Child of the Moon

A Healer's Perspective

A/N: AT LAST! So, this took soooo long to get done because SleepNecessary decided that he was gonna take half a year to write his chapter - hopefully, this won't be repeated and we can get through the Chunin Exams before Christmas xD
Otherwise, thanks for sticking around, and enjoy the coming chapters!

A small break was called for, as there had been a lot of matches so far, and there were still six contestants waiting for their turn to fight. Aiyanna had been distracted since the conclusion of Neji and Hinata's fight, and Aki had been determined to annoy her out of her head.

Tsukiko took the break as an opportunity to check in on those who had been taken for medical attention, running into Ayame as she went.

"How is Hinata?" she asked.

"She was going into cardiac arrest as we were rushing her out, but I believe they were able to stabilize her," Ayame said. "Nanami hasn't woken up yet but has also been stabilized. I don't think she'll be waking up for a few days at least."

"It did seem pretty bad," Tsukiko sighed.

"Don't worry, Sensei," Ayame said gently. "The medical staff are the best in the ninja world. They'll make sure everyone pulls through."

"Well, Kurai survived his injuries, so you're right, they'll be fine..."

"It's more surprising he survived as long as he did," Ayame said. "Aiyanna's assistance definitely helped, but it was still long enough after the injury that I'm surprised he didn't go into shock or bleed out."

"Yikes, that sounds like it was a lot worse than I heard," Tsukiko shook her head. "His attacker is still on the loose, isn't he?"

"That's what I've heard," Ayame said. "I also know that you should make sure to keep an eye on your squad and not worry about him, because the Hokage already has people looking for him."

Tsukiko chuckled. "Right again, Ayame. Alright, has Sasuke woken up yet?"

"Not yet, but he's mostly just exhausted and resting," Ayame said. "So he'll wake up tomorrow at the latest."

"Good to know," Tsukiko smiled. "Alright, I'm heading back. Are you coming along?"

"Yeah, sure," Ayame smiled and fell into step beside her former sensei.

They came back, just as the next match was being announced.

"Gaara vs Rock Lee!"

Gaara was in the ring, effortlessly appearing there in seconds. Ayame felt slightly ill at ease as she looked at him. Something about him sent a shiver down her spine.

She saw Tsukiko go stand with Aki and Aiyanna and planned to join them when she saw Naruto talking to the Sand ninja from before. She recalled him being rude when she asked if he had any injuries that needed healing.

She also remembered that Naruto hadn't actually been checked by anyone yet.

"Naruto, are you alright?" she asked - there was some kind of commotion happening over with Lee and his sensei, but then that was normal.

"Huh?"

"Your injuries from your fight," she said, stopping near him. "I don't remember you talking to any of the medical ninja."

"Oh, Hinata gave me this stuff that healed my wounds super fast!" he said enthusiastically, showing Ayame smooth skin.