Chapter 10

I barely managed to keep it together for the remaining fights, holding an arm around my torso because it somehow helped ease a bit of the ache. The battle to stay quiet and upright stole most of my attention, so I couldn't focus on the outcomes of the matches.

Once they were completed, however, Orochimaru sanctioned us into groups of four before sending us all to work out for the remainder of the training session. He slowly made the rounds so he could comment on our forms or progress.

My group consisted of Matsuri, Karin, and a quiet guy named Neji. We were first sent to the cardio area, where we were to stay active for thirty minutes, whether by using a treadmill, jumping rope, or jumping jacks.

I could feel Karin watching me as I leaned over to re-tie a shoelace and nearly toppled to the ground in the process.

She touched my back and knelt beside me, "Are you gonna be able to do this?" Her voice was slightly hushed as she looked over in the direction of the doctor.

My brow furrowed as I rose back up to my feet. I can't draw any unnecessary attention to myself. Madara had made it incredibly clear that I was to blend in and excel no matter the cost.

With a shake of my head, I pulled myself away from her gentle touch and stepped onto the treadmill, setting it on a low setting so I could test the waters. My face felt warm as my group members tried to mind their own business.

My ribs were aching even at the pace I was moving, and I had to fight the urge to wrap my arms around my torso once more. I glanced over to see Matsuri jogging steadily beside me while the other two were jumping rope.

Neji was the only person I hadn't interacted with; maybe I should feel grateful for that. It's not that he's done anything wrong, but his whole demeanor simply intimidates me.

He had silver-colored eyes that were almost similar to my family's light lavender and long chocolate-brown hair that fell all the way down his back. His features were traditionally handsome, but he was as stoic as one could be. The frown on his lips was so prominent that I couldn't even imagine him smiling.

He suddenly looked over at me, catching my stare, and I averted my gaze with a quickening heartbeat. Luckily, the young man didn't do anything in response.

After a few more minutes, an arm reached over the front of the machine and turned it up. I struggled to match its pace, looking over to see Dr. Orochimaru frowning, "I won't accept slacking off, Hinata."

My entire middle section was burning as though it were aflame, and it felt like my ribs would crumble to dust if I kept my actions up. The pain was unbearable. So much so, in fact, that after a few minutes of the faster pace, I had to hop off the machine and rush over to a trash bin so I could throw up.

My body naturally curled up into a ball on the floor once I was finished, completely exhausted and struggling to catch my breath. I heard the doctor stop a few others from coming to help me but soon felt a nudge to my side. I winced, looking up through half-lidded eyes to see the training leader looking down at me.

"Get up. You're expected to finish your training just like everyone else." I tried to manage a glare, and his eyes narrowed.

He spoke more quietly, "I'm sure Dr. Uchiha will be upset when he learns you couldn't make it through one day of this."

My eyes widened at his threat, and I forced my defeated body to move. Orochimaru grabbed onto my arm and helped me upright before giving me a pushback in the direction of my group. Tears were in my eyes, but I couldn't let them fall and prove to the doctor that I was as weak as he thought I was.

I suffered through the rest of the training, nearly fainting a handful of times. A few others struggled like I was, and multiple people collapsed or threw up, only to be forced into continuing.

By the end of the day, I could barely feel the ground beneath my feet. I trudged straight to my bed and collapsed, holding my torso with a shaking arm. My entire body felt like it'd been beaten with a baseball bat.

Almost everyone else was in the dining area for their second meal of the day, but I was sure I'd throw up again if I tried to eat anything. I was worried that Kabuto would force me to eat, but luckily he didn't come to get me.

I passed out almost instantly, only to be shaken awake sometime later by someone dabbing my forehead with a wet cloth. My eyes shot open, and I nearly sat up, only to let out a yelp of pain when it felt like electricity had shot up my spine.

"Don't move!"

I peeked through my wincing eyes to see a few people sitting near my bed. Karin was the one who touched my forehead. I felt hot and lightheaded. That, and the cold press, told me I was likely running a fever. My body wasn't reacting well to the intense training we'd just gone through.

I relaxed back against my pillow and tried not to feel embarrassed by the attention. Sakura, Ino, Karin, Suigetsu, Matsuri, Hidan, and Naruto were the ones present, the last two most likely because their beds were right beside mine.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata. I tried to hold back, but I still managed to hurt you pretty badly."

I glanced over to see the guilty face of Suigetsu and shook my head, closing my eyes, "You didn't have a choice."

The number of eyes staring at me was making my lightheadedness even worse and I reached up with one shaky hand to cover my face, "C-Can I have some space, please?"

Ino shooed everyone whose bed wasn't nearby away, whispering energetically, "She's right. We need to let her get some rest for tomorrow."

It really sucked that we couldn't access any tubs or even a pool so I could soak my sore muscles. A steamy bath sounds fantastic right now. Tears welled back up in my closed eyes as I touched the wet cloth on my forehead.

I've known these people for two days and they've already shown me such kindness. I wasn't the most popular in school because of my focus on studies, and I was never bullied, but that didn't mean the others had been kind to me. Even the most prestigious schools have their hierarchies.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for seemingly hours before I had to get up to relieve my bladder. It was dark and the large clock in the dining area said it was just past two in the morning as I padded across the linoleum with bare feet. I was still incredibly sore, but sleep had let my body heal ever so slightly so I could move much more easily.

After using the restroom, I stepped out to wash my hands, only to do a double take at my battered reflection. My cheek had a dark bruise on it and was slightly swollen. I could only imagine how bad it'd looked earlier. Gingerly, I took a few steps back and lifted my shirt so I could see the damage done there. Tears rose to my eyes again, and I wiped at them with one hand before reaching down to touch the purple skin across the right side of my ribcage, wincing at the sting it brought.

"Damn, that looks like it hurts!"

I tugged my shirt back down and looked over in shock, surprised to see Naruto standing there, looking extremely tired. My face warmed and I awkwardly tried to walk past him and back to my bed, but he stopped me.

"You really got the worst matchup of us all today, huh?"

I grit my teeth. I've never been one to complain out loud and I wasn't about to start now. My feet resumed moving, only for Naruto to lightly grab my hand and cause me to turn to face him.

A few stray tears slid down my cheeks, and I quickly reached up to wipe them away with my free hand. The man looked concerned, and that bothered me because we hadn't known each other long enough to have emotions like that.

A red dot in the corner of the room, so small I almost missed it, suddenly caught my eye, and my eyes widened slightly as I realized what it was. When Naruto spoke next, his voice was much softer than before, "Are you alright?"

I nodded quickly, jerking my hand out of his grasp before rushing back to my bed with a pale face. They lied about where the cameras were. Madara said there weren't cameras in the bathroom area, but I clearly saw one.

That meant they could see us showering and that couple hooking up in there yesterday. No one had come downstairs to reprimand whoever was in there, so were they just letting it slide? Why would they warn us about misbehaving if they weren't going to enforce those rules anyway?

When I woke up hours later, I felt much better. Once I'd entered the shower, I felt my ribs carefully, wincing when they hurt, and deduced I hadn't broken one. That meant I either bruised or cracked them. That, too, is bad, but not as bad as if they'd been broken.

After showering and getting ready for the day, I sat down at one of the dining tables and refused to meet Kabuto's eye as he placed a plate in front of me, "We missed you at dinner yesterday. I trust you're feeling better?"

I nodded with my mouth in a firm line. I thought the man was going to speak again, but Matsuri sat down beside me, and he left to get her plate in silence. When I glanced over at her, she surprised me by meeting my eye.

Her mouth was frowning, but she still spoke to me for the first time, "Your face looks much better."

She was right. The swelling had disappeared entirely, so I had a nasty bruise left to heal. I nodded, feeling awkward, "Thank you."

Everyone else slowly arrived and ate their meals before we were forced to line up at the Mental Training door at eight o'clock. I leaned lightly on the wall with my eyes closed, letting the cool temperature soothe my fevered skin. It had definitely gone down, but it wasn't completely gone.

Madara, Masumi, and Orochimaru came down the stairs and we were silently led back to the large room at the end of the hall. Masumi's stomach was beginning to show the first signs of her pregnancy, and I tried to keep myself from glaring at her. The woman didn't seem to be putting much effort into not staring at me.

Madara spoke, pulling my attention from my stepmother, "Welcome to day two of M.A.T! I don't want to waste any time, so please go to your assigned rooms with your partners and put the helmets on like last time. After today, I want you all to automatically do this."

I gave one more glance at Masumi before following orders. I tried not to meet Naruto's eye as I sat down and put the awful helmet back on. He was uncharacteristically quiet and I wondered if I'd offended him last night or if he was just nervous about training.

It had been so jarring last time, so I was feeling apprehensive. It wouldn't come as a surprise if my partner felt the same. A sharp, hot sting came at the back of my neck without warning, and I gasped as my vision went black.

Immediately, I was overwhelmed with emotions of panic, both his and mine. I told myself to take some deep breaths to calm down, but then I felt like an idiot because I couldn't control my body. That thought only made me more anxious.

"We did this before; we can get through it again." Naruto's voice echoed through my mind, and I did my best to let his words calm me.

Our vision remained black and vacant for what felt like a few minutes before I heard him address me again, "Do you think something's wrong? I thought we'd answer questions again, but nothing's happening."

His memories of the event flashed through my vision, and I mentally cringed when I saw Madara holding the knife that'd stabbed me. Naruto felt confused about the scene again, but I also felt him try to distract himself from it so as to not make me uncomfortable.

"It's okay," I hesitantly reassured him, "Maybe they're studying what we'll do when we're not given a topic."

There was a pause, and I felt him come to agree with me before he replied, "You're probably right…What should we do then? Play twenty questions?"

I'm sure he could feel my hesitation. It'd be dangerous to get to know him this way because if my mind isn't focused on specific things, I may accidentally let him get a peek at something I don't want anyone to see.

"I already saw Madara threatening you. What else could there be?"

If I could bite my cheek in annoyance, I would. He wasn't being rude or condescending, but his question held a reassuring feeling. I wordlessly agreed, knowing he'd be able to tell.

"Great! How old are you?"

"Eighteen. You?"

"I'm twenty! Your turn to ask a question!"

I struggled to come up with a question because this was my first time playing a game like this. I've never been much of a socialite, so things like this seem a bit foreign.

Eventually, I managed to come up with one, "Do you go to school?"

He seemed to hesitate and an image of an older person sitting at a big desk, handing him a stack of papers crossed my mind before he answered, "I'm working as a news anchor on TV while I, um, earn money for school."

The memory of my sister and stepmother talking about the cute new news anchor crossed my mind, and it was as though I'd put the final puzzle piece in, "Oh! I've seen you, I think!"

He seemed to hesitate, and the image I'd just thought of reappeared, causing me to realize my mistake, "Was that Dr. Uchiha's assistant? Her name's Masumi or something, right?"

I tried to think of an excuse to give him, but he stopped me. I could sense a bit of hurt, "It's fine. You don't have to explain. I'll keep it to myself."

I felt guilty. Naruto can tell what I'm thinking and feeling, so there's no doubt in my mind he could tell just how much I've wanted to not be here with him or anyone else, both last and this time around.

"It's not that I don't want to be more honest; I just…."

"You can't, for some reason. I can tell it scares you, so just forget about it, okay? I get it." He still felt a little hurt I wasn't opening up to him, but I couldn't do anything about it without putting myself and potentially others in danger.

He interrupted my uncomfortable train of thought, continuing our game, "What's your favorite color?"

A sharp sting burnt my skin, and I blinked as my vision slowly returned. An odd, incomplete feeling blanketed me, and I realized it was my mind reeling from no longer being connected to Naruto's.

I looked over at him as I pulled my helmet off. He offered me a sheepish grin. After both of us got up safely without issue, our door clicked unlocked, and he held it open for me to walk out ahead of him.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when he suddenly spoke, "So, what is it?"

I looked at him as we walked toward the main M.A.T. room, "What?"

His smile widened, and he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "Your favorite color."

My face warmed slightly, and I averted my gaze to the ground, "Purple."