Chapter 24-Finale

During week ten of The Program, our instructors threw us a curveball.

On physical training day, we were instructed to sit evenly spaced throughout the large room. Then Masumi, Madara, and Kabuto slowly passed out metal trays to each of us, and when I was handed mine, I nearly dropped it onto the ground in disbelief. The only things on the tray were a small knife and a dead rabbit. Bile rose in my throat as I studied its lifeless eyes.

"Today, you will learn how to prepare a rabbit for consumption."

We were all sitting on the ground, so we looked up at Orochimaru as he gave vocal instructions. I didn't have time to dwell on my disgust because he was teaching so quickly. With shaking hands, I gingerly picked up the knife and did my best to follow instructions.

A few participants threw up during the process, but I was proud that I wasn't one of them. At the end of the training, I felt much more knowledgeable but still felt terrible for the poor rabbits sacrificed for the sake of The Program.

The day after that, another new training session occurred. We were sent to our M.A.T. rooms, but instead of torturing one another, we were told our goal was to learn how to treat a wound. They made us take turns. After stabbing an injury into their abdominals, we were taught how to treat the wound best if we didn't have access to emergency services.

For the rest of week ten and throughout week eleven, we learned numerous survival skills like building a shelter, starting a fire, and making animal traps. During these weeks, we continued our surveillance and stole supplies when possible. The closer we got to the end of The Program, the tenser the atmosphere became.

Madara told me during one of my byakugan check-ups that the parents were getting close to discovering our new location. I wondered how he'd handle that type of threat, but he assured me my concern wasn't warranted.

After the first dream with Naruto in it, I had similar ones every other night. I never let myself take advantage of it and simply tried to keep him at bay because the Naruto my subconscious had created wanted to kiss me and more.

Facing him while awake became much more complicated because I struggled to separate what was real and what was a dream. The boy in question didn't act out of the ordinary but continued to treat me like a friend. If he noticed my newly diagnosed crush on him, he didn't mention it, and I tried my best to control my emotions.

On the third day of the last week of The Program, the instructors entered the dining area near the end of dinner. Madara paused once the room became silent before smiling proudly, "You've all come a long way in the past twelve weeks, and I couldn't be more pleased with your progress."

His grin widened slightly as he continued, "The time has come to explain how to win the prize money."

Everyone around me perked up, but I narrowed my eyes. How far were they willing to take the lie that there was any money to win at all?

"Starting first thing tomorrow, we'll conduct a series of competitions that will slowly disqualify participants until only one is left standing. That person will be the winner."

As he said, the following day began a series of intense trials. On Thursday, we had hand-to-hand combat fights that cut the number of participants still eligible to win in half. Those that were disqualified weren't sent home but were instead returned to their regular training.

More members of Group B remained than Group A, but combined, only sixteen of us remained. I surprised myself by making it into that group of sixteen. During the fights, I fought one of the girls in Group A, who hooked up with Kisame and bested her easily.

Those who remained in the running were: me, Sakura, Ino, Matsuri, Tenten, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, Kiba, Naruto, Neji, Sasuke, Sai, Suigetsu, Hidan, and Kisame.

On day two, we were tested on our abilities to prepare an animal for consumption, give CPR, build a trap, and treat a stab wound. Kankuro was disqualified because he forgot a few steps in treating a wound.

On the third and final day of the competition, the fifteen remaining participants were taken out of The Program area and led down a few hallways until we were taken behind another heavy iron door.

My eyes widened at the size of the room, but that wasn't the most impressive thing about it. The area was modeled after the forest and was large enough that I couldn't see the end of it from the entryway. I would've thought we were outside if the ceiling had been disguised.

Madara's voice came over an intercom speaker, "Congratulations! You've officially made it to the final stage! Your goal is to be the last one capable of continuing. Whether that means tying up, knocking out, or even killing one another is a choice you must make. The doors will not reopen until we have a victor."

We all looked around at one another with understandable looks of panic, but Dr. Uchiha's voice came again excitedly, "Begin!"

On instinct, I dashed for cover behind the treeline and started sprinting as quickly as possible to put some distance between the other combatants and me. I could hear the sounds of fighting behind me as I ran.

Since I'd been training for twelve weeks, I could run for well over ten minutes but still hadn't reached the other side of the giant room. Various foreign emotions flashed through me while I trekked through the faux jungle. If we were correct and it was Naruto and I connecting, he was also getting glimpses of my panic.

Surely, with an arena this large, the building had to appear very imposing outwardly, which led me to wonder why it's been so hard for the others' parents to locate it.

As I continued to travel for the next hour, I quickly realized that this place was intricate and as close to being outdoors as possible. There were wild animals, winds, and even small streams and ponds.

After a while, I heard the telltale sound of a twig snapping somewhere nearby and stealthily backed into a large shrub to hide. A few months ago, I would've been so anxious that I wouldn't have been able to hear anything but my quick heartbeat, but I'm more composed now, so I tried to quiet my breath as much as possible while I waited to see what'd caused the noise.

I was tempted to use my Byakugan but didn't want to resort to that unless I had no other choice because of the intense exhaustion it causes. After a moment, I sensed a presence behind me and went to spin around, only for someone to tightly clasp their hand over my mouth.

To my surprise, I heard Neji's voice whisper at an almost unintelligible level, "Don't scream."

My eyes widened, but I was quickly distracted as Kisame and Hidan walked into the small clearing in front of the bush we were crouching within.

"We should take Sakura out first since she's the most significant threat right now," Hidan spoke quietly, but we could hear his words clearly.

"I don't know, man. Kiba and Hinata have tracking advantages. Maybe we should focus on them instead."

I swallowed nervously. My breath caught in my throat when both men turned to look near where Neji and I were hidden. The calloused hand across my mouth tightened its hold as they approached, and my heartbeat steadily quickened until Kisame suddenly reached into a bush only two yards from us and pulled out a startled Suigetsu.

The white-haired boy struggled out of his grasp and put some space between himself and the two larger men. It was apparent to us, and likely him, that he was incredibly outmatched.

"Let me join you guys for now. You could use the extra pair of eyes, and then we can be the final three." He was playing it smart. I'd have tried the same tactic if I were in his place.

The two bigger men didn't vocally respond, but the moment I saw Hidan's hand twitch at his side, I knew exactly what was about to happen. Dread shot through my limbs, but my body acted independently, and I shoved past Neji's grip to reveal myself, "Two versus one isn't very fair. I thought you two were better than that."

Inwardly, I was relieved I hadn't stuttered. The men in question put some distance between us, and I moved to stand by Suigetsu's side.

"You're dumber than I thought you were, Hinata," Hidan looked amused as he and Kisame measured us up.

The white-haired boy I jumped in to help whispered in a panicked voice, "You just killed yourself, you idiot!"

I didn't have a chance to respond because Hidan was suddenly right in front of me. We fought on nearly equal ground, and I sensed that Kisame and Suigetsu were doing the same. He blocked every attack I tried, and I did the same to him. I didn't have time to think or be nervous and relied solely on my training and instincts, which seemed sufficient to at least protect myself.

After a few minutes, he laughed loudly before speaking in an excited voice, "I'm impressed. Here I thought you'd be too shy to face me."

My eyes narrowed in annoyance, only to widen in pain when he landed a punch directly against the ribs I'd cracked during the first week of The Program. In normal circumstances, fractured ribs heal within six weeks, but the past three months have been anything but ordinary. So, an excruciating pain erupted from the hit, and the breath left my body as I shot away to clutch the area with a grimace.

He'd broken at least one of my ribs, without a doubt. My chest heaved as I tried to stay upright.

Hidan laughed as he lunged forward to try and follow up his attack, "I know your weaknesses, Hinata. You're mine now."

Suddenly, someone's back hit mine, and I looked back in surprise to see Neji protecting me from Kisame, who had somehow gotten a knife. My eyes searched the area, and I finally noticed Suigetsu several yards away, unmoving. However, I couldn't do anything about it as Hidan went for another hit. Swiftly, I blocked the blow and felt a surge of energy enter me as my worry for Suigetsu's condition rose.

A familiar burning rushed through my face; before I knew it, my Byakugan activated. Hidan was hiding a knife, too. It was in the waistband of his shorts. Quickly, I tried to devise a plan, only for him to land another hit in the same place as before.

A ragged and painful gasp left my lips, and Hidan wrapped his arm around me to hold me against him when I nearly toppled over. His grin widened, and he opened his mouth to gloat, but he froze when he realized I'd stolen his knife and shoved it deep into his stomach.

I was thrown away from him and just barely caught myself from falling as I gasped for breath. My byakugan faltered for a moment before completely deactivating, and one of my knees hit the ground when the heavy wave of exhaustion rolled over me.

A cough stung my chest, and I was shocked to see blood splatter into the dirt from my mouth. Wincing, I saw Hidan pulling the knife from his stomach with a grimace before looking back up at me. I could hear Neji and Kisame fighting multiple yards away so that the stoic young man couldn't rescue me again.

My throat burned, and it felt like I was choking on the blood slowly rising to my mouth, but I forced myself to my feet as I prepared to face Hidan again. He lunged at me with the knife in hand, and I managed to dodge it a few times before my legs weakly gave out from under me, and I fell onto one knee again.

Just as I was sure I was done for, the entire room shook, and the lights went out. All sounds of fighting ceased. It was pitch black, and after a few seconds, the rumbling stopped. I couldn't hear anything over my quickly beating heart and ragged breaths for a moment before an explosion suddenly destroyed a portion of the roof not far from us, and all hell broke loose.

A small amount of light was coming in from the hole that was created, but the faux forest being lit on fire provided more. The light of the flames showed us that a helicopter was in the sky above the building, but I was more focused on the fact that Suigetsu's body was mere feet from the flames.

With my whole body shaking, I struggled to my feet and tried to reach him before his body could be caught on fire, but I couldn't make it three steps before losing my strength again and falling to my hands and knees to cough up more blood. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder and louder, signaling that it was likely landing, so I couldn't hear much, but I noticed multiple voices shouting behind me.

Tears rose to my eyes as I desperately crawled toward Suigetsu, who still hadn't moved, but the fluids in my lungs became too thick for breathing, and I fell to the ground to hold my ribs and try not to suffocate. The air around me quickly filled with smoke from the fire, which didn't help my case.

Someone roughly rolled me onto my back, and I locked eyes with Neji. He didn't hesitate to yell over the noise, "Can you breathe?"

I shook my head, chest heaving as I struggled. Before he could respond, someone in full riot gear tackled him to the ground beside me. He fought against them, but they quickly had his hands in cuffs behind his back. When I glanced around, I saw dozens of other officers searching the area.

My vision blurred, but I heard him yelling at the man holding him to the ground, "Help her, she's dying!"

I could feel my body giving out but still sensed someone kneel beside me and move my shirt up so they could inspect my torso.

"It's her ribs. I think they pierced her lung!"

I looked heavily over at him as he was being pulled to his feet, and he struggled against the officer's hold. His eyes locked onto mine, and he stopped fighting, his expression becoming distressed. I barely made out his words before losing the battle to stay conscious.

"I'm your brother!"