Once the last person had left the vicinity and we heard the door close at the end of the hall, Madara addressed me coldly, "What did I tell you would happen if you let anyone find out about us?"

The way he said it made it sound like something it most definitely wasn't.

Masumi wasn't in here when we'd all resubmerged from our training rooms, so it was just us two in the large open area. He'd backed me against the wall, but thankfully didn't touch me.

I shook my head in denial, "I didn't tell anyone anything."

There was a sharp sting across my face as he slapped me. My face turned to the side with the force he'd put into it and I reached up to cup my cheek with a shaky hand.

"Then why would Naruto Uzumaki think you fear blindfolds?"

I tried to reason with him, "I don't know how he found out about that, I swear! I've been trying as hard as I can to keep things to myself."

His hand reared back up as though he was about to hit me again and I squeezed my eyes shut, "P-Please! It's impossible to hide everything when he's literally reading my mind, you must know that!"

The second hit didn't come and I peeked to see him glaring down at me with a frown, "How much does he know?"

I explained he'd only seen a few glimpses of him and Masumi, but doesn't know how they're connected to me. He brought his hand up to his chin in thought as I tried to hide my cowardice. "Perhaps I should have a one on one visit with him to make sure he keeps his mouth shut."

My fear temporarily dissipated as I panicked, "N-no, don't!"

His eyes widened as he looked at me. "Why shouldn't I? You can't stop me."

My hands curled into fists at my sides. This man thoroughly enjoyed flaunting his power over me. Even if it's true that I couldn't do anything, I desperately pleaded with him, "I…I'll do whatever you want, but please don't hurt him. He hasn't done anything wrong!"

The professor looked taken back by my words, "You like him, don't you?"

My face warmed, but I shook my head, "I don't want to see a good person get hurt because of me, so please-"

"You sound just like your mother."

My mouth clamped shut as tears welled up in my eyes. Every time he talked about her, it hurt more. His hand rose to gently cup my red cheek, pushing mine out of the way, "That's something she'd say, I'm sure of it."

My face heated further, but only because it was taking all my effort to not cringe away from his touch. Unlike last time he'd gotten this close, if I offended him right now he might take his anger out on another target, like Naruto. So, in an effort to protect the person I'd already hurt, I made myself bear with it.

"D-Do you know if Masumi's baby is my father's or yours yet?" I made an attempt to change the subject from my dead mother. He didn't have the right to tarnish her name like he has been.

The gentle hand against my face swiftly grasped my jaw and he leaned in so close that our noses nearly touched. My breath got caught in my throat.

"It's mine, just like you."

I felt my tears spill over as I trembled. He's maniacal. He may be incredibly intelligent, but something was imbalanced within him. No sane person would do the things he's done.

"I-I'm not-"

"You're mine until I decide otherwise."

As though nothing had happened, he dismissed me after letting go of my face, "I suggest you have a talk with your partner so I don't have to."

My limbs felt wobbly as I slipped past him and turned into the hall so I could leave. I nearly screamed in shock when I saw Naruto, Sakura, Ino, and Tenten kneeling against the wall, but swiftly bit down on the surprised sound so I could act natural and not give them away. My eyebrows furrowed and I followed them out of the training area.

Once the door closed behind us, I tried to rush off to hide in the bathroom stall like I've grown used to doing, but Ino grabbed my wrist tightly, "Do you wanna explain what the hell just happened?"

I turned my head away to try and hide the fact that I was crying and tugged against her hold, "Let go."

To my surprise, she did, however she then shoved me with two hands against my shoulders. I lost my balance and fell onto my bottom. My eyes locked onto her angry ones and I looked behind her to see Naruto and Sakura holding each of her arms back so she couldn't touch me again. Other people started popping up in the doorway of the bunks because they heard what sounded like fighting.

"I thought we were friends, Hinata!" My attention was pulled back to the blond.

I slowly rose back to my feet while wiping at my eyes, but it was useless because my tears weren't showing signs of stopping. The door to the M.A.T. area opened as Madara came through and we all jumped to act normally. I used the opportunity to flee to the bathroom since I knew they wouldn't do anything with him present. He didn't say anything to anyone and I heard the door at the top of the stairs open and close as I pulled my knees up to my chest.

Sobs shook my diaphragm and I did my best to muffle the sound with my hands, but they had to know. Things were quiet outside for a long time before I ultimately heard a soft knock on the stall door.

"Hinata, are you okay?" It was Sakura.

I squeezed my eyes shut, thick tears rolling down my cheeks, "Leave me a-alone." My voice cracked.

I heard a click and my eyes shot open in shock as the door creaked open. She broke in! Luckily, it was just her standing there and she stepped in before closing the door behind her. I cringed away from her when she turned to face me again. Things were quiet for a few moments as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say.

When she finally spoke, her voice was soft, "I won't ask you to tell me everything, okay? But I think I deserve to ask at least one question."

My face was buried into the arms crossed over my knees and I didn't dare look up at her, but waited for her to continue.

"Are you here by your own choice?"

My heartbeat quickened as I panicked. On one hand, if I answer honestly and Madara finds out, I probably wouldn't be the only one punished. On the other hand, Sakura was right. She deserves the truth. Slowly, I pulled back so I could look up and meet her eye. She was leaning her back against the door with a conflicted expression. I tried to make myself respond, but as we stared at one another I couldn't choose to put her in danger.

My chin quivered as I opened my mouth to lie once more, but she cut me off, "I knew it."

I was so stunned that I didn't fight her as she tugged my legs down and knelt in front of me, holding my shaking hands in her own, "Whatever your reasons are, I know you're a good person."

My chest tightened with guilt and I tried to pull away, but her grip was too strong. "You stood up for me when Karin-" she paused, her voice wavering slightly with emotion, but she swallowed before making herself continue, "You got hurt for my sake and I can't tell you what that means to me. I don't care if you don't consider us friends, I'm here to talk when you're ready."

Sakura released her hold on me, rose to her feet, and left me alone in my stall once more.

Kabuto came and forced me to come out for dinner, threatening to bust the door down if I didn't obey. The room got silent as I sat down with my puffy eyes glued to the plate before me. By now, I was sure everyone knew what the four had overheard so it was only a matter of time before Madara found out and came to get me. My death certificate had surely been signed.

The Program's dietician refused to leave until I started eating, so I did so with shaking hands. Once he left to check on others, I chanced a glance up at the others sitting at the table. Ino was glaring shamelessly at me, not even flinching when we met eyes.

Guilt tightened my chest again and I looked back down in shame. Her anger was warranted so I couldn't blame her for being upset. I could only imagine how bad things sounded from where she'd been eavesdropping. She must be so confused and hurt, but I also struggled to comprehend that she cared enough to be affected by it. Girls like Ino and Sakura make friends so easily, I didn't think they'd care about someone like me all that much, but apparently I'd been wrong.

The rest of the evening was incredibly tense. Kabuto went back upstairs after dinner and I retreated back into the bathroom. Tenten tried to stop me when I passed her, but I ignored her with my head low.

For hours, I sat atop the lid of the toilet as I held my body together with my legs to my chest. A few people tried to talk to me through the door, but I ignored them. By the time it was lights out, my muscles hurt from sitting in the same position for so long and my face felt stiff from the dried tears that'd finally stopped running down it.

It gradually got more and more quiet until it was clear at least most of the other participant's had gone to sleep. You'd think since everyone's young, a lot of people would stay up later than we're supposed to, but the intense training really wore us all out.

I, too, started to fall in and out of consciousness. It may have been a few minutes or even a few hours, but I eventually woke back up, only to nearly jump out of my skin when I saw Naruto sitting with his back against the side of the stall. I hadn't even heard him break in.

He wasn't facing me, but I could see that he was asleep because his head had fallen slightly to the side and his mouth was open slightly. His arms were crossed at his chest and his legs were crossed. If I wasn't feeling so terrible, I would've been amused at the sight. However, I felt even more guilty that he was going to undoubtedly be as sore as me in the morning from sleeping like that.

As if my thought had been aloud, he stirred, reaching up to massage the back of his neck with one hand and rub his eyes with the other as he yawned. He glanced over at me with his open eye and froze mid-yawn before dropping his hands and closing his mouth. My frown tightened and I wanted to look away, but couldn't do it.

"Hey."

His voice was low and raspy from sleep, and he continued when it became clear I wasn't going to respond. "Wanna give me that talk Madara mentioned?"

I shook my head, eyes sinking down to look at his crossed legs on the ground. He sighed and we sat in silence for a few moments before he tried again.

"I shouldn't have put that thing about the blindfold in there, I'm sorry."

I scoffed without thinking, "You're apologizing to me?" My mouth clamped shut as I realized I'd spoken.

He surprised me by offering a small smile, shaking his head when I gave him a confused look, "It's been weeks since you've given me an honest reaction. I'm relieved."

I wasn't sure how to respond, so I didn't.

He sighed again, "I think I'm starting to piece together some of what's going on with you."

My feet slid off the seat and I had to lean forward to catch myself from falling forward, "Don't…"

The blood returning to my legs as my feet touched the ground felt amazing.

"Listen, I appreciate that you're trying to protect me, but here's the thing: you never asked if I wanted it or not."

Goosebumps started creeping onto my skin. It's cold here in the open without a blanket at night. Naruto's blue eyes were serious as he moved his body around so he could face me more easily. "It's not fair to make a decision for me without even telling me why."

I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off, "I heard everything earlier so I know I'm already in danger. It's time to tell the truth, at least to me. I'm already involved."

He was right, of course. It's my fault his life's at risk so the least I could do is tell him why, but it was so hard to come clean when his opinion of me will surely change once he knows the truth. My words choked up in my throat, "I can't."

My face heated instantly when he suddenly grabbed one of my hands and held it between his much larger ones, "Stop trying to handle this alone! You're gonna kill yourself, so just stop. Tell me something that'll help this all make sense."

My lips moved before I could bite back my response, "Why do you care?"

His mouth clamped shut as though he was taken aback by my question, but he quickly recovered. "You're my friend, that's why, " he met my gaze firmly, but his expression became more empathetic, "Please let me help my friend, Hinata. Tell me."

I felt my resolve slowly melt away and eventually I relented. After weeks of stress and secrets, I came clean to him about everything. I told him about my father's death, my sister, Masumi and her pregnancy, the truth behind The Program, and even about Madara's story about my mother.

He held my hand firmly in his the whole time only to let go once I was done with my lengthy explanation. I wanted to cry as I waited for his response, but didn't have any more tears left to spend on pitying myself. Instead, I grit my teeth as he silently gathered his thoughts. When he finally spoke, I cringed in anticipation of his anger. If someone had lied to me like I had to him, I know I'd be upset.

"How have you been holding it together all this time!" He'd risen to his feet and was looking down at me with a guilty expression. My frown widened and he ran a stressful hand through his hair, "This is…a lot, I'm not gonna lie."

I nodded, ready to accept whatever harsh words he wanted to use on me, but he didn't insult me.

"I'm more upset that you didn't trust me than anything else. Well, the prize money would've been nice…" He pulled my hand into his again and pulled me up to my feet. There wasn't a lot of room for us to both be standing in the small stall so we were very close.

"I'm not mad at you, okay? I'm pissed at Dr. Uchiha. It's his fault, not yours."

A small squeak of surprise came from the back of my throat as he suddenly pulled me into a tight hug. If you don't count our mental training sessions, this was the closest I'd ever been to any guy in my life. My fingers twitched at my sides as I fought the urge to hug him back.

His arms tightened around my body and he spoke in a sincere voice, "You really were trying hard to protect me, weren't you? Thanks."

My whole body felt hot and I thought I was going to faint when he finally pulled away, "I won't tell anyone about all this, but I do think you should talk to Ino and Sakura."

My limbs tensed up and I shook my head, "It's bad enough I told you. If Madara found out I told them, too…"

He nodded slowly with a frown, unlatching the stall door with one hand and opening it, "You're right." He let me walk out past him and I approached the sinks so I could wash my face.

"Damn it! This really sucks!"

He waited for me to finish before we headed to the bunks side by side. He spoke in a whisper as we climbed into our respective beds, "Let's worry about this tomorrow."

I nodded silently, my exhaustion hitting me like a truck. I fell asleep almost instantly.