The clinic was nice, I supposed, in a bland kind of way. It was like the rest of the hospital; everything was white, white, white and white. But the lady at reception seemed nice when she'd smiled at me and told me to take a seat and wait for the doctor to call me in.

"Ayako-chan?" A voice drawled out from the hallway, and I looked up from where I'd been examining the hem of my old, second-hand shirt. Or probably third-hand, maybe even fourth-hand. Who knew how long the orphanage had been recycling this shirt?

My head jerked up at the sound of my name, and I was greeted with the sight of a man with the strangest golden, slitted eyes I'd ever seen. And his skin was really pale, like a ghost or something! It probably looked worse because his hair was as black as midnight. His white lab coat didn't help his ghostly impression, either. His hair was currently tied up in a ponytail, bangs framing his face.

His yellow eyes had some sort of purple eyeliner or something.

I quickly jumped to my feet. This guy looked kind of scary. I hurried over to him, and it didn't help that he towered over my tiny, four-year old body. I smiled hesitantly up at him. I noticed silver earrings behind his ears, and admired the way they glimmered in the artificial lighting.

"H-hello!" I chirped, flushing when he set those eyes on my face, and they looked cold and unfeeling. My smile faltered a bit, intimidated, but quickly gathered myself and returned my smile to its former glory.

He raised a brow and glanced around as of expecting me to be accompanied by someone, before simply shrugging without a word of acknowledgement and walking down the corridor. I had to run a bit to keep up with his long strides.

He opened a door along the hallway, no more or less distinguishable than any other, and gestured for me to enter. I wriggled excitedly and bounced into the room.

I glanced about the small room, that was as lifeless as any other in this place. There was a sheet-less hospital bed on one side, a desk with a roller chair covered in papers on the other, and two chairs presumably for patients facing the desk and roller chair.

The only spice of colour was a deep red vase, sitting on a shelf beside the bed.

I hesitated, unsure whether I should go to the bed instantly or sit on one of the seats. And if so, which seat? The one on the left or the right?

A hand gently pressed into my back, nudging me towards the chairs, so I made a quick decision and chose the one on the left which looked slightly closer to where the doctor would sit.

Then, the doctor silently sat down on the roller chair and picked up a clipboard from the desk. I fidgeted as he examined it, jiggling excitedly in my seat. I was curious about something that was floating in a jar of yellowish, viscous liquid. It looked like some kind of hybrid mouse/lizard, and before I could stop myself, I reached out and poked the jar, causing the thing to swish inside its container.

"Ayako-chan," the doctor finally spoke, placing down the clipboard and setting his full attention on me. I guiltily withdrew my hand, shifting under his intense gaze.

"My name is Orochimaru. I am going to be looking into your condition."

I beamed at him and nodded vigorously. "Kay, Orochimaru-sensei!"

He tilted his head at me and an odd smile graced his lips. He stood up and gestured me to follow him towards the bed.

Even with the help of the step, the bed was too tall for me to get onto. Nonetheless, I attempted to pull myself up, jumping up so my upper body landed on it. I strained to pull my body the rest of the way up, kicking my legs agitatedly.

The doctor, after watching me struggle for a moment with that strange smile still on his face, stepped in to help. He lifted me up just enough so I could clamber the rest of the way onto the bed. Then I turned to him and collapsed into a sitting position on the bed, still having to look up to see his face despite the added height of the bed.

"Thank chu," I said seriously, my expression solemn. It was nice that he helped me. He might look a bit scary, but he was nice.

He shook his head with amusement but otherwise didn't acknowledge my heartfelt statement.

"Your file states that you've been diagnosed with a heart condition. Some symptoms you reported to have listed include fatigue, shortness of breath, occasional fainting and chest pain. Did I miss anything so far?"

I blinked, nodding along happily. I liked the sound of his voice. It was nice and soft. Like I imagined a teddy bear would feel like. Tenzo had one of those, but he guarded it jealously and wouldn't let me touch it.

"Ayako-chan, please listen when I talk to you," he said, snapping his fingers in front of my face.

I blinked and refocussed on his face, broken out of my reverie. I felt a rush of guilt, and quickly tried to correct my mistake.

"Sowee! I was listenin'," I said hastily, and threw in a big smile. "Yea, I think dat's all."

He nodded curtly, looking vaguely bored.

"Good. I'm going to examine you now, Ayako-chan," he said as he pulled out a stethoscope from a drawer. "Take your shirt off."

I nodded quickly and fumbled to pull my shirt off, not wanting to displease him.

He pressed the stethoscope to my chest and listened, telling me when to inhale and exhale. I couldn't reign in my childish giggle at the feel of the cool metal he pressed to my chest.

And when he was finished, he smiled, and his hand reached out. I almost jerked away but managed to reign it into a small flinch when I realised he wasn't planning to hurt me. I looked at him with wide eyes, shining with awe, as he patted my head.

"Good girl. Now, Ayako-chan, I think I might have an idea of how I can help you, but you'll need to come in every week for treatment."

I liked hearing him say my name. The matron at the orphanage never calls me by my name; I think she forgets it. And if I get to see him every week, I'll get to hear him listen to him talk to me like I exist!

I nodded and beamed so much that my eyes squinted shut from the force of it. I heard the doctor chuckle lowly, before he gently pressed on my chest, forcing me to lie back on the bed.

"I am going to stabilise the chakra coils around your heart. They aren't functioning correctly, which is why you keep having problems, and if they are left they will continue to erode until your heart stops completely. The chakra I will use to substitute for these problems will degrade over the week, which is why you'll need to come back. I will be able to start repairing the damage that has already been done, but it will be a slow process to get your coils back to proper functioning. A year, at the least."

I didn't really understand what he'd said, but I didn't dare ask him to repeat himself. Instead, I lifted my head up to watch as his hand rested across my chest, and I blinked in awe as it glowed green.

"Wooooooow!" I exclaimed, and I got slightly too enthusiastic and my body wriggled happily. The doctor's other hand came up and pushed my head back down onto the pillow.

"Stay still, Ayako-chan," he ordered, though he sounded amused.

I smiled at the ceiling and forced myself to stay still, even though it was really hard. I settled for fidgeting with the mattress.

It lasted about ten minutes, but I felt a surge of disappointment when the warmth of his hand disappeared from my chest. I clutched at my heart where the last of it was fading away. The doctor sat down in his roller chair and in one swift movement, pushed off and rolled over to the desk. He picked up the clipboard again and penned something down before turning back to me.

"That's all for today," he stated. I nodded vigorously and rolled over so I could lower myself over the side of the bed. My legs flailed for a moment, trying to find purchase. I found the step and pushed off so I would drop onto it.

Unfortunately, I put slightly too much force into it, and I yelped as I tumbled off the step, and I felt my stomach become weightless as I fell backwards.

My eyes clamped shut reflexively, but before I could split my head open on the floor, there were arms wrapped around me, catching me mid-descent.

I flushed happily, because he had cared enough to catch me, but giggled nervously as I found myself looking into the doctor's scary eyes. He smiled as he set me back on my feet, and for a moment I wished I could stay in his arms for a few seconds longer.

I wiggled with nervous excitement as I found myself back on solid ground, and I beamed up at the- no, my doctor. The thought made me giddy. I had a doctor now!

Suddenly I rushed forward with the strange urge to hug him, but then I remembered myself and quickly stopped a few inches away.

Oops. I hoped he hadn't noticed.

Thankfully, he didn't mention it, instead he said;

"Perhaps next time you will wait for me to help you down, hm?"

"Kay! Thank chu, sensei!"

And suddenly I realised something as I pulled my shirt back on. How had he moved fast enough to catch me? My jaw dropped open as I gazed up at him in amazement.

"Are chu a ninja, too?" I asked with profound awe, radiating excited energy.

He tilted his head and seemed to assess me for a moment, but his eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Why yes. That's a good observation you made, Ayako-chan."

I blinked and felt a wave of shock pass through me. I had never been praised before. I stilled; my brow furrowed as I considered his words.

Yep, there was no doubt about it.

My face lit up and I smiled so hard it hurt my cheeks a bit.

And sensei was not only a doctor, but a ninja, too! That was awesome! A super special, awesome ninja doctor had praised me!

I giggled and my body vibrated joyfully.

"It's time to go, Ayako-chan. I will escort you out."

"Kay!" I bounded to the exit, my brain clouded with happiness, before remembering myself and dutifully stopping so that sensei could take the lead. I had to temper myself as he walked at a sedate pace, when all I wanted to do was leap around.

We took a few turns, heading back towards reception. I watched sensei's hand sway innocently as he walked and had the strangest longing to hold it.

One of his fingers twitched, as if beckoning me to take it, so I quickly tore my gaze away before I did something stupid.

And then we arrived at reception, and I noticed one of the caretakers waiting for me. Aiko, her name was. She was quite pretty, with long black hair and stunning green eyes.

I checked myself and approached her. But I couldn't keep the big smile from my face.

Aiko looked quite harried, no surprise. All caretakers at the orphanage always seem to look frazzled. She noticed me approaching and gave a small, tight smile. But then her eyes drifted to someone behind me, and I started when I realised that sensei had followed us.

Oops. I had almost left and forgotten to acknowledge him. I wouldn't do that again!

"Hello, you must be Ayako-chan's guardian," Orochimaru said politely, inclining his head.

Aiko flushed a deep red and suddenly looked like she was having difficulty breathing. She quickly bowed, as if to hide it, bowing slightly deeper than was necessary.

"J-just a caretaker at the orphanage, sir- uh, Orochimaru-sama, sir!"

I giggled at her profuse stuttering, and she shot me a glare. I wondered how she knew my doctor's name, he wasn't wearing a nametag after all.

"Her name's Aiko! She likes her makeup a lot, and sometimes she misses our bowls when she serves miso soup!" I pitched in happily.

For some reason, this made her glare and her blush deepen. I gulped at the look she was giving me and inched away, my smile faltering slightly.

"Thank you, Ayako-chan. Well Aiko-san, I would like to have some information relayed to the orphanage so that Ayako-chan is properly cared for."

Orochimaru's amusement was evident as he spoke, but it seemed that a lot of things made him amused. Aiko managed to collect herself enough that she no longer stuttered, but her blush remained.

I gravitated towards a magazine that sat on the table in the reception area as the two began talking, and began flipping through it absently, gazing at the pictures, mostly of famous ninja. I traced some of the faces, coming across a man with a mane of white hair and a big grin on his face. He had two red pointed streaks that ran a few centimetres down from the edge of each eye, and he had a wart on his nose.

I giggled at his expression; it was much more interesting than the usual stoic faces of the other ninja.

"Ayako, let's go," Aiko ordered, gesturing for me to follow. I glanced about and realised that Orochimaru-sensei had gone already.

I jumped to my feet and obediently followed as we left for the orphanage.

We walked through the streets of Konoha in silence for a while, until;

"I can't believe you're getting treated by him. Lucky brat," she said with a pensive sigh.

I blinked up at her.

"Why? Do you like him?" I giggled at the thought.

Her face went red again, and she looked like she wanted to slap me.

"Guh- you- just, don't you recognise him?"

I stared at her. Recognise him? Why would I recognise him? Had I met him before?

She noticed my blank look and shook her head, grumbling something under her breath.

But my thoughts quickly drifted with the realisation that she liked him. If Aiko liked sensei like that, maybe… if they got together, then sensei would visit the orphanage! I could set the two up, and they would marry, and sensei would see me more often!

I lit up at the thought and giggled the rest of the way back to the orphanage as I plotted. Aiko tried to create a distance between us as we walked so it didn't look like I had anything to do with her, but I didn't mind at all, really!

If you squint enough this story could technically be canon.