Chapter Eleven

-Sakura's POV-

I suppose I should've considered us lucky that we'd been able to travel by vehicle at all, but it was hard to keep my thoughts positive as we trekked on foot for the second day in a row. It was almost nighttime, and if we kept this pace when we woke up in the morning, we'd reach Hinata around midday.

Naruto's previous irritable personality had finally disappeared, allowing him to revert to his usual friendly self. It was unspoken, but all of us were relieved. I know that I personally was worried he'd never be the same. Things had gotten bad for him over the past two months, and there wasn't anything any of us could say or do to help. Only Hinata could cheer him up, and she finally did.

When we were all captured during the final trial, I was surprised by how strong his loyalty to our Hyuuga friend was, but now that I'd had time to think about it, I realized he was sort of like that during the last half of The Program as well. He may have forced himself to tone it down so he wouldn't make her uncomfortable.

Now, my worry was transferred to my introverted friend, whom we were on the way to rescue. Every morning after we first set out, he'd wake up a walking ball of anxiety because our separated friend was slowly starving to death.

That was until two days ago when he woke up with a big grin and tackled Kiba, who happened to be the closest to him then, into a tight hug as he informed us all that the Hyuuga girl had somehow broken out of her room and found food. After that, our mission became a retrieval rather than a race against the clock.

Was she really okay, though? From how Naruto described it, she, too, had been in solitary confinement this whole time. Even I was affected by that, but she was already a timid and anxious person before all this. She proved time and time again during The Program that she was stronger than any of us thought, so I just had to convince myself that was the case this time around, too.

The only sounds were our footsteps on the pavement and the wind blowing as we traveled. Otogakure was just a few miles away now. Dreary clouds in the sky proved it. My elementary school once took a field trip to Oto because they have a giant children's museum, and the weather was exactly like this the whole time. That's why it was often called "The Land of Rain".

Oto was in a similar state to Konoha, which only concerned us all further. The explosions and abandoned towns were terrifying enough, but after our encounter with that strange orange-haired man, none of us knew what to think.

Naruto told us that he read a book in school where aliens would take over human bodies via entry at the back of the neck and that Hinata told him Madara teaches a class about aliens and believes they're real, which is why he did what he did. We were more surprised that he'd read a book than anything else.

After experiencing the odd M.A.T. technology, realizing Naruto could somehow communicate with Hinata, and witnessing Orochimaru's bizarre experiments forced on us: Why wouldn't aliens be real? It was kind of exhausting, all the traumatic things happening to our group of misfits. Of course, there'd be aliens added to the mix.

Rather than set up tents and risk being caught in freezing rain, we traveled a bit later into the night until we reached the outskirts of town and found an abandoned house. Since they were all empty anyway, we chose the biggest, fanciest one.

Once indoors at the miniature mansion, we realized the electricity and water were somehow still working and took advantage of the opportunity to bathe while we had a chance.

Neji and Kankuro found the generator in the basement. They confirmed it was what the house was running off of, but they couldn't figure out how much juice it had left in it, so we agreed to swallow our pride and bathe in pairs in an attempt to ensure everyone got a chance before the hot water ran out.

Naturally, Ino and I paired up. It wasn't that awkward because we'd been friends since we were five years old and bathed together pretty often back then. We just had boobs now. Well… she had boobs.

"Damn, it's been forever since I've had a hot bath!"

She was right. Both The Program and the asylum only had standing showers. I pouted as I averted my eyes from her voluptuous curves and silently scrubbed my hair with the expensive shampoo we found in the cabinet.

My blond friend also washed her hair, smiling with her blue eyes closed, "Do you think Sai and I will ever have a nice house like this?"

I looked at her in disbelief, "Have you already decided you're gonna marry him? Lunatic."

She glanced at me, and her grin widened as she shrugged, "Why not? He's hot, he thinks I'm hot, and we get along great."

My face warmed at her bold claims, and I shook my head at her, "So are guys, like, together or something?"

She cackled loudly, more akin to her personality before The Program, "We're not official or anything, but we've fooled around a little. What's he gonna do? Cheat on me with Matsuri?"

I cocked my head and nodded. That was a fair point. At least for now, it's unlikely another girl would come along and steal his attention.

"By the way, on the topic of Matsuri, can you believe how brave that girl is? Cuddling…with Gaara!" Ino's voice was softer because she didn't want anyone outside the bathroom to hear.

I grit my teeth momentarily. The redheaded boy was the person who scared me the most out of everyone here. That probably stemmed from his beating the living hell out of me the day my sister was killed and never apologizing. That being said, as someone who's taken classes on mental health, it's obvious something traumatic happened to him in the past that made him act the way he does. I don't know what it was or how to figure it out.

Instead of talking down on him, even though it would be understandable for me of all people to do so, I closed my eyes as I leaned back to rinse my hair of suds, "He's a human being, Ino, not some monster. I think she's a really good person for trying so hard to make sure he's cared for. He would've frozen to death by now if she wasn't."

After being treated like a caged bird in that damned cell, I've developed an odd kinship with the misunderstood, like Gaara.

My best friend frowned with a look of guilt, "Yeah, you're right. Sorry. I just can't help but hold a grudge after what he did to you."

I shook my head, massaging some conditioner into my long hair now, "As far as I'm concerned, that's ancient history."

She sighed, "Fine. If you forgive him, then I will too."

My lips turned into a grateful smile, and her face warmed slightly as she splashed some water on me, "Don't look at me like that when we're naked, you creep!" A laugh shook my shoulders, and I splashed her back.

After bathing, we raided the kitchen and realized they had a gas stove, meaning cooking an honest-to-good meal without using any precious electricity was possible. Usually, a gas stove would use electricity to ignite, but if you have matches, you don't technically need it.

After thawing the meat in the freezer and verifying it wasn't spoiled, Ino and I went to work. Neither of us could say we were any better or worse at cooking than the next person, but a home-cooked meal was a home-cooked meal, and that was something none of us had had in months, minus maybe Shikamaru.

Whoever owned this house was well off because their freezer was full of high-end steaks and frozen vegetables. Kiba eventually wandered into the kitchen as we were chopping some peppers, and a wolfish grin spread across his face as he spoke in a teasing voice, "Are you guys cooking for us? You'd make such good moms."

My face warmed with annoyance, "Don't be a weirdo."

He laughed before motioning to the meat on the counter, "Can I help? My dad owns a restaurant, so I promise not to be useless." Ino and I glanced at one another before shrugging, and he casually joined us.

There was so much to work with that we prepared a feast. We made pasta, steaks, stir-fry, and a few other possible dishes on the stovetop. It's not like the owners would return before all those ingredients spoiled anyway, so we didn't feel guilty about using them. After setting the large dining table, we called everyone downstairs. A couple of others had come down to inspect the smells wafting up from the kitchen, but we'd turned them away so the room wouldn't get overcrowded.

Finally, just before midnight, we sat down for a super late dinner like a rag-tag family. Eating and laughing with everyone felt almost normal, like we weren't in a stranger's home in the middle of an abandoned city.

Would this have ever happened if The Program hadn't existed, though? Most of these people have squeezed their way into my heart so firmly that I'd be heartbroken never to see them again. Would I have met Hinata, Naruto, or even Sasuke out in the world at some point? The thought was bittersweet.

Even if we didn't need to, everyone split into small groups to share beds after dinner. There were enough sofas and lounge chairs in the large home for everyone to sleep alone, and the furnace kept the place warm, so it wasn't like we needed to use one another's body heat like usual either.

Regardless, I was stuck in bed with Ino and the Uchiha brothers.

My best friend and her boyfriend, if you could consider him that since they haven't put a label on it, were cuddled up all cute in the center of the bed, making me want to be sick at their unfiltered affection. That left me on Ino's other side and Sasuke beside his brother. The bed was big enough that it wasn't all that cramped for the four of us to share.

I lay on my back and zoned out with my eyes on the ceiling. The silky robe I was borrowing while my clothes hung to dry felt so lovely against my freshly washed skin, but for some reason, all of it made me restless.

This type of "normal" stuff likely won't happen again, for me, at least. Even if this alien invasion, or whatever it is, ends and society rebuilds, things have happened that I simply wouldn't be able to ignore.

I killed a man.

I thoughtlessly attacked Hidan the moment I was released from my cell, even though he was there to free me.

The amount of violence my body had unconsciously started reverting to scared me. None of this was who I am. I never wanted to get involved in fighting and using weapons. In fact, I've always avoided those types of things.

The image of that soldier's dead body on the ground and his blood on my hands suddenly came to mind. My heartbeat quickened, and I rushed out of the room and towards the bathroom down the hall before I realized I was about to be sick. I didn't even bother turning the lights on and emptied my stomach of the food I'd eaten at dinner, flushing the toilet when I was finished.

My hands shook as I pushed my hair out of my face to rinse my mouth in the sink. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and hardly recognized myself. My eyes were dark with bags underneath, and my lips were set in what looked like a permanent grimace. My hair was overgrown, falling to the middle of my back.

With tears in my eyes, I searched the cabinet until I found what I was looking for: a pair of scissors. I stared briefly at the sharp hair-clippers as I mentally prepared myself for what I was about to do. After deeply breathing, I put my fingers in the handles and pointed the scissors toward me.

As I moved my hand and snipped a thick strand of my hair, a firm hand grasped my wrist and yanked the tool away. They clattered loudly onto the bathroom counter as I lost my grip.

My eyes widened when I turned to see Sasuke glaring down at me. His grip on my wrists was tight, and I couldn't tear free of it. "What the hell are you doing?"

I jumped slightly in surprise. Being spoken to by him directly was incredibly rare. Nervous tears welled in my eyes, and I shakily looked between him and the scissors, "Cutting my hair. It's too long."

The anger in his gaze lessened slightly as his eyes danced down to the strands of hair that'd fallen to the floor at my feet before releasing me and taking a step back. Looking back at the scissors, I realized what he thought I was about to do and felt extremely stupid. The Uchiha boy gave me one more annoyed look before leaving the room without another word.

Embarrassed, I picked up the scissors and finished what I'd started. When I was done, my long hair was chopped to shoulder length. It felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The reflection in the mirror didn't wholly reflect who I was, but it was closer than before.