The mind-link between Naruto and I was immediately chaotic.
I didn't have enough time to steel my nerves before we were forced into the M.A.T. chairs and he got a crystal clear look into the trauma I'd endured over the past twenty four hours.
His whole being was in a panic that matched my own as I unintentionally remembered every little detail about the torture Madara had put me through. The psychological wounds were too fresh for me to shut them out mid-thought so we were stuck being abused for who knows how long until our vision finally went blank.
If I was able to feel my body, I know my chest would be heaving in a frenzy. Naruto was so shocked by the experience that he couldn't even try to communicate with me. He was too busy trying to convince himself that it wasn't really happening and we were only looking at memories.
Words swam across our minds, our prompt for the day: If you had to fight one another to the death, what would you do to win?
His kind and concerned face came to mind and I'm sure he could tell where my thoughts were heading. My hypothetical breath caught in my throat when he suddenly manifested right in front of me in my mind. That hadn't happened before! Was he always able to do that or is this a new feature of our training? He looked upset, maybe even angry.
"Don't lay down and take it just because you got hurt. That's exactly what they want." His words were harsh, but they rang true.
It'd come as no surprise to the Uchiha doctor if I let The Program get the best of me. He probably sees his relationship with me as a game and he'd undoubtedly consider himself the winner if I died.
Naruto took a step back and raised his fists as though he was ready to box with me, an apologetic smile on his lips, "Let's just do this. Give it your all! We aren't really hurting each other anyway."
My unsteady emotions sank away and I allowed myself to be distracted with our task. I mirrored my partner's posture and soon we were fighting, albeit in our minds. We exchanged hit after hit and the blows hurt when they landed. It didn't worry either of us because none of it was real. At the end of our training, we'd wake up and the pain would just be another harsh memory.
Naruto was noticeably stronger, but I was faster. These facts added to the training we've been receiving made our fight nearly even.
I narrowly dodged when he lunged at me, trying to tackle me to the ground. Before he could turn back around, I jumped onto his back and locked my legs around him in a sturdy hold. He thrashed and swung around, trying to toss me off, but I held on for dear life. I wrapped my arms around his neck in a chokehold. My eyes widened when he made a choking sound at the pressure I was putting on him and I loosened my arms, realizing how ruthless I'd gotten.
He froze as he undoubtedly felt the guilt oozing into my body, "No, keep going Hinata." His hands came up and gripped my shoulders before he flipped me over his body and onto the ground, climbing on top of me to straddle my waist.
His blue eyes glared harshly into my own stunned ones, "It's alright to benefit from this. I don't mind, especially if it helps you cope." He was referring to the unbearable terror we'd both felt before our fight started.
My eyebrows furrowed and his frown deepened.
His grip on my shoulders tightened and he gave me a rough shake, "You have to or you won't be able to handle it. I know you well enough by now. Hit me. Fight back!"
I gasped as he started shoving memories of Madara into my head until I became enraged enough to shove him off me.
We went back to fighting for what felt like hours, but neither of us grew tired because our bodies weren't actually moving. A pressure of some sort was building in my body, I think, and it was probably me breathing hard and not being conscious enough to control it.
Eventually I was able to pin him down and felt my angry resolve fading away. I hit my fists weakly against his chest and his focused expression turned into one of surprise. I sobbed shamelessly as I yelled at him. I'd finally reached my limit.
"I don't wanna do this anymore!"
He stared up at me in awe as I pressed my fists against his chest, "What did I do to deserve this? I did nothing but try to protect my sister! H-H-Hanabi…" My words trailed off as my sobs became too intense for me to speak.
His arms wrapped around my body and he pulled me down against his chest. It vibrated as he spoke in a much calmer voice, "Let it out."
I was in too much distress to be embarrassed and let myself do as he said, crying for a long time before my tears eventually dried up.
We stayed on the ground like that for a few moments before he spoke again, "Better?" I nodded against his chest, the humiliation finally starting to creep up my spine now that I'd calmed down.
He moved to sit up and I climbed off him, rubbing my eyes. As I moved to get onto my feet, an intense heat burned my entire being. A sound of pain came from us both and we looked at one another with wide eyes as words once again scrolled across our vision.
There are five minutes remaining to complete the assignment. There must be a victor.
We made eye contact before gingerly returning to our fight. Unsurprisingly, Naruto quickly had me pinned down, but hesitated to deal a final blow.
I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head to the side, "Do it or we'll be punished." My brow furrowed when I felt him slowly wrap his hands around my neck and start squeezing. I kept my eyes closed for both his and my sake. I don't want to see him in such a terrible way and surely it'd traumatize him if I looked him in the eye while he killed me.
Something that sounded like a sob came from him, but I made myself stay still underneath him. His fingers were shaking.
Even if our actions were only taking place in our minds, I could feel myself struggling to gather a breath. The pressure got tighter and tighter until it felt like I couldn't hold on anymore. Then, a sharp sting shot across my neck and my eyes shot open. A loud gasp shook my body as I desperately tried to take in oxygen. My eyes shot open and my hands rose to my neck as I coughed.
"Hinata!"
Naruto lay a hand on my shoulder as he'd no doubt jumped right out his M.A.T. chair to help me, but I blindly swatted him away, doubling over to put my head in between my knees.
After a few moments, I was finally able to accept a raw breath. My throat stung. I tore the helmet off and threw it angrily on the chair, leaving our room quickly so he wouldn't be able to see my bright red face.
I was surprised at dinner when Kabuto served a few participants solely a hot bowl of chicken broth, me included. It seemed I wasn't the only one who'd experienced death by strangulation. Matsuri, Kiba, and Temari all did too, or at least had to have suffered some type of injury to their throat.
How did they figure out what happened? I know Madara said they review each training session, but I'd assumed they meant our brain waves were being recorded. Are they somehow able to see what happens between every set of partners? If that's the case, how do they do it?
The broth burnt my tongue as I took a sip, but I ignored the pain.
This particular training session had proved to be one of the worst ones yet. Everyone looked like they'd just seen ghosts.
Naruto ate silently beside me and I felt grateful he hadn't tried to talk to me yet. I'd lost control of my emotions in a serious way and he witnessed every second of it. The thought of how I must've looked made me sick with regret. That being said, I was extremely thankful he'd given me an outlet to release my pent up frustration. When I thought about the terrible things Madara made me experience, I was still afraid, but it was like the edge had been taken off so it was bearable.
Loud laughter erupted suddenly from another table and I glanced over to see Hidan, Kisame, and a few others joking around as they ate. They surely aren't being treated to the same horrendous experiences as our group or they wouldn't be so carefree.
I tore my attention away from them and glanced at Sakura. Ever since her sister was killed yesterday, she hadn't stopped crying. She sat across from me as usual and finally seemed to have control over her tears. Instead, she looked empty. A shell of a person.
Her usually glittering green eyes were dull and blank as she stared at her plate in a daze. Ino kept looking over at her with a concerned expression. As a habit, I glanced to the pink-haired girl's other side to see her big sister, only to see an empty seat.
That's right. Karin's dead.
After lights out, I was nearly asleep until a noise roused me.
"Psst! Hinata!"
My eyes shot open and I sat up with my arms up in defense, only to see Tenten kneeling by my bed with a guilty look. My arms lowered and I gave her a confused look. She motioned for me to follow her out of the bunking room and I did, albeit hesitantly.
She sat on the bottom step of the staircase and gave me a sheepish grin as she whispered, "Sorry for scaring you, I just wanted to ask something in private."
I nervously sat down as I waited for her to continue.
"Do you have any siblings?"
My eyes widened, "Why?" To my surprise, when I met her gaze, she seemed studious as though looking for a specific reaction. I could count on my fingers the amount of sentences the two of us have exchanged, but she's suddenly taking an interest in my personal life?
"I'm just curious about you, is all. It was really brave to stand up for Sakura like that."
It's obvious she was lying. Even if she was telling the truth about wanting to know more about me, why would her first question be about my siblings?
I answered honestly, but still felt uncomfortable, "I have a younger sister."
Her eyebrows rose, "That's all? Just a little sister?"
I nodded, surely looking more and more confused, "Were you expecting a different answer?"
A look of realization crossed her face and she waved her hands dismissively as she tried to lie once more, "You're such a good fighter, I was sure you'd grown up with at least one brother. I guess I was wrong!" She got to her feet as she spoke and started inching toward the bedroom again, "Thanks for chatting with me! Good night!"
I watched her dash away with a bewildered expression. I couldn't recall if she'd been this weird the whole time or if her actions were out of character.
With a sigh, I got up and went back to bed.