Chapter 14

Over the next few days, Tenten's odd behavior continued.

It's not that the brunette had been standoffish before, but something definitely caused a change, and she suddenly wanted to know everything about me. Not only that, but she did such a lousy job acting naturally when I finally asked her what her deal was. There's obviously something going on, and she's not hiding it very well.

Regardless of her reasons, I couldn't see the harm in being genuine with her, at least for the most part. I can't tell her about my relation to Masumi or Dr. Uchiha, but I can answer other questions about myself.

As the days passed, Sakura was slowly becoming less stoic, and she seemed to start accepting that her sister was dead. It seemed hard for her to talk to anyone at all, not even Ino.

Her bruised face started healing, but the psychological damage from being so brutally beaten by Gaara continued to affect her deeply. She couldn't make eye contact with anyone and even noticeably shrank away when any guys came too close.

I worried about how she handled her mental training since she was partnered with a male, Sasuke. The quieter twin rarely drew attention to himself, so it was hard to judge his character accurately. As far as I'm aware, he barely even looks her way, so I wonder how they make their M.A.T. training work.

Speaking of Sasuke, he and his brother Sai share a last name with Madara. This fact initially had me very skeptical of them, but Ino also noticed and asked about it. Sai explained that they're distant cousins who've never met before, so it's like they're not family at all. The doctor hadn't even greeted them individually to acknowledge the fact.

On the topic of other partnerships in Group B, I also worried for Matsuri. Her partner was Gaara: The same one who beat Sakura up without hesitance and still hadn't tried to apologize. If his actions in person are anything to judge by, their training must be highly stressful. Even so, Matsuri didn't offer a single complaint and silently went along with us like usual.

She was one of the quietest of everyone participating in The Program, but I've been able to figure her out a little. Even with her strong aversion to attention, she's been quietly thriving in the background. Just as Matsuri's the quietest, she's also the smallest in stature. Rather than let that get her down, the brunette has been training for speed and precision rather than strength. She even held her own when she and Tenten sparred during week two.

"Focus, Hinata!"

I was drawn out of my thoughts by Orochimaru's serpentine voice.

We'd started learning how to use various weapons in our physical training. I'm not very good with any of it yet, but I can already manage with a handgun, so I'll probably be pretty good by the time The Program ends. Tenten, however, excelled with it all. She was proficient with knives, tonfa, swords, guns, and anything else we were asked to try. She hadn't been lying when she admitted to being a weapon instructor in her everyday life.

I sparred with Neji more seriously to appease the doctor watching us. The wooden poles we were fighting with smacked against each other as we exchanged attempts.

The tall young man remained as stoic as ever, his jaw clenched as he focused on our spar. For the first time, I actually looked at his face, and for a fraction of a moment, something about him seemed familiar. He took advantage of my being distracted to gain the upper hand and threw me down onto the mats in defeat.

Matsuri approached and offered me a hand in silence. Usually, we'd all be practicing, but since Karin was in our group and was no longer here, we had to take turns.

Once I was back on my feet, I wiped some sweat from my brow and glanced over at Neji, who was unsuspectingly drinking out of his water bottle.

What was that just now? He reminded me of someone, but I couldn't pinpoint who it was.

Orochimaru's whistle blew through the room, pulling my attention away as he signaled for us to switch to a different weapon and continue training.

Later, at dinner, I failed to stop myself from glancing over at him. He was sitting beside Tenten, who was talking excitedly about something as though she couldn't see the irritated look on his features.

When we were sparring, his appearance made me feel like I'd known him forever, even though he's never spoken a single word to me. A tanned hand waved in front of my dazed-out eyes.

"Earth to Hinata!"

Neji looked over and caught me staring, so I shot my eyes away quickly.

Naruto chuckled, "There you are! Ino and I were wondering what school you went to." My face warmed when his blue eyes met mine, and I awkwardly looked away as I answered honestly.

Since I broke down and cried in front of him during M.A.T., I haven't been able to speak to him like before. It was incredibly wrong of me to lose control like that, especially when I was unsure if Madara could see what happens during these sessions. Not only that, but I've never been the type of person to complain to others, so being comforted like that was a foreign concept.

"Oh wow! So, you must be wealthy!"

Ino elbowed Kiba roughly in the ribs, but the boy gave her a shrug, "What? I heard that the tuition costs more than my family's house!"

I tried to avert my attention to eating, but Sakura surprised us all by speaking for the first time in a while, "So you're a local, then. Have you ever met Dr. Uchiha or Masumi before now?"

The shock had my limbs freezing up. Until now, I've simply avoided the subject to help convince myself that I wasn't lying to these kind people, but now I have no choice.

My mouth opened as I tried to find the correct response, but I was interrupted when the entire room started shaking as though experiencing an earthquake. As a group, all of us participants quickly held onto the tables so nothing would fall or break, and soon the shaking ceased.

The room became dead silent as the faint sound of sirens could be heard, most likely coming from the middle of town. My eyes darted over to the stairs, half-expecting the door to fly open and someone to come down and explain the situation to us, but it didn't happen.

The sirens continued so long that we eventually finished our meals and gravitated to the bunks. The usually casual air was tense. No one dared speak as we waited for something, anything, to happen.

Kabuto disappeared upstairs once our meal was finished and didn't return, so he acted as though all this was normal. The sirens grew closer and closer until it felt like they were right beside the house we were underneath, where they remained sounding for over an hour before finally ceasing. The room filled with murmurs as all the participants headed to their beds with uncertainty.

I stared at the ceiling with wide eyes. Was that an earthquake? An explosion? Whatever it was, it'd occurred nearby. My mind ran a mile a minute, and before I realized it, I'd fallen asleep.

Later, I was woken by someone clamping a hand over my mouth. A scream got choked in my throat when I locked eyes with Madara. He gave me a warning look before pulling me off the bed by my wrist, out of the room, and behind the M.A.T. door so no one could hear us.

I yanked my arm away from him once the door was latched, fighting the urge to cringe at his appearance. He crossed his arms and looked down at me with a frown. Had I done something wrong again? My eyes widened and started to tear up. Did he perhaps see Naruto and my training session and was here to torture me further because of it?

"There was an attack today," Madara was talking about the issue earlier.

I relaxed ever so slightly but remained curious.

"The Haruno family is angry about their daughter's death. The police told them exactly what I did: that the young woman signed a contract that relinquishes The Program of liability, but they aren't satisfied."

"So what was that shaking?" I responded before I could control myself.

His eyes narrowed, but he ignored my speaking out of turn, "The Harunos have rallied many participants' parents to try and force us to release them. Some of them have military connections, so what you heard earlier was a bomb destroying the gate."

I stared up at him in disbelief. A bomb went off? Here? It seemed unbelievable, but so did most of what I've been forced to endure these past weeks.

"They were apprehended by local law enforcement, of course, but that's not what I need to speak with you about."

I waited for him to continue, and he did. "Your sister is starting to question Masumi and me about your whereabouts. You will go upstairs tomorrow and convince her you've been away taking summer college classes."

Blood rose to my face as I got angry, but I held my tongue and recalled the torture this man had put me through just days ago. His lips turned up into a smirk, "I'll take you up now, and you'll make yourself presentable so when she wakes up in the morning, she won't question anything."

He suddenly stepped closer, putting a large hand against the wall above me as he glared down at me, "You'll do well to convince her, or I will punish you, do you understand?"

My breath got caught in my throat, so all I could do was nod in terror. Like a light switch flipping, he returned to his polite facade and opened the door for me to walk ahead of him. I slowly did so, glancing at the doorway to the bunks before gingerly climbing the stairs.

I'll be gone at least most of the day tomorrow, pretending to be visiting home from college, so what will the others think? Will they assume I've been taken away by Madara to be tortured once more? That isn't too far from the truth, honestly. Seeing my little sister and having to lie to her about something so dangerous sure feels like a different type of torture.

When we stepped out of the basement and into the kitchen, Masumi was waiting for us. I sat in one of the dining chairs, and she wordlessly trimmed my hair so it wouldn't look so disheveled.

All this was being done for her sake, of course. Madara couldn't care less about what Hanabi thinks. I bet he'd be just as happy to throw her down there with me, but he has to keep Masumi happy, or she'll cut off the funds she's been using to support the whole operation. Madara caught me glaring at the woman at first and threatened to help me adjust my attitude, so I wordlessly averted my eyes to the ground and sat as still as possible.

Once I was finished, he pulled me upstairs by my wrist before shoving me into the bathroom and closing the door behind us. My hands shook in fear when he turned to face me, but luckily he didn't try anything and simply wanted to threaten me once more.

"I mean it, Hinata. If you even step a toe out of line tomorrow, I'll make you regret it."

The older man held my gaze firmly for a few moments, as though to prove his sincerity, before leaving me alone in the room to fix up the mess that's been made of my appearance by The Program.