"You have a job? At the hospital?" Naruto gasped. Annie laughed at his jaw-drop reaction to her nurse outfit, which was completely modest, by the way.

"It's not a job. It's volunteer work." She grinned.

"How long have you been volunteering at the hospital?"

"A few months. The missions died down a little. I can't let my talents go to waste while I wait for a good mission, can I?" She winked. Naruto grinned as his arms wrapped around her waist.

"You're really something, Annie."

"I know." She smiled and kissed him for probably the hundredth time that week. Yet, every single kiss was special. She'd missed him so much.

"UGH, guys, please! Get a room!" Kiba rolled his eyes.

"Nah. A ramen shop does just fine." Annie joked. Kiba elbowed her. She elbowed him back.

"Well, I should get going. Want to come with, Naruto-Kun?"

"Definitely. See you later, Kiba!" Kiba muttered 'bye' to them both.

"She better not give him a 'check-up', too." He chuckled darkly.


"Marufuji! It's about time you got here!" A nurse grabbed Annie's hand and frantically pulled her towards the emergency room.

"We've got a team of ninjas that just abandoned a mission for their lives! One has a heart condition and several fractures in his ribs, another has several knife wounds that will prove fatal if they aren't healed soon, and another has three-degree burns all over his body, a broken arm, and a fractured skull! Sakura is having issues with another team in room 232B, she can't help us!"

"That's okay, I got this." Annie's mouth set at a firm line, and Naruto recognized her determined look. Her hair, dress, and job may have changed, but really, Annie was the same sassy, determined, quirky, clever girl he knew her as.

Annie stepped into the Emergency Room, completely unfazed by the grisly condition of the three ninjas. She summoned water from a sink, which the nurse had rushed over to turn on just for Annie's use. Annie raised her hands over her head, and twenty gallons of water swirled and glowed over the three ninjas. The water separated into three shifting, blue bodies, then wrapped themselves around the ninjas, leaving only their mouths and noses uncovered. Annie's fists clenched, and blue light burst from the water. The wounds from each man began to heal almost instantly. Annie held the shifting water under her control for about ten minutes, not even breaking a sweat.

Her eyes, whites and all, glowed bright blue for a second. "They're fine, now." She swept all of the water back into the air with one sweep of her arms, then drained it back into the sink. The nurse checked each ninja.

"Perfect. Not a burn, or a scratch..."

Naruto and the nurse stared at Annie incredulously.

"I've seen you do that a dozen times, and yet..." She shook her head.

"Wow." Was all Naruto could say, "Somebody's been practicing."

"Oh, yeah. The hospital is a perfect place to practice my healing." Annie grinned.

"Yeah, so get practicing!" Said the nurse as she ran out of the room in a flurry, "There are tons of other leaf ninjas that are injured! Move your tiny behind!"

"My behind is so not tiny!" Annie retorted as she ran after the nurse. Naruto kept his mouth shut for the sake of his health.

Annie and Naruto spent the next several hours chasing the nurse, healing patients, then picking up their dropped jaws and running after the nurse again. Finally, when the rush was over, the nurse took her lunch break and collapsed on a couch. Annie and Naruto took a drink of water and explored the hospital, taking their time as they went from room to room.

Somehow, they ended up on the roof.

The roof of the hospital.

Where Sasuke and Naruto had nearly killed each other and Sakura.

Where Team 7 had all nearly died, except for one.

Where Sasuke had first started to go rogue.

Annie and Naruto's faces fell as they both realized this at the exact same time. Annie squeezed Naruto's hand.

"It's time to ask the question we've both been avoiding for the last week, Naru-Kun."

"Yes, it is."

"And that question is, how are we going to get Sasuke-Kun back?"

Naruto looked at her. She blinked a lot, like tears were threatening to come. He turned to her and lifted her chin.

"We will find that answer. I pro—"

"No, don't promise me, Naruto."

He blinked. "Why?"

"Because I want to promise you that we will." She rolled back her shoulders and straightened. "And that way I will take some responsibility."

Naruto smiled a tiny bit. "Whatever you say, Annie-Chan."

Annie sighed. The last thing Naruto needed was more on his shoulders. He hadn't even realized yet that all of the ninjas their age except for him and Annie were Chuunin and even Juunin. Being Genin didn't bother Annie, as she wasn't even really a part of this world, but Naruto needed to advance in order to become Hokage some day.

"Well,"Naruto sighed. "I suppose we should begin by starting on missions. Big or small, stinking of Orochimaru or not. A B-rank would be a nice start after such a long break, don't you think, Annie-Chan?"

Annie grinned. "Go big or go home. I want an A-rank."

53 DAYS UNTIL ANNIE'S FIFTEENTH BIRTHDAY.