Cold Reality

___________________________________________

"How can that be?!" Sakura shouted, her heatbeat doubling. She ran upstairs and stared at Hana's cold body. Hana was the first old person she ever helped!

She ignored the bunch of old people slowly making their way after her, and felt a sudden compulsion. Sakura forced as much green chakra to her palms as possible.

Hana was the one who made medical ninjutsu possible for her.

Sakura pushed the healing chakra towards Hana's chest. She got a diagnosis but no heartbeat. She pumped, and pumped, and pumped, but Hana-san won't revive.

A wrinkly hand squeezed her shoulder, and she finally looked up. Sawa was shaking her head. "It's natural for old people to die. There's no cure to it, we're die soon too."

Sakura's fists clenched. "No!"

"Sakura, we know you're upset, but that's a part of life."

"No! I won't let you die! Any of you! I'll-I'll," Sakura took in all the mourning faces, none of them had any sleep, their eyebags evident and their skin crested from crying. "I'll become the best medic nin ever and bring Hana back!" She didn't feel like herself, those weren't her words, yet at the same time they were, they were what her heart desired, what her Inner might have voiced, but never the real Sakura. It was such a noble promise built upon fantasy, yet it was still a promise, and Sakura was not one to break promises, not even to the idiot Naruto.

"Sakura-chan, you can't bring people from the dead."

"I'll heal her!"

"You can't. She's dead. The funeral will be held in six days."

Sakura felt the pent up tears from the earlier dispute with Sasuke build up in her eyes, and soaked down her cheeks. She wiped her face. Sakura was a pretty girl, and pretty girls don't cry, crying is ugly. Sakura turned heel and fled, she ran down the stairs and burst out the door, running back to the only friend she could confide in. Naruto was too stupid to understand, Sasuke hated her, and Ino was her rival. Obito-kun was the only one who knew Hana, sure he may be a ghost but Sakura didn't give a shit.

___________________________________________

It started raining. Sakura was drenched, her pink hair trailing over her shoulders and her red dress clinging to her body. She didn't care. "Obito...kun," she weakly whispered to the marble KIA stone.

She felt something prod her mind and accepted it like it was a part of her own system.

___________________________________________

Sakura blinked. She was back in her black mindscape, Inner standing like a giant mirage above her with her arms crossed, like a guardian of sorts.

Obito stood before Sakura, they were nearly the same height, but Obito a few inches taller. Well, he was 12.

"Let me guess, Hana-san is dead."

Sakura nodded, not questioning the knowledge of ghosts.

"I met with her just now," he lied easily, "She's wants to come back to life again, but hey, who doesn't, hell, even I want to."

Sakura looked at him with hope in her eyes.

"Hana told me that corpses have no connection towards dead souls, so they make better use as contribution for the living world. Hana said she wouldn't want her dead body to be wasted, rotting in a grave, when it could help your medical studies, perhaps even to revive her." Obito's smile widened impossibly, it looked almost creepy.

But that wasn't on Sakura's mind. She was staring at Obito with new-found interest. "H-Hana-san really said that?"

"Especially her eyes."

"B-But," Sakura's mind flashed through the possibilities. "I-I can't just take Hana's corpse from the funeral. That's impossible, it would feel wrong and-"

"Sakura-chan, what's more important? Your feelings, or Hana's revival?"

Sakura looked down. "My feelings should come last."

"Good girl." Obito looked full of mirth, as if laughing at an inside joke she wouldn't get.

Sakura felt a large hand land onto her head and ruffle her hair into more of a mess, it was the same motion Minato did to Obito and Kakashi, that Kakashi would do to Naruto and Sasuke in the future. She leaned closer to the hand, its touch the only "physical" comfort she could hope to get, even though it was all in her head.

"Sakura, I'm not saying you should take Hana's body for research," he shuddered, "That would be wrong. The others have set up a funeral and everything, but you should take this scenario as preparation...What if an Uchiha dies? I want you to take their eyes. The Sharingan has the power to learn techniques that should take years in mere seconds. Should there be a situation where," Obito slowly held her face, "An Uchiha happens to die beside you, if you don't take their eyes, someone else will. An enemy, perhaps. You wouldn't want that falling into the wrong hands, do you?"

Sakura doubted that was possible, but she didn't doubt ghosts weren't crazy, so she nodded. "Yes. I read in a textbook that Hunter Nin are supposed to dispose of the missing-nin's body completely in order to keep kekkei genkai off enemy hands. I suppose it would save them the trouble and risk, if I were to do it myself," Sakura tapped her chin.

He was quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful...Then, slowly, he reiterated,

"Sakura-chan is a good girl."

___________________________________________