Shades of Cool

"Morgue"

Sakura put her hands down onto the table; her gloves stuck to the cold surface as she tapped her fingers to the beat of the song playing from an office across the hall. The morgue was an uncommonly quiet place and so the usually annoying shoujo anime openings were rather pleasant from the unseen radio as she looked down into the chest cavity of the woman from room 103; an oddity to see and feels something so cold while her own was functioning.

Sakura rolled her eyes at herself as her thumb pinched a small hole in the woman's lung, "shit."

The part she disliked the most about working in the morgue was the moment before deciding if she needed to open the person up- if their death was suspicious, or straight forward. Then of course if she did, she'd have to put them all back- the organs. Honestly Sakura didn't know why people didn't sign themselves up for being a donor, or why families even wanted to bury their loved one with everything intact. Sakura knew what happened to bodies that were buried: nothing. They bodies took up space in the earth that people didn't even have the decency to think about, purely because they wanted to stand above something, not just see a grave.

The music suddenly stopped; Sakura's hands froze as she placed the last organ into the body, enclosed in a bag to prevent leakage. She then removed her hands and gazed down, like an artist looking curiously at their canvas: would she find herself on a table like this? No, of course not- she wouldn't be there, but would she die of mysterious causes?

The doors behind her swung open as a doctor rushed in with three interns behind him, "This is Dr. Haruno."

She nodded at them.

"It smells in here," one of the interns muttered.

"I stopped noticing," Sakura remarked, rolling her gloves into themselves as she peeled them off her hands. "It's not a bad smell, you know?"

She found herself wondering into the hallway swinging her hands around in the pockets of her lab coat. She felt at loss to be free of something she didn't particularly like or hate; she hadn't thought about what she would rather be doing, or what she would do when she left.

Behind her, a gust of air came as the door opened once again by one of the interns. After breathing in the normal air, what escaped to her from the morgue came as a shock, I suppose it does smell.

"Dr. Haruno, Lady Tsunade would like to see you."

Sakura looked discontentedly at the intern for a moment, "Take a a look at the lining of her stomach."

Like all interns that were brought to the morgue, making them vomit wasn't a difficult task. Was the lining of the womans stomach nearly nonexistent? Yes. However, it was not the cause of her death and therefore only an irrelevant detail that could be taken advantage of. Doing so, Sakura felt like a bully, but it was to the best of her knowledge that everyone got sick in the morgue one way or the other- for her it was draining the body of its blood. if she coul get them to throw up today, they wouldn't do it again-unless something worse rolled in.

Sakura began towards the east stairway, hoping Tsunade hadn't given herself anther heart attack or something. She probably would have received the message sooner if she hadn't left so suddenly, but of course that would have been too convenient for everyone. She didn't like being around the interns half as much as she liked to cut open bodies- and that wasn't saying a lot. They were so young, perhaps fourteen or fifteen, and she felt like they were watching her with their beady little eyes constantly when they were around. She could appreciate that they wanted to learn, and she definitely knew that she was like them at some time, but they always stood too close, or spoke too often, or said things like, "it smells in here."

"Of course it smells," She said beneath her breath, trotting up the stairs under the florescent lighting. "It's a damn hospital."

When she escaped from the stairs and arrived at the correct floor, it was almost as shocking as the difference between smells; the same florescent lighting from the lower floors looked less blue. However something odd occurred to her: there were interns everywhere-like an infestation of rodents or insects. She stuck to the wall and made a straight path to where he knew Tsunade would be, what's happening.

"Oi!"

"Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura!"

She lifted her head and looked behind her, "What's happening, Ino?"

Ino smiled and danced across the hallway, "it was Tsunades idea!"

"I don't understand."

"Are you on your way to see her?" Ino asked.

"I was but I don't-"

"You've got a spot of fluid on your collar," Ino said suddenly.

Sakura irritably tried to fold the fabric back, "I-I don't have to train anyone, right?"

Ino laughed, "No! Tsunade is making that optional."

Sakura raised ehr eyebrows, "I guess I was worried for nothing, but I still need to talk to her."

Ino shrugged, "I'll see you around."

Sakura nodded at her plucky friend and continued down the wall, almost certain that Tsunade would throw ten interns at her face as soon as she arrived, however, she had details about her mission-

"Tsunade-sama," She hummed, pushing open the almost-closed door with her foot. "I need to look at the details of my mission-"

"About that," Tsunade said, ceasing whatever she was writing and slapping her pen against the table.

Sakura closed the door and took a seat in the chair opposite the intimidating blonde.

"New assignment."

Sakura took a breath, "How so?"

"You're awfully enthusiastic," Tsunade remarked.

"N-No it;s just that I just gt back from the morgue and-"

"Forget that, the mission I have for you is nothing like you original," Tsunade said, smiling at the corner of her mouth. "After your shift here ends, I want you to come by my office at the main building so we can discuss it."

Sakura was skeptical about why her superior was smiling at her the way she was.

"This office is beginning to look ragged again," Sakura noted.

"I'll just tell one of the interns to tidy up," Tsunade scoffed.

"Sounds like they're here for free labor," Sakura chuckled. "I shouldn't be hypocritical though because I made fun of a few interns after I gave an autopsy on that woman."

"Which woman?" Tsunade asked.

Sakura crossed her leg over the other, "room 103."

Tsunade looked upset but it was the same upset face all the nurses or medical ninja had when someone died at the hospital; it was a look that said, I assumed they'd live longer. The employees at the hospital, Sakura and Tsunade included, were not shy or curious about death- it happened everyday.

"Sad to see a girl die like that," Tsunade said lightly.

Sakura agreed silently.

"You're off right about now, aren't you?" Tsunade asked.

"Half an hour," Sakura corrected. "I have to make sure 103 wasn't left out on the table, anyway."

"That's the last thing we need to get out to the parents."

"Hmm?"

Tsunade began to write again, "Oh, just that we leave bodies out in the morgue for anyone to see."

Sakura tried not to laugh, not completely sure why she found humour.

"I'll let you get ging then," Tsunade said, not looking up.

Sakura scooted from the chair, which screeched across the floor, "I'll see you later."

Sakura departed from the room and like exiting the morgue, she now stood in the hallway with no direction. She felt herself being pulled towards the stairs; back to the morgue to check what she needed to check-but she also had a sensation of being rooted where she was standing. her mind was winding itself up, morgue, morgue, morgue-stay!

She let out an exasperated breath and look up; the grey wall of the hospital was looking back at her silently and like a fool she thought it would give her a task.

"Morgue."

Her feet began to walk her across the floor; her knees started her at a trot; her legs pushed her into a run. She leaned into the bar to open the door, and was back inside the atmosphere of blue light; it was like being underwater. The uncertain heaviness of being in an atmosphere so cold and empty as familiar to her senses ad perhaps even calming. She wasn't sure why, but lately she hadn't enjoyed being above floors with the patients and their adoring families.

"Dr. Haruno!"

She stopped mid step and found herself face to face with an intern.

"We-we don't know what to do with the body."

Sakura blinked, "You were down here with a doctor, weren't you?"

He nodded.

"Well, where is he?" she asked, making short work of the space between her and the morgue entrance. "He can't just leave you people alone with patients."

The other intern was standing at the other side of the woman on the table, looking thoroughly disgusted with the sight. Sakura wondered what circumstances would have ended up leaving two kids with a dead body, they're probably mortified.

"H-He got a sudden call and said he'd be back, but he..."

"I've had it with this shit," She muttered, rolling the woman across the floor, causing the interns to rush out-of-the-way. She opened the hatch and gently pushed the tray, and the woman on it, into into the cooler.

She turned to look at them, "do you remember how to get back up?"

As soon as they left she felt the weight of herself sink into her shoes. The consistent aching in her heels by the end of her shift-the pain in her shoulders, it was all becoming daily. Since when?

You shouldn't be thinking about this.

I drew my eyebrows together and bit my lower lip, You-You know, you're right. No one should have to think about what happened to these people to get them where they are now, but it's my job to.

Sakura, it's not normal to be so wrapped up in this, Naruto murmured. His hand tried to hold mine from across the table but I quickly withdrew; the sky behind him was filled with smoke-ash fell around us like snow.

You want me to let that woman be buried without knowing her story? I hissed. For the sake of my mind, you think I should take a break?

Naruto leaned back in his chair, isn't that what everyone else does?

You have no idea what you;re talking about, I said, violently pushing my chair back and standing. You have never needed to do what we do at the hospital, and now you look at me from the outside and try to tell me what is best for myself and for these people?

Calm down Sakur-

"Are you done in here?"

The lingering male voice moved through her conscience until she pieced the words together; she was leaning against a wall and her face was resting against her knees.

"Dr. Haruno?"

"D-Down here," she said said, catching her breath. She took hold of the counter top behind her and pulled herself to her feet.

"I didn't know it was possible for anyone to fall asleep in here," the male nurse said, surprised.

Sakura blinked and adjusted her eyes to the lighting, "What time is it?"

"Well, my shift ends at 1 and I'm doing my last rounds-"

"Could you get someone to clean up down here?" She asked. "I-I think I have everything put away but if because-I've got to be somewhere and I'm not there."

"No problem," the nurse chimed. "It's my job, right?"

Sakura smiled weakly, "Thank you."

She had been asleep for a few hours; a few hours ago Tsunade and been expecting her for a meeting. Sakura was almost disappointed that the nurse had found her during his shift, because now she had to walk to the center of town, regardless if Tsunade was still there or not-if she had slept until morning, she could have apologized and yet not put herself through the task of early morning exercise in cold winter air.

This tiresome day.

After successfully clocking out and pulling on her coat, insulated with fur (fake, mind you), she was at the top of the outdoor staircase. It was colder than before and to her dismay she found herself nearly crawling down the steps leading down to the street due to black ice that had somehow settled-how embarrassing would it be to slip and harm herself, as a doctor, right outside of a hospital? Well, perhaps not so much, but she had long since concluded that every human being had a fear of slippery steps.

"Three, two," she counted the very last step, "one."

She let out a breath.

Mission accomplished. Can I go home now?

She continued down the street with her hands sitting comfortably in the dark burgundy pockets of her coat, wishing her feet felt the same in her open toe sandals-what a joke to wear those shoes in the current weather. In her defense, it had been considerably warmer when she had arrived at work that afternoon versus the current 2 AM conditions.

There were so few voices that the ones that were there, seemed almost on a loud-speaker: a man speaking about business in an entertainment house with four or five other men-and then a woman, not but a few houses down the street, telling her boyfriend about her pregnancy. Sakura wasn't sure if she wanted to hear more, but it was nearly impossible. These people who talk so early in the morning, I wonder how much their neighbors have heard.

Sakura found herself in a familiar part of town as the voices died off; the main street that extended from the Hokage's main office, all the way to the other side of town. She walked down this road every day and it wasn't long until she had a clear view of the top windows of Tsunade's office: nothing. She stared for a moment, then turned on her heel. As she walked back she glanced to a dark window and was surprised to see in the reflexion that the lights in the office had suddenly flashed on. She faced the office once more and saw a silhouette behind the thin curtain that covered the window. She was motionless. Am I hallucinating.

Her feet dragged her on down the street until she was grasping the handle of the door and pushing it open, awaiting a gust of warm hair to welcome her-it did. The halls of the building were nearly pitch black besides one ceiling light that was left on a few feet from the elevator. It shook her up a bit walking through the dark portions of the hallway, and gave her a fight-or-flight feelings as she waited for the elevator doors t let her in once she had pressed the button. The doors opened; she rushed in then pressed the correct floor. It always felt s different being in places after hours, or in general when no one else was there. Tsunade was, of course, but it wasn't as if it was a normal occurence.

"I'll go home after this and sleep," She murmured, relinquishing the coat from herself. She came to the office door and peered a the handle, grasping it, twisting it. "Tsunade-sama~"

As she entered the room she was taken back to find no one occupying the space besides herself.

"Shizune?"

"Ponpon?"

The office was empty and more so, the lights were off.

Sakura listened as her tea pot screamed, dashing mascara across her eyelashes as she stared at herself in her bathroom mirror. She noticed a dry spot on her nose; a sign of winter. She uneasily tried to peel the random flake of skin, the one that looked like it was half-off anyway. The pot from down the hall was still screaming.

4 am.

She could have fooled herself into thinking that, as a medical professional, she would be attending major surgery on a patient who, of course, was a hero-but such a tale, no-such a false believe did not happen in a life like hers. She knew for a fact that she would be in the morgue working with patients who had either lost a battle or were attacked by it; whether they had the wish to live was irrelevant. This was the life of working days on end in room of dead bodies.

Needless to say, not very much conversation to be had.

She flicked the light off and adjusted her skirt as she walked down the short hallway to her kitchen, wearing one stocking, the other rolled up in her hand; dark grey stockings that somehow looked nice with the shade of pink she wore, and an unforgettably a gift from Ino; she has good sense of fashion. Perhaps that was one thing Sakura could extract enjoyment from with winter weather and the days in the chilling morgue: wearing tall socks. They were all the rage, not as if her skirts were short enough to really show them off-

"I've got nice legs. I work out."

She would need to be back at the hospital by 4:30, half an hour, and so she knew that sleeping would be a wasted effort. Thought, she made the correct choice to put a fresh pair of clothes on as she waited for her alarm to go off only of course she would be awake for it.

Sakura poured the liquid into her cup and set the kettle back onto the stove, turning the burner off. From a tin sitting close to the wall on her counter, she removed the rectangular lid and took out two small cookies-shaped like lions, I think. After doing enough missions in different places she found herself drinking many kinds of tea and now eating cookies or crackers with it; her mother told her that it was unhealthy to eat so many cookies but Sakura was at the age of a fast metabolism, and she was going to take advantage of it while she still could.

She collapsed into her only sitting chair, damn this tiny apartment, and crunched the second cookie while washing it down with a gulp of tea; she had a thing for vanilla cookies. She looked aimlessly around, not sure what to do now that she was fully awake- she couldn't watch television at this hour because her neighbors would kick her door down in fury due to the thin walls. Her tea had diminished while she felt her mind circling the drain in search of an activity that would take about thirty minutes to complete.

I could...She snorted, oh wait, thin walls.


Hello! I tried my best to clean everything up but I apologize for any misspellings or grammatical errors that were missed. I'm a slow writer so I'm not sure when this will be updated, but if you like the story, keep an eye out for it!

9/5/14