceso was sitting along the river, she was showing very little progress on the surgery. She sitting against the tree crying with the book in her lap. She didn't mean to cry, but her emotions were just too strong at the moment.

" How pathetic," a voice sounded, she looked up and saw Gaara standing in front of her, his arms crossed, as usual, the river was slowly passing by behind him.

" You forgot useless," Aceso sniffed as she wiped her eyes. " I didn't expect anyone to find me out here. Or in this specific spot."

" You call yourself useless?" Gaara asked.

" This surgery should be easy, but I'm showing very little progress on the skeleton," Aceso explained. " Can you sit down? I want to see the river."

" This surgery?" Gaara asked as he sat to the left of her. " What will it cost?"

" If it doesn't work, Lee doesn't survive," Aceso said. " I can't bring myself to be one responsible for his death."

" You have a problem with killing people?" Gaara asked.

" Yeah," Aceso nodded. " Especially if they are a friend."

" I don't see the problem in it," Gaara shook his head.

" I'm a doctor," Aceso reminded him. " I heal people and try to save lives."

" What's so precious about life?" Gaara asked as Aceso wiped her eyes again.

" Well you said the word," Aceso said. " It's precious."

" Why?" Gaara asked.

" Life is a mystery, but all of us were born for a reason and we shouldn't take it for granted," Aceso explained. " Nor should we take the gift of life from others if we don't have to. I'd rather have Lee hate me forever than be dead. That goes for all my friends and family."

" You would let your parents hate you?" Gaara asked. 

"Yes," Aceso answered.

" Cousins? Aunts? Anything like that?" Gaara asked.

" Not that I know of," Aceso shook her head.

" So you're alone?" Gaara asked

" Far from it," Aceso denied. " I was alone a little, but people started to come into my life and stayed. And I couldn't ask for anything better." Then she heard a small meow.

" You shouldn't let people in so easily," Gaara advised. " It gives them more chances to hurt you. I don't even consider my siblings, my siblings."

" Don't you get lonely?" Aceso asked as he looked behind her as another small meow was heard.

" Never," Gaara declined as Aceso got up. " Not even going to say goodbye? Pathetic." He was starting to think she was just like everyone else, hating him, thinking that he was a monster.

" I'm not leaving yet," Aceso shot him a look as she walked alongside the river bank. She saw a small bag, and it was moving. " Huh?" She kneeled beside it and opened it, inside was a kitty, about a year old. The kitty meowed louder.

" Is that a cat?" Gaara asked.

" Yeah," Aceso answered as she pulled the small animal out. " Someone tried to drown him." She picked up the bag and went back over to Gaara, she plopped down and put the kitty on the ground.

" Why not let it die?" Gaara asked.

" Why not let it live?" Aceso countered. He looked at her as she stayed focused on the kitten. Her whole mood had changed since she saw the kitten. He felt something rub against his leg, he looked down to see that kitty.

" What is he doing?" Gaara asked.

" Rubbing on you," Aceso answered as she reached over petted the kitty.

" Why?" Gaara asked as he stared down at it.

" He likes you," Aceso giggled.

" Make it stop," Gaara demanded, she picked up the cat and held it close to his face. The two stared at each other, the kitty licked his nose.

" Grain really likes you Gaara," Aceso smiled more. He looked at her, she was now completely happy, and the sun shining on her helped enhance the look of happiness.

" Grain?" Gaara asked as his eyes widened a little.

" Take him," Aceso offered. Gaara took the small cat and put it in his lap, the cat curled up and went to sleep.

" Grain?" Gaara repeated as he started to pet the cat.

" Well since he took a liking to you, I called him Grain," Aceso explained. " As in Grains of sand." He looked back up at her. " Are you smiling?" 

" Tell anyone and I kill you," Gaara warned.

" As soon as Lee's surgery is done then you can kill me," Aceso suggested. "Oh, and crush my body up real fine. I don't want the secrets of my village getting out."

" You aren't scared of me," Gaara noticed as he raised his eyebrow.

" Why would I be?" Aceso asked.

" Most people are," Gaara pointed out.

" Most doesn't mean all," Aceso pointed out as she looked at Grain, he let out a big yawn. " And last time I checked you don't have a million legs and isn't a centipede." Gaara wasn't sure how to feel, she feared centipedes more than him. Gaara was in the dark, but something cracked a little bit of light was shining in. "Grain must be hungry." She reached into her bag and pulled out cat food.

" You carry dog food and cat food?" Gaara asked.

" Very little," Aceso answered. " Hold out your hand." He did as he was told and she dropped the kibble in his hand. He then held the food close to Grain, the cat sniffed, stood up, looked at the food, sniffed, and began to eat it. " I should be getting back to the hospital." She got up to her feet. " I don't want the Anbu coming after me."

" And Grain?" Gaara asked.

" You can keep him if you want, if not I can take him," Aceso said.

" I will hold on to him for now," Gaara said he looked up at her. He couldn't deny, that she did look like him a little, Naruto was right about one thing. She was starting to seem familiar to him as well.

*******

Two days later Aceso was walking down the hall to a patient's room when she bumped into someone. She looked up to see Shino, Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru.

" Hey, gorgeous," Kiba winked at her, Akamaru barked, he was in Kiba's jacket.

" Is there something you need?" Aceso asked.

" A date?" Kiba requested.

"Leave her alone Kiba," Hinata said softly.

" Chakra medicine," Shino requested.

" Of course," Aceso nodded. " How has training been going for you Shino?"

" What about us?" Kiba asked as they followed her to a room.

" Shino's in the Chunin exams," Hinata reminded him.

" Training is tough like it is supposed to be," Shino answered as Aceso opened the door.  " My parasites are getting a workout."

" That's good to hear," Aceso said as she stepped back out and handed Hinata the ointment.

" This is all we needed, thank you," Hinata said. " We should be getting back to training."

" Of course," Aceso nodded.