Masumi arrived just a few moments after Orochimaru disappeared with Karin's body.
No one dared moving to continue training like we'd been instructed so she barked out at us when she saw us standing in a group with horrified expressions, "Get to work!"
Sakura was sobbing into Ino's chest and when everyone slowly started to move into their usual groups to exercise, the two girls didn't part ways. The pregnant woman stalked over and roughly pulled Sakura away from her friend by her arm.
That was it: the last straw.
Before I realized what I was doing, I'd grabbed onto Masumi's wrist tightly and yanked it away from the trembling younger woman. My voice was like ice, accurately conveying the absolute rage I was trying to hold back, "Don't touch her."
My step-mother's eyes widened in shock for a moment before she tugged away from me with a glare, "I'll have you punished."
She meant the threat whole-heartedly and was probably excited at the idea, but I didn't back down as I stood in between her and the two girls, "He just killed someone, Masumi. Things have gone too far."
People were whispering nearby as they watched us, but I couldn't care less. The older woman seemed to hesitate for a moment before she steeled her gaze and pressed a button on the side of her cellphone. Her lips were in a stubborn line and she looked down her nose at me like she'd won the argument.
Not two minutes later, the door to the training area busted open. Madara and Kabuto stormed in, the former looking more enraged than I'd seen him to date. Every fiber in my being wanted to run and hide as he approached with a terrifying glare on his dark eyes, but I had to stay strong for Sakura. "What's the meaning of this?" I opened my mouth to reply, but felt the familiar sting of a swift slap across the face.
The murmurs from the group picked up, yet I held my ground, "Karin was just killed in front of us all. She's not coming back, Madara! This is murder!" He didn't respond to me, but motioned for Kabuto.
The silver-haired cook descended upon me, wrestling me to the ground in order to get my hands pinned behind my back before pulling me back up to my feet and guiding me roughly toward the exit. In my blinding rage, I heard Madara offering a threat to the remainder of Group B that outbursts like mine were not going to be tolerated.
I was taken out of the training area before I could hear the rest. I thought Kabuto was going to take me upstairs to be punished, but to my utter disbelief, he pressed a few buttons on what I thought was the thermostat and part of the concrete wall in between the two training area's doors turned to reveal a hidden passageway.
Panic rose in my throat and I struggled to free myself from his grasp, but it was futile. I was shoved forward and down a winding hall filled with door after door on either side. He selected one room, seemingly at random, and threw me inside. I caught myself before my head could smack against the ground like Karin's had, but when I turned the door slammed shut and I had nowhere to go.
The room looked like the M.A.T. rooms, but it only had one chair. That chair also had straps ready at the wrist and ankle area, which shot a chill down my spine. The helmet sat on a counter built into the wall. I waited for what felt like forever for someone to arrive to enact whatever punishment they had in the works for me.
My entire body was shaking with fear by the time Madara stepped through the door. My adrenaline had finally worn off, so I wasn't feeling nearly as brave as I had earlier. I cringed away from his appearance as he shut the door and locked his unwavering gaze over me.
"I warned you."
I tried to fight him off as he forced me into the chair, but he was so much larger and stronger than me that I didn't stand a chance. He handled me roughly as he strapped down my limps with the leather clamps. After grabbing the helmet, hooking it up, and placing it on me, he stood with his arms crossed and an unhappy frown, "If it was someone else in here, I would've simply gotten rid of them, but for Masumi's sake I won't do that to you."
My brows furrowed as I looked at him through the tinted glass of the helmet, "S-She doesn't care about me."
Normally he'd offer me a smirk, but he was too angry with me to do so so he shook his head, "No, she doesn't, but Hanabi does and if you died by our hands and her daughter found out she'd be inconsolable."
I felt a bit of hope rise into my chest. So when he threatened both me and my sister, he was just blowing smoke? My relief was short-lived.
"That being said, I won't tolerate blatant disobedience like this again. If you act out after today, the punishment will be severe." I couldn't find a good response before he pulled out his tablet and started wordlessly clicking things on the screen. The familiar sting on the back of my neck came and my eyes widened in terror as my vision went black.
What appeared in my mind then was nothing like what I'd experienced when training with Naruto. This was like someone was forcing me to experience things that had been planned with the intent to torture.
For hours I was beaten, abused, even killed, over and over again by dozens of people. Other participants hurt me, my family hurt me, even random people from my high school took a turn. Every hit, every slice of a knife, felt so incredibly real that when I was finally released from the awful experience all I could do was stare blankly.
If I spoke or reacted in any way, I knew I'd lose my composure and quite literally fall apart. My body tingled with the remnants of the pain I'd been subjected to, but there was no proof of the torture other than my mental state.
Madara wordlessly unhooked me from the chair, pretty much dragged me back out of the secret tunnel, and then tossed me haphazardly onto my bunk. Everyone stared as he walked away and no one dared make a sound until the sound of the door shutting upstairs came.
To my relief, no one dared approach me after I curled up into a ball, completely under the blankets so I wouldn't have to see anyone's face. It'd only remind me of what I'd just experienced and the memory was still too fresh in my mind for me to handle it. Of course I knew the other participants hadn't actually done those terrible things to me, but it had been so real. So accurate.
I'd missed dinner, which I was fine with because there's no chance I would've kept anything down, so after a while the lights went out and everyone silently went to sleep. The only sound in the room came from Sakura and Ino. The pink-haired girl was inconsolable as she mourned her sister and Ino did everything she could to soothe her pain.
I didn't dare close my eyes to go to sleep. The memory of being repeatedly tortured would only plague my dreams, I knew it. Instead, I zoned out with wide eyes under the blanket until morning. By the time morning rolled around, I'd calmed down enough to move without falling apart so I got up and headed to the showers before anyone else was awake.
I chose the shower that was against the wall, hoping the cool concrete against my skin would help calm me. I rested my aching head against the cold wall, brow furrowed as I tried to keep my thoughts clear.
When I woke up, it was only around four in the morning, but I must've become dazed under the steaming water because I was shaken from my stupor by the sounds of others steadily joining me in the shower room. Had I fallen asleep standing up? I glanced down to see the skin on my fingers was prickled.
My heart rose in my chest as I turned the water off and gingerly dried off before getting dressed and stepping out from behind the curtain. The light chatter of those waiting their turns for a shower silenced in an instant and I kept my gaze on the ground so I wouldn't have to look anyone in their eye.
Mentally, I felt much calmer than I had last night, but I still didn't trust myself to not react if someone tried to interact with me. So, I silently brushed my teeth and hair at the sink before returning my hygiene items to their bins and sitting in the dining area.
A plate of food and a glass of water was placed in front of me, most likely by Kabuto, and my body stiffened. It'd been my understanding that he was simply a health expert, a cook, but I could tell when he'd wrestled me to the ground yesterday that he was wild with experience.
I sensed someone sit down across from me and tried to calm my breathing. It had to be Sakura and she's probably the one person I'd be able to talk to right now because I did what I did for her sake. Gingerly, I raised my eyes to see that she was staring down at her own plate with puffy red eyes. Her poor face was bruised black and purple, but luckily the swelling had gone down. She looked just as traumatized as I felt.
Others started to sit down around us, the usual people from Group B, and I averted my gaze back down to my plate. I couldn't even think about touching my fork or a wave of nausea would roll up my throat. A soft voice broke through the loud chatter in the room a few minutes later, once everyone was eating breakfast, "Hinata…"
My eyes shot up to see Sakura's bright green ones welled up with tears as she looked at me. Tears welled up within my own, but I couldn't bring myself to blink them away. The table went silent as we stared at each other until my tears finally overflowed and rolled down my cheeks.
It was as though something snapped in me and I shot to my feet, pulling my gaze from hers before rushing to the bathroom so I could have a moment alone. The tears started and they didn't show signs of stopping. I closed the lid to a toilet seat and climbed atop it, pulling my legs up to my chest as I sobbed into my knees.
She looked so broken and lost, yet here I am crying while she's out there putting on a brave face. Self-loathing washed over me and it only made me cry harder.
After a few minutes, I heard people start to put their trays up and line up at their assigned training door and knew I had to get it together soon or I'd be in trouble yet again. Somehow I managed to stop the tears and came out of the stall to wash my face.
To my utter shock, Sakura was waiting for me and immediately threw her arms around me in a tight hug. My eyes widened and my body tensed up. She was crying as she managed to choke out a thanks. "It's time for training, you two. Get in line." I looked over to see Kabuto looking at us, my eyes still wide with shock.
The pink-haired girl gingerly pulled away and headed out. I followed like a robot. My wide eyes fell to the ground as I got in line, ignoring everyone's stares. When she hugged me, it took everything in my being not to shove her away. Terror enveloped me the moment her skin came into contact with mine and I just barely kept control of my instincts to remove myself from the situation. I knew how hurt she'd be if I reacted that way, but the effort was taking its toll on me.
Tears rose up in my own eyes once more and I squeezed them hard to keep them from falling.