The Great Medic (discontinued?)

12: Breakthrough

A/N - This chapter is dedicated to my forty-one lovely discord server members (alphabetical order this time)!

Analu, Beaker, Blazeninja_HD, BobRoss14, BreadTurtle :D, Codex, coffee_dog50, Comblebomble, dahyunsinsomnia, De'Janae, dxbrxa, favour_kat, frozen_cradle, Goblin, grizzlyflwr, HQ, Janae Writes, jura_mirahe0791, Kayla, Lafolia Aledegyr, Lucifer, madahashiizutobi, Marshmallow, mooney, Penguins, roxNsticks170, Sadie101, Sanj, Scorpion, Seishin, Shadows Brightside, Silent gamer, Sticks, whut chu need?, Wildfire_Plume, xsthx_r, Z, Zorania, and Sky

:::^^^^^:::

Naruto walked down the hallways of the hospital, intent on stopping by Kaiya's office and picking up an ICU patient's chart to review their recent treatment plan. He yawned loudly, rubbing his eyes tiredly before taking a large gulp of the coffee he'd gotten from one of the receptionists. It was payment for finishing her end-of-shift paperwork last week so that she could leave work earlier to pick up her son from school as he'd developed a fever and needed to go home. He took a sip of the hot caramel macchiato, his absolute favorite, and appreciated the nice warmth settling in his stomach.

"Uzumaki-ya!" A cheery voice called from down the hallway. The blond-haired teen lifted his head, watching as a doctor started rushing towards home with his hand waving wildly in the air.

He smiled softly, bowing politely before the head medic finally made his way over, "Dr. Hana! It's good to see you this morning."

Yiruma patted the teen's back with a large smile on his face, "Oh, Uzumaki-ya, stop with the pleasantries already - we've known each other for a few years now, you can call me by my given name!"

Naruto chuckled softly, cuddling his hot coffee in his hands, "Apologies, Dr. Hana - Yiruma - it's become a habit. I mean, you are the head medic so I feel that I have to address you politely." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly after finishing.

"It's quite alright, I mean, anyone would be that way with their senpai." The traveling doctor raised an eyebrow with a large grin on his face, "Eh?"

The blond-haired academy student shook his head, snickering a bit, "You are not my senpai, Dr. Hana."

"Oh hush! A man can dream!"

"You're out of your mind." Naruto shook his head, amused.

"Oh, well." Yiruma shrugged before finally noticing the to-go cup in the boy's hands, "Coffee? Not tea?"

"Hm, yeah. I needed a little more caffeine and Ashido upfront - the nice receptionist with the blond highlights - owed me and got me a coffee before work." He stated, taking a sip, "I stayed up too long last night studying for my academy exams and I forgot that it was Friday night, not Saturday night."

"I sometimes forget you don't work Sundays - I mean, I feel like I see you all day, every day." The pale man mumbled, "How'd you forget it was a Friday night, though? You have school Friday mornings."

Naruto shrugged as they continued down the hallway, some of the nurses and physician assistants bowing or waving at Yiruma, "It should've clicked in my head that it was still Friday but, after I left the hospital after school, I went over to Shikamaru's house to practice our taijutsu a bit before I went home. It kind of just felt like my day off."

Yiruma cackled loudly, "I'm surprised you actually got him to practice with you!"

"It took a lot of convincing and a bribe or two." He smiled, dropping off his finished coffee in one of the trash bins along the wall.

"Ah, well, best of luck for the rest of the day. From what I've heard from Rikitake-senpai, you've been working with her in the ICU the past couple of weeks. That's a lot of work, kid." The black-haired doctor shook his head, "Not a lot of patients there right now as this is the off-season but that does mean that the few that are there must be in critical condition. How're you holding up? This is your first year you've been allowed in ICU under pharmaceutical bases."