Chapter 21

When I woke, I was in a room almost identical to the bunks I'd grown accustomed to, but there were slight differences. For example, this room was not below ground. I could tell because there was a small window in the room that moonlight was shining through. Unfortunately, I could also see security bars across it outside, so it couldn't be used for an escape, but I was grateful we'd finally be exposed to some sunlight.

There were also no beds in this room, but sleeping bags littered the room in droves. My back was sore just thinking about it.

As I looked around the room, I realized that not everyone had arrived yet. Nearly half the beds were still empty.

Ino suddenly caught my eye and I slowly got to my feet so I could cross the room. She was kneeling beside someone else's sleeping bag with a look of discomfort on her pretty face. The girl jumped slightly when I knelt down beside her, glancing at me quickly before returning her attention to the boy laying before us.

It was Deidara, the blonde young man who hadn't returned with us yesterday. His hands and chest were covered with thick gauze and bandages that looked like they'd been changed recently since they still seemed fresh. His face was bright red and his skin appeared drenched with sweat. He was suffering from a fever like Sakura.

"What do you think they did to him?"

Both Ino and I jumped as we looked up to see a redheaded boy kneeling across from us. He'd been so still and quiet that we hadn't noticed him. If I remember correctly, this person's name was Sasori. His light brown eyes were focused on the blonde man's face and his expression was blank.

My mouth opened and closed as I tried to find some way of reassuring him, but my mind was blank. Even after regaining my sight, I still have no idea what they did to my eyes or why my pupils disappeared, so I couldn't logically guess what awaited us beneath Deidara's bandages. The redhead seemed to realize this, as well, and didn't repeat the question.

My eyes drifted back down to our peer's chest, and my body acted independently as though it knew what to do. A sharp pain crawled across my face, my eyes being the source, and it was suddenly like the thick gauze was sheer. I could see through it.

A quick breath left my body, and the other two gasped when they looked at me, but I ignored them and chose to use this odd occurrence to check on the blonde before us. There was a long scar across the left side of his chest, about six inches long, with stitches holding the wound closed. Smaller, matching wounds were across both of his hands.

Pounding was starting to resonate in my ears from the intense pain I was experiencing and I let my body act on its own once more. The pain subsided as my vision returned to normal and a sudden wave of exhaustion came over me.

Ino put a hand on my back as I panted for breath, "What did you just do?" Her voice was cautious and unsure.

I closed my eyes, a headache quickly forming, "I don't know, but I could…I could see under his bandages."

The two remained silent, and I reopened my eyes to see they both didn't seem to believe me. Honestly, I couldn't blame them because if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would call myself a liar. That wasn't the case, though.

I gestured across Deidara's chest, "He has a scar this long right here and a scar across each of his palms."

"So you've started noticing changes," A soft voice came from the foot of the bed and we all turned to see Obito standing there with his arms full of items he most likely brought to help the feverish male before us.

My eyes narrowed and I rose to my feet, "What're you doing here?" The other two took my lead and got up with looks of distrust set on the new arrival.

"I don't want to be here any more than you do. Please make room."

Sasori cautiously stepped away so Obito could kneel next to his patient and start preparing a cold press. I believed his words even if I didn't want to. Each time I ran into him, he seemed incredibly uncomfortable with what he was doing, almost like he was being forced.

"Then why are you here?"

His oddly colored eyes met mine as I came back down to his level, watching what he was doing very carefully to ensure he didn't intend to hurt our peer.

The man hesitated, but eventually replied in a quieter voice as though he was worried someone might overhear our conversation, "They have my wife and daughter."

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. I opened my mouth to ask why Madara would do this to his family, his own nephew, but then I remembered what a twisted and unstable person he was. After an awkward and silent moment, he continued as he placed the cold press on Deidara's sweaty forehead, "I know it doesn't make up for the terrible things I've done and I don't need your pity, but I want you to know that I take no joy in any of this."

My heart wrenched in my chest at his confession. I tried to put myself in his shoes and realized I'd probably end up doing the same thing he's done.

Gingerly, I reached over and placed a hand atop his, making Ino and Sasori look at me in disbelief, but I ignored them, "Maybe we can help one another. If we have someone like you out there, maybe we can come up with a plan to escape and save your family."

His eyes narrowed and he pulled his hand out from under mine. The voice he replied with was almost angry, "If they found out they'd kill them. It's too risky, I'm sorry."

He placed the basket of first aid products near Deidara's body before rising to his feet and wordlessly vacating the room. Ino and I shared a look before focusing on tending to the boy before us.

We were in the early hours of the morning when everyone had successfully been relocated to the new facility.

Sakura was still feverish when her group arrived, and we were all stunned to see Sasuke carrying her with an uncomfortable look across his face. Since the other two members in their travel group were female, he'd most likely been the only one strong enough to carry her with ease.

His bandages had also been removed, and I was surprised to see that both of his eyes were a similar red and black as one of Obito's. Briefly, I wondered if they'd given him a similar treatment because he was also an Uchiha, but then I couldn't figure out why they left Sai alone. Instead of giving myself a headache trying to figure it out, I put the question on the back burner and focused on trying to fall asleep.

After the final group arrived, Orochimaru came and told us that training would resume normally in the morning, so we all tried to get in a couple of hours of rest. Our sleeping assignments hadn't been addressed, but it seemed like everyone had grown used to their sleeping arrangements and naturally went near their usual bunkmates.

After briefly checking to make sure Hidan wasn't under the weather again, I rolled onto my back and sighed as I stared up at the ceiling. Just what did I do earlier that let me see through Deidara's bandages?

I tried to recall how I'd activated whatever trait my eyes had taken on, but couldn't get it to happen again. After a few more minutes of trying and failing, I gave up and let myself fall asleep.

Naturally, almost everyone was dead tired at breakfast. The new facility was virtually identical to the layout of the one back under the basement at home. The only noticeable differences were the lack of stairs leading to the thick iron door and the fact that both the bunk room and bathroom areas also had the thick doors instead of just an open archway.

Sakura's fever finally broke, and she could join us at the table while we ate. The poor girl looked utterly exhausted, but didn't complain. Naruto's eyes weren't even open as he drank his coffee, and I was briefly reminded of the first time he sat beside me for breakfast when he'd fallen asleep at the table.

My lips turned up slightly at the memory and he suddenly stirred, blinking with a confused look on his tired features. His blue eyes darted over to me, and I averted my gaze with a red face, worried I'd been caught staring, but he luckily didn't say anything, and I refocused on my meal.

Deidara had woken up, but was much too sore to get up so Sasori was eating in the bunk room so he could feed the poor guy. Ino told me she thinks the two are a bit more than friends, but neither of us had the courage to ask.

Kisame still hadn't shown up, and I was starting to worry they'd accidentally killed him while trying to do whatever experiment they'd chosen for the man, but I couldn't just ask one of the instructors about it, so no one knew for it sure.

After breakfast, we were taken to physical training where, luckily, Matsumi went easy on us. Orochimaru must be busy with something because he didn't show even once during the hours of exercise.

Days passed, and they all went pretty similarly as we returned to the routine. Eight days after our arrival at the new facility, Kisame finally reappeared. He was still gone when we went to sleep, but was there when a girl's shrill scream woke the room.

Hidan, his closest friend here, was the first to approach the unconscious man, but the rest of us silently watched. Bile rose in my throat as I lay eyes on his altered, unnatural, new appearance. Kisame's skin was a light blue color instead of the tan that it previously was, and some odd marks were on both of his cheeks.

A girl, whose name I didn't know, but I recognized as one of the girls rumored to have hooked up with him, was having what looked to be a panic attack, "W-What did they do to him? Why is he blue!"

Another girl held her with a scared look but didn't try to offer her any words of reassurance. When it became clear that he wasn't going to wake, most of us returned to our sleeping bags and went back to sleep, me included. Standing around staring at the young man wasn't going to help anyone.

He did wake in the morning, though, and we realized his skin wasn't the only thing that'd been altered. His eyes were no longer a dark blue, but instead a light gray that didn't look human anymore. The whites of his eyes had combined with the iris. I tried not to feel uncomfortable because my eyes, too, had been altered to look different, and it would be unfair to judge him for it. His teeth had been sharpened to a point.

When Hidan tried to ask the man what'd happened, he simply shook his head and claimed he wasn't ready to talk about it. We all had to pretend nothing was wrong, with no choice but to wait until he was.

To our surprise, Orochimaru and Madara came downstairs during breakfast that morning, the former speaking in a voice that did little to mask his excitement, "Will the following participants please follow me: Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuga, Gaara Subaku, Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hidan Fumetsu."

Tears welled up in my eyes as fear washed over my body. They wouldn't repeat what they'd done to me last time, would they? My hands shook as I rose to my feet and did as I was told. It'd only make things worse if I disobeyed.

We were led through a few different hallways before being instructed one by one which room to go wait in. The one I was sent to had that god forsaken chair with the optometrist-style tool hanging from the arm on the ceiling. I sat on the waiting sofa instead, too terrified to sit where I'd been so brutally experimented on.

The least they could've done was give me something for the pain, but they didn't. They'd let me suffer and were most likely happy about it. Just like last time I'd been in a room like this, small pangs of concern would pop up in my mind for just a moment at a time before fading away. The more the odd sensation happened, the less I was starting to believe my theory of an emotional disorder.

The door opened suddenly and pulled me from my anxious thoughts. My eyes narrowed when Madara entered and motioned for me to move to the chair. I wanted to shake my head, but couldn't bring myself to argue when he recognized my hesitation and pulled me to my feet by my wrist to guide me over to it.

The leather felt cold beneath my skin where it touched and my limbs shook with fright. The professor knelt down in front of me and stared deeply into my eyes in silence for a few moments before a grin slid onto his lips, and he sighed with happiness, "You seem to be adjusting well."

He waited for me to respond, but didn't seem too upset when I didn't. "I wanted to issue you a warning, of sorts. Do you remember what I told you about my Xenology studies?"

Hesitantly, I nodded. Whatever nonsense he's come to spill into my mind was bound to be another one of his impossible theories.

"If my calculations are correct, based on the increased speed of ocean exploration, discovery has become eminent. I'd say within the next six months, first contact will be made if it hasn't already."

I responded before I could stop myself, "Why are you telling me this?" Of course I don't believe his insane warning, but I was curious about why he felt the need to say them in the first place.

His hand suddenly cupped my cheek in a gentle manner and an endearing look crossed his face, making me want to flee the room. "To encourage you, my dear. You and I are going to witness one of the most important moments in history and I want you to be prepared."

My teeth grit when he said "you and I", but I bit my tongue instead of trying to correct him. Each time I lost my temper with the unstable man, I came to regret it, so I had to stay calm no matter what.

The door opened and the man swiftly rose to his feet and stepped away to shake Orochimaru's hand. The doctor grinned down at me as he approached, "Obito tells me he witnessed you activating the gift we've given you. I must admit, I thought it'd take longer."

My mind was having an argument with itself. It'll never be a good idea to trust the people before me, but having them teach me about what they've done might be the only way to figure out how it works.

My voice wavered as I looked down at my hands in my lap, "I-I don't know what I did."

The doctor let out a chuckle, making me look back up at him, "Of course you don't. That's what you're here to learn today."

After inspecting my eyes under the device hanging from the ceiling and writing down some information on his clipboard, he pulled a medium-sized cardboard box from one of the storage drawers built into the wall.

As he held it in his hands before me, he offered me an encouraging grin, "Now, tell me what's inside."

I hesitated, but Madara gave me a warning look, so I focused on the box and tried to do what I'd done a week ago. No matter what I tried, I couldn't do it.

The doctor shook his head, "I expected this. Tell me, Hinata, what were you doing when you successfully activated it before?"

My hands were sweaty so I rubbed my palms on my lap awkwardly, "I was trying to make sure Deidara was alright."

"You had a goal in mind that you considered important."

I understood what he was insinuating, but couldn't figure out how to convince myself that seeing what's inside the box was as important as someone's life potentially being in danger.

"I think she needs a little encouragement, Dr. Uchiha."

My heartbeat quickened as the man walked around behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders, "Tell me what's in the box or I'll go in the other room and cut off one of the Haruno girl's fingers and bring it to you."

The memory of Sakura's painful screams the night she'd collapsed made my breath pick up and I desperately tried to look through the cardboard, but still couldn't. After another few moments, the hands on my shoulders left and Madara walked around the chair I was in. I saw him pull a pocket knife out as he headed for the door.

My body moved out of the seat and I tried to cross the room to physically stop him, but a familiar burning started to spread from my eyes until it covered most of the top half of my face.

The two men froze as I panted for breath, trying to manage the pain ringing through my head, "Scissors, it's a pair of scissors!"

Orochimaru's grin spread wide across his face and he set the box on the counter so he could clap his hands together, "Splendid!"

The burning sank away as my vision returned to normal and I felt myself nearly topple to the floor when the exhaustion hit, but Madara was suddenly at my side to steady me.

After explaining that the goal was to activate this trait as often and as long as possible to strengthen my control, I was forced to practice for a few hours before being sent back to eat dinner with everyone else.

I was worn out, naturally, but was still relieved I hadn't been cut open with a scalpel or injected with any more mysterious serums.