The Great Medic

1: The Push Into Healing

Naruto fanned himself dramatically as he walked through the academy gates with a bored expression. He paused, glancing amongst his peers, watching them hang around outside. Class hadn't started yet so there was no reason to bother yourself with sitting at a desk with nothing to do. The eight-year-old stared with contempt on his face, walking away before any of the ill-fitted feelings started to invade his psyche once more.

There was no reason for him to stand around in the heat when he didn't have anyone to talk to.

His classroom was one of the first few you'd see upon walking into the academy - third room on the left. The blond-haired boy opened the door, peering in and seeing only two other people sitting in the chilled room - his teacher, Iruka, and his fellow classmate, Shikamaru. Iruka stared at him oddly, a surprised look on his face. "You know," The man started, a chuckle escaping him, "I don't think I've ever seen you be early to class before, Naruto."

He grinned, giving his teacher a thumbs-up, "It was hot outside."

Iruka shook his head, smiling to himself, "Well, you can do what you want, but I expect you to be in your seat once the bell rings."

"Yes, sir!" Naruto nodded, more to himself than the other man, before going to the back of the classroom. He was about to pass Shikamaru and go sit in his own seat but paused for a second. Deciding to be a pest, the boy slid in beside his sleeping classmate. "Hey," He started, poking the boy's cheek, "Hey, Shikamaru, wake up."

The Nara heir groaned lowly, eyes peeling open and staring at the blond. Shock coursed through him as he continued to look, "Have I really been sleeping for most of the class?!"

"No!" Naruto laughed heartily, "Usually, I would be late to school but today I've decided to come early."

Shikamaru scoffed, tucking his head back into his arms, "Well, that's certainly a change of heart."

Naruto stared at the other boy, watching him doze for a second before speaking up once more. "So... want to do anything before class starts?" He asked, poking the Nara heir again.

Shikamaru lifted his head, exasperated. He sighed, sitting up in his seat. "Well, if you want, I just recently got into a card game." The black-haired boy waved a hand, "I could teach it to you."

"Yeah!" The blond's eyes shone in excitement.

"Okay," He began, pulling out a deck of cards, "We're both given five cards that we're allowed to look at and have on hand." The boy passed out the cards quickly. "Each player is dealt 15 cards face down to form a draw pile. Next, two separate cards are placed between us face-down and then two piles of five cards are set beside them and are also face-down." Shikamaru glanced up to see if the Uzumaki was paying attention, "You understand so far?"

Naruto nodded intently, "Yep. How do you play though?"

He stared curiously before continuing, "So, the round begins when each of us flips one of the face-down cards in the center here at the same time. Choji and I usually do it on the count of three, but it doesn't really matter." He demonstrated with both of his hands, showing how the game will start. "Then, using the cards from our hands, we'll discard cards one-by-one so that each card played is either one number above, one number below, or the same number as the two cards on the top of the center stacks."

"Oh!" He brightened in understanding, "It's like a counting game!"

"Um... I guess?" Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed together but waved it off. "Okay, look here." He managed to gather the hyper-active blond's attention, "The top two cards here is the Ace of Spades and a Four of Hearts meaning that the only cards I can lay down are a Two or King of Spades on top of the Ace and a Three or a Five of Hearts on top of the Four."