A day passed, and Aceso hasn't been allowed to leave the hospital due to her injuries, she woke up early one morning before the sun had risen.

" Little sister," a voice breathed as the door opened. She looked over to see Naruto in a black hooded cloak. He was still heavily bandaged, but his spirit was back up. " Let's sneak out and get some ramen."

" And risk getting caught?" Aceso asked.

" Come on!" Naruto pleaded as he appeared beside her bed. " It's just a little bit of ramen." He pulled out another black hooded cloak. " I have one for you." He got his knees. " Consider this a form of medicine."

" Ok," Aceso gave in with a smile. The two then snuck out and went to the ramen place, they happily ate their food in disguise as they heard multiple footsteps gather behind them.

" Maybe this way," Shizune suspected before taking off with the rest of the medical core.

" Ah-ha!" Naruto laughed as he tilted his head back sucking up the liquid part. " His hood fell off. " See little sister, this Ichiraku ramen's all the medicine we need to get back on our feet." He put the bowl down. " His me with another big bowl. would ya?

" Comin' right up," the Teuchi agreed.

" I'm tellin' ya!" Naruto added. " This stuff is just what the doctor ordered!"

" It is a nice change," Aceso agreed. They heard Shizune clear her throat from behind them, Naruto and Aceso both froze. They slowly turned and looked back at her. She was with a few of the members of the medical core.

" When you two snuck out of the hospital, I had hoped I might find you hard at work training and hard at work making medicine," Shizune scolded. The two laughed nervously.

" Hi there," Aceso greeted with a big nervous smile.

" Hey, any of you guys hungry?" Naruto asked with a big nervous smile. They tied up the two in ropes.

" This is ridiculous!" Aceso grunted as she tried to get loose, but her hands were tied to her sides, so she couldn't try any jutsu. And she was the ropes are her specialty.

" Here you are," Shizune said as he handed money to Teuchi. " That should cover their bill."

" Thanks, come again," Teuchi insisted as they left the restaurant dragging the two.

" Ow! Cut it out!" Naruto exclaimed. " Cut it out! We're fine, really!"

" You two may think you're all healed. You may even look all healed. But you're not all healed," Shizune scolded them.

" Hold on a second here!" Naruto argued. " Who go injured here, you or us? I'm telling you, we feel all right! and I'll never get stronger if I don't get out and train! She'll never make more medicine if she can't go out and gather ingredients!"

" All in good time. Just as soon as you're completely healed," Shizune said.

" You don't understand," Naruto complained. " I made a promise to Sakura. How can I keep it if I'm in bed?" They were taken to their rooms and tied to their beds.

" I would have expected you of all people to not sneak out of the hospital," Shizune scolded, she had just come from Naruto's room.

" It wasn't like we were sneaking off to fight people," Aceso informed.

" Being smart with me now, are you?" Shizune asked as she lifted her eyebrow.

" No," Aceso answered with a nervous smile.

" As I thought," Shizune glared at her. " You need to rest."

" I'm fine," Aceso insisted as there was a knock at the door. " Come in!" The door opened and Ino stepped in.

" What's going on here?" Ino asked.

" Somebody and somebody's brother snuck out of the hospital," Shizune answered.

" Wouldn't that be just considered sneaking out of the house for her?" Ino asked.

" Huh?" Shizune breathed. " I guess." She laughed. " I never thought of it that way." She laughed even more.

" So she's tied to the bed?" Ino asked as she walked over.

" So she doesn't try to escape again," Shizune answered.

" But I need to gather herbs!" Aceso insisted.

" That's what you get for sneaking out," Ino laughed as she sat on the chair.

" Just make sure she doesn't try anything funny," Shizune warned before leaving the room.

" Is there something I can do for you Ino?" Aceso asked.

" What are you talking about?" Ino asked.

" You normally don't visit me," Aceso pointed out.

" Well, it's time I start friending the same people Sakura friends," Ino said.

"I and Sakura aren't exactly friends," Aceso pointed out.

" That's her loss," Ino said. " You are quite nice."

" Thanks," Aceso smiled. " You are nice as well." Ino then sat and talked to Aceso for a bit. It was to actually have a girl to talk to instead of boys, she could connect more.

The next morning Aceso was allowed to leave the hospital, she wasn't allowed to do any surgeries for a few more days, so did check-ups and made medicine.

Aceso was now walking back from gathering herbs, she was carrying her basket and looking over her to-do list.

" They finally let you out," a voice said, she looked up to see Temari walking towards her.

" Oh, hey," Acseo greeted. " I didn't think you'd still be in the village."

" Shikamaru requested that we stay and help teach the academy kids since you guys are understaffed at the moment," Temari answered.

" Thank you so much!" Aceso breathed.

" No worries," Temari laughed. " I'm enjoying it actually."

" That's good," Aceso nodded.

" When we do go, can you give us some of that chakra ointment?" Temari asked.

" Of course," Aceso agreed. " Whatever you guys need."

" Thanks, little sister," Temari said.

" Little sister?" Aceso asked.

" Gaara calls you that," Temari informed. " He wasn't one to let people close to him, so for him to call you little sister...you must pretty important to him. So I and Kankuro have decided to go along with it."

" Oh," Aceso breathed as she furrowed her eyebrows, and many things went through her mind.

" You got a problem with?" Temari asked as she stopped and folded her arms.

" Oh, no," Aceso denied as she smiled and waved her hand dismissing Temari's anger. " Well...for a while the closest thing I had for a family was Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei...and now it's grown by four, I just hope I don't lose track." Temari laughed. " I am quite happy to have an older sister."

" I will be the best sister you will ever have," Temari said with confidence. " We will be the siblings that adopted you from the sand village."

" I will be the adopted sibling from the Leaf village then," Aceso said. " Our villages will now have a connection with each other, we will keep each other stronger." Temari smiled at her. " Oh, how's Grain?"

" Speaking of Grain...this means your family actually grown by five not four," Temari corrected.

" How silly of me to forget to include Grain," Aceso said. " I am sorry."

" Don't worry," Temari assured. " Grain is growing up well and cute as ever, quite feisty."

" I expect nothing less from a kitten," Aceso laughed.

*****

Aceso was now walking down the hall of the Hokage building with Lady Tsunade and Shikamaru, he wanted to talk to the both of them.

" You know, I've been thinking," Shikamaru informed the two.

" About what?" Aceso asked.

" Of course, I realize there's a lot of variables involved--" Shikamaru began to explain. " The size of the squad and the nature of the mission. But I think it would be a good idea if every squad had at least one member of the Medical Corps assigned to it."

" You certainly don't have to convince me," Tsunade agreed. " I wrote a report long ago that explained how such a move would greatly increase our rate of success and survival. Problem is it takes a long time to train Medical Corps shinobi."

" Hm," Shikamaru breathed as they came to a stop.

" They need a whole different set of skills than fighting shinobi. Like perfect mastery and precision of chakra control," Tsunade explained as she walked over to the door. " Comprehension of a vast amount of specialized knowledge, the brains to know how to apply it, patience. But of course, the most important attribute for anyone who wants to call themselves a Medical Corps shinobi--later. I'm just a little busy at the moment. But I'm sure Doctor Matsuba knows what I'm talking about when it comes to being a Medical Corps shinobi."

" What's the most important attribute?" Shikamaru asked when she closed the door.

" A medical ninja must have a fine mind and strong will," Aceso answered. " They must never get injured while on the battlefield if they do then there will be nobody else to heal the injured members of the team."

" That didn't stop you from getting injured," Shikamaru pointed out.

" Certain situations do come up," Aceso informed as they started to walk down the hall. " I can try to start training a few people if that can somewhat help."

" You're already an extremely busy person," Shikamaru pointed out. " But it would be a ton of help...you were one of the ones to get me thinking about this."

" Huh?" Aceso asked.

" You were always ready to apply aid during the Chunin exams," Shikamaru recalled. "And to have people with your skills on a squad could help tremendously."

" I did the best I could do for Neji and Choji," Aceso said. " I knew I should have stayed with them."

" From what I heard you actually increased their rate of surviving," Shikamaru said. " So are you willing to help out?"

" Of course," Aceso agreed.

" This means you will have to continue work at the hospital, train people, and go on missions if needed," Shikamaru brought up." It sounds like a lot of work for me. What a drag."

" It's for the village," Aceso said. "Besides I won't be the only one training, I'm sure I can hand off some duties to my comrades on the medical corps."

" How long does it actually take?" Shikamaru asked.

" Well, I started when...I think I was four years old," Aceso recalled. " I was able to get the mystic palm technique jutsu down in two days....but it depends on each person. It can take a day, a week, a month, or even a year."

" Sounds like a drag," Shikamaru groaned. " But we need them."

" I agree," Aceso nodded.

*****

The next morning it was a beautiful day, everything seemed to be at peace. Aceso was now at the Leaf Village's gates with the Shikamaru, the sand siblings, and some of the academy kids.

" Thank you very much, and see you again soon," all the kids said.

" All right, kids," Temari smiled. " Keep training."

" I'm gonna learn the Shuriken jutsu by the time you come back," Konohamaru declared. " Ha!"

" Yeah, I, uh, I will too," Udon insisted.

" Oh, Temari, someday I'm gonna be a strong kunoichi just like you," Moegi said.

" I'm very honored to hear that, dear," Temari smiled more.

" Thanks again," Aceso smiled at them.

" I had to ask you guys to teach at the Academy because we're a bit short-staffed at the moment," Shikamaru said with a smile. " I'm sure you would have rather gone sightseeing, or--"

" No problem," Temari interrupted him. " As I told little sister, I helped out 'cause I enjoy it."

" Same here," Kankuro agreed. " Besides, these kids were are future of the Leaf's military power. This was a good opportunity for us to evaluate them."

" Yeah," Shikamaru smiled.

" Well, careful getting home," Aceso wished them.

" We expect to hear from you once a week," Gaara informed.

" You three do the same," Aceso requested.

" Got it," Kankuro laughed as they turned to leave, Temari stopped walking and looked back at Shikamaru.

" I'll see you next time you need to be rescued," Temari teased. " Just let me know, and I'll come. You big cry baby."

" You girls are all alike," Shikamaru smirked. " You had to get the last word in, huh?" Temari laughed before continuing on with her siblings.