Doctor's Orders
Tsunade bellowed to the chaotic assembly as her little patience expired,
"EVERYONE, GET IN A LINE, I DON'T CARE WHICH ONE, JUST GET IN A LINE AND SHUT UP!" She seethed and stormed out of the waiting room muttering to a quaking medic-nin, "They're all yours." It was annual check-up time in Konoha and every genin, jonin, chunnin, and summon was there to make her day miserable. "Oh yeah,' she turned, "one more thing: IF YOU DON'T HAVE YOUR PAPERWORK GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE I MAKE YOU!" Naruto squirmed under her amber gaze,
"Why me!? I've got my paperwork, I promise!" Tsunade was gone before she could her his complaints at being singled out. Sasuke gave him a look of bored annoyance and Sakura told him to chill out before she threw him out. A brave medic-nin took the role of M.C. and directed,
"Alright everyone! I'd like all the genin over here, please!"
"COME ON, NEJI! WE MUST BE FIRST IN LINE!" Lee exuberantly dragged an irate Neji and disgruntled Tenten though the crowd at a dangerous pace.
"GOOD JOB, LEE! WAY TO HAVE A POSITIVE OUTLOOK!" Gai shouted, causing Kakashi to cringe. Rubbing his ears, he asked,
"Aren't you going to knock us all down to be first too, Gai?" Gai froze, pupils shrinking.
How did he know? "Ah, well, I, um, aren't I getting a little old for that kind of thing?"
"What?" Kakashi raised his eyebrow. The man wears spandex for the Fourth's sake… "Since when have you ever been too old for anything, Gai?"
"I…well, I…" he clenched his fists in a moments indecision then leaned in to whisper, "I'm afraid of the doctor."
"Gai, that's ridiculous!" Gai squinted at the merrily crinkled eye and then flailed about madly as his rival shoved him towards the front of the line. "I'll show you: there's nothing to worry about." A moment's struggle got Gai to the front just as the curtain fluttered open and Shizune stepped out with a clipboard, accompanied by Tonton.
"If the first two jonin would come with me please!" she commanded cheerfully. Kakashi shoved Gai after her,
"After you!"
Gai squirmed on the end of the bed. The waiting was unbearable. He wished that he didn't have to be alone in the miserable, tiny, white prison, but Kakashi had been sent to a whole other section of the hospital for eye inspection and he had no idea where any of his students were. The door opened suddenly and Shizune walked in,
"Maito Gai, right?"
It's her… "Um, right…" He concentrated on his feet fiercely. Something about her made him nervous, a feeling he wasn't used to coping with.
"Feel free to take your sandals off and get comfortable! I'm going to ask you a few questions…" The next few minutes seemed like centuries of relentless interrogation. The nervous feeling was driving him to the point of desperate action when she clicked her pen and beamed. "Great! Now I'm just going to check a few things after I get back and then you'll be all done!" Gai fell back on the hard cot the instant the door closed.
"Whew…" Gai was utterly confused. Something about her made him disoriented. She had an aura of goodness about her he found very… "Attractive?" He glanced at the door in fear. "Where's Lee when I need him for moral support?!!?" The door swung open,
"Is everything okay?" Gai sat up immediately as Shizune blinked in concern.
"Um, yes, yes I'm fine. How are you?" The question startled her, but she recovered gracefully,
"I'm fine, thank you for asking!" Gai swung his feet.
"Good…" What a fair and gentle creature. What a beautiful creature. "Shizune, I-"
"Hmm?" She was a bit taken aback that he knew her name.
She probably doesn't even remember mine… I'm just another patient to her. He drooped his head.
"Did you say something?"
"No…" he murmured.
"Hahaha! I'm hearing things! Maybe I need a check-up!" she turned from the small counter. "Alright, let's start with the heart beat! If you could remove your shirt."
"WHAT!"
"Just take your shirt off so I can-"
"NO!"
"What's wrong?" Genuinely alarmed, she went to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Just take you jacket off and slip out of the top of your…spandex." She assisted him in the removal of the jacket. "There's nothing to worry about! I'm qualified to do this." She smiled, causing him to almost fall off the cot. "Let's see about that heart beat now." She leaned over and pressed her ear to his chest. He gripped the cot in a wave of fear, glaring. She rose with knitted brows, "Your heart rate is abnormally fast… I'm going to get some assistance and-"
"No!" He stood up, no longer able to hold it in. "Shizune, I know this is sudden, but that's just how I am, and I'm afraid of going to the doctor's for one thing but more importantly, I'm extremely attracted to you and if you touch me again I think I might lose control of my actions!" He took a breath as he glared at the floor. "I apologize for all of this and for offending you. I will now depart and hope you can forgive me."
"Wait! I haven't given you your feedback." She grabbed his wrist as he made for the door. "I prescribe another check-up due to inconclusive results. Another check-up…" her voice softened, "over dinner maybe?" Gai felt a blush rise to his cheeks. He finally managed to choke out a reply.
"If it's doctor's orders…" He regained his usual pomp with a glittering smile, "I guess I have to!"
Tsunade and Shizune shuffled through the piles of results in her office.
"You're calling back Maito Gai? His stats look as good as ever, why'd you do that?" The unusually happy Shizune smiled and tapped her nose.
"Doctor's orders."