Chapter 22

We were returned to The Program area just before dinner. Once the instructors disappeared behind the iron door, we were bombarded with questions.

Flashes of concern shot through my brain and only stopped when Naruto pulled my arms out from my sides so he could look me over for injuries, "What'd they do to you guys?"

My face warmed and I gingerly pulled my limbs from his grip, making him frown. Surprisingly, Sasuke answered before I could come up with a response. His voice was raspier than I remember it being. "They're testing body modifications on us."

Naruto didn't hesitate like the rest of us, "Well I can tell what they modified on you, Hinata, and Kisame, but what about the rest of you guys? Sakura?"

We turned to the pink-haired girl expectantly. The girl had still been a bit pale when we awoke this morning, most likely still recovering from the harsh fever she'd suffered, but her face got even whiter once the attention was turned onto her. "I…I'd rather not say."

Ino hugged her friend in her arms, saying, "You don't have to if you don't want to, Saku."

"They told me they're attempting to give me the heightened senses of a couple of different predatory animals."

We all turned when Kiba suddenly confessed. His face warmed slightly, and he raised his hands casually in defense, "I haven't really noticed any changes so far though!"

The iron door reopened and Kabuto came through with the large food cart he always brought, and our conversation was brought to a premature close. Since the health specialist would undoubtedly report anything he overheard to Orochimaru and Madara, everyone silently agreed to keep quiet until the silver-haired man left the area again.

We sat in a large circle after dinner, reminding me of the first day we'd all arrived and had done so to introduce ourselves. This group of misfits has truly come a long way.

"As I said, I haven't noticed any changes yet, but the doctor said I should eventually be able to smell and hear better than even a wolf or bear." Hushed murmurs dusted the air as the group pondered his words.

Deidara, whose fever had gone down drastically, but was still bedridden because of his sore body, spoke up, "Hinata."

I perked up, eyes wide because the man had never directly spoken to me before, "Y-Yes?"

He glanced at Sasori, who sat at his side, and gave him an encouraging nod, before swallowing nervously and continuing, "Can you take another look at me?"

My face warmed as a few people looked at me with confused expressions. Only those who'd witnessed me accidentally activate my new ability knew what had happened. Sasori had undoubtedly told him how I'd somehow seen beneath his bandages.

"What's he talking about?" I glanced at Sakura as my frown deepened, "I can try." My limbs shook nervously as I approached him where he sat atop his sleeping bag and knelt by his side, "What makes you think anything will be different from last time?"

He placed a trembling palm against his chest with a disgusted look, "Ever since this morning, I've felt something moving, and I can't tell if I'm imagining it or not."

With my teeth grit, I nodded to steel my nerves before enacting what I'd practiced with Madara and Orochimaru earlier in the day. Gasps sounded around the room as the familiar heat spread throughout my face and my vision altered. My heart was immediately pounding quickly in my chest, and I hurried to move his hand aside because I knew I couldn't keep it up for long.

My eyebrows furrowed and shock stilled my body as I stared at the young man's chest. The stitches that once held the long cut closed appeared to have dissolved, and instead of a wound, it appeared the skin had pulled back a bit beneath the bandages to reveal what looked like….teeth.

My hands shook, but I firmly grabbed his wrists and studied his hands. The injuries there were in the same state and also appeared to have odd dental features.

"Woah, Hinata, take it easy!"

I felt my vision return to normal and nearly fell backward when the wave of exhaustion hit me, but Naruto wrapped an arm around my shoulders and held me upright. Deidara's face was bright red, and he looked like he was about to be sick, "Well? What'd you see?"

My entire body felt hot as I tried to wrap my mind around why they'd put what appeared to be mouths on different parts of his body, and I took a few calming breaths to work through my exhaustion so I wouldn't faint.

"It looks like teeth, but that can't be true, right?"

The red color on the blonde's face paled instantly, and Sasori quickly helped him lay back down as he nearly passed out. His words were weak, "T-Teeth? So what's moving then?"

I shook my head quickly, "I don't know."

The room was filled with the steady sound of light whispers, and I felt bad that Deidara was finding this out in front of so many people, but I didn't have a chance to speak to him in private, so it was too late.

Like Sakura, Hidan and Gaara wouldn't tell us what their modifications were supposed to be. Sasuke claimed he didn't know what ability his new eyes were supposed to give him yet, so only Kiba and I knew the reasoning behind our experiments. Of course, we didn't know what happened to Kisame or why they did what they did to Deidara.

Later that night, after everyone went to bed, I lay awake with my mind racing. The things these adults are doing to us, they're downright inhumane. Not only that, but they seem like something from a science fiction film or something, not real life.

On a whim, I activated my eye's new skill again and turned my head to try and see through the wall that would lead out of The Program's area. I couldn't tell who it was, but there appeared to be an adult woman in some kind of cell or a padded room. She was sitting on the edge of a bed with her head in her hands.

"Can't sleep?"

My eyes deactivated, and my teeth grit as the migraine from earlier returned, and I turned over to face Naruto, who'd been the one to whisper and break my concentration, with a hand to my forehead. His blue eyes seemed bright even in the dark room as he stared with an unreadable expression.

I turned onto my side with a frown and whispered, "It's just all so unbelievable."

He nodded in agreement. We stared at one another silently before he replied, "Do you think they'll let us go in the end?"

My brow furrowed. I desperately wanted to reassure him that everything would be okay, but I owe it to him after all the stress I've caused to be honest, "I'll be surprised if they do."

To my shock, he inched a bit closer in his sleeping bag to pull one of my hands into his with a surprisingly serious face, "Whatever happens, let's promise to be there for each other, okay?"

My eyes widened, and for some reason, I hesitated. Even if I've come clean to him about everything, I still can't justify putting him in even more danger.

His grip tightened, pulling me from my anxious thoughts, "Friends, right? I've got your back, and you've got mine?"

I couldn't stop myself from nodding in agreement, allowing his words to bring the smallest bit of hope that we'd somehow make it out alive in the end.

As I was showering the next morning, I was surprised to hear Sakura whisper to me through the thin curtain. We were still the only ones in the bathing area as we'd always been the earliest risers of the group.

"Hey, Hinata, can I run an idea past you?"

My fingers paused momentarily while lathering shampoo into my hair, "Yes, what is it?" I mirrored her whisper, sensing she didn't want to be overheard.

"I think we should all devise a plan to escape in case this all ends badly, don't you?"

Tears rose in my eyes at the doomed tone of her voice. Even if she was proposing to make a plan, she sounded as though she'd already expected the worst possible outcome. I responded, "Did you have something in mind?"

She explained that she didn't have any details ironed out. Still, she wanted as many of us as possible to work together to form a plan of escape and even wanted to come up with backup plans and possible meeting places should any of us be separated. I couldn't deny it was a good idea.

For most of The Program's participants, if they get released, they can simply return to their families, but for those of us like Kisame, whose appearance has been altered to the point that it'd be hard to hide, that'd be impossible. I felt awful for everyone who'd been tricked into coming here. They never would've guessed that some seemingly harmless twelve-week program would permanently affect their lives.

It started to feel like I needed to take responsibility for those who had been hurt. If I'd come clean about my knowledge of The Program early on, surely things would've turned out differently.

As I thought that, I shook the idea away. Hanabi might've been hurt or even killed if I'd told the truth. I did what I did because I didn't have a choice. Regardless of how bad I felt for those who've been negatively affected by The Program, all I can do now is help them to the best of my ability. It's too late to go back and change things, so there's no point in wallowing about it.

After dinner that night, most of Group B and even a few members of Group A gathered in a tight circle to start making plans in whispered voices. There were obviously surveillance cameras in the room, but we weren't sure if they recorded audio, and if they did we wanted to be as quiet as possible, so the chances of being overheard were slimmer.

By the time we went to bed, a rough outline of our plan was complete. We would attempt multiple different escape tactics simultaneously to increase our success chances. We would constantly be looking for ways to gain information, weapons, or modes of contact with the outside world.

The plan was to play to everyone's strengths. For example, Temari and Kankuro, Gaara's older siblings, are extremely good pick-pockets. Hence, they planned to start somehow sneaking smaller weapons out of the physical training area so we could start a stockpile for the day of our escape.

I was initially surprised that the two were so eager to help since they usually stayed in the back and preferred to listen instead of talk to anyone, but it made sense to go along with everyone if they wanted to survive. Gaara himself had agreed to help, albeit wordlessly.

I would use my new ability to try and gather intel about the building we're in and see if I can't find some kind of escape route. Unbeknownst to most of the group, I was also going to do my best to get on Madara's good side, hoping he'll spill some more information and maybe even come to trust me. This fact made me extremely uncomfortable, but I just kept telling myself it was for my new friends. A few days later, Kiba shot to his feet out of nowhere with a shocked expression. We all stared in silence as he appeared to be distracted. After a tense moment, he whispered with a bright red face, "I-I can hear them talking!"

He crouched down with a faraway look in his eyes. Hidan lay a hand on his shoulder, offering him support in silence. The boy spoke again, brown eyes widening even further, "Hinata, look in that direction. How far away are they?"

I nodded and wordlessly adhered to his request and activated what Madara referred to as my "Byakugan". When I asked him why he called it that, he said that in Japanese, it means "all-seeing eye" or something like that.

"They're about seventy yards away!"

If he could hear them from this distance, his body modifications were undoubtedly starting to take effect. Naruto patted Kiba on the back, and I returned my vision to normal, wincing as my head ached slightly.

"This is great, man! You can eavesdrop on them now."

Even if the statement was true, Kiba's new "gift" became more troublesome than we expected. He couldn't sleep because he could hear too well and kept getting headaches because of the constant noises that seemed quiet to us but were incredibly loud to him. Orochimaru gave him a large pack of earplugs to muffle things a bit.

I felt bad for the boy. At least I can deactivate my byakugan. He has no way of turning off his sensitive hearing. When I couldn't sleep at night, I started heading over to sit in front of the window to look at the dense forest outside. I've always been a bit of a homebody because my skin is pale and sensitive to the sun, but now that I don't have the freedom to go outside, it's all I want to do. I longed to smell the fresh air that I could see blowing about the trees.

When I activated my eye skill and searched outside, I could only see one road in the far distance and never saw any vehicles on it, so wherever we are must be incredibly remote.

More days passed, full of training our bodies, minds, and our new modifications for a few of us. I did recon as often as my body would allow me and fell into bed completely exhausted each night.

After working with Kiba, I discovered the identity of the woman being held in the nearby cell. It was Obito's wife. Kiba heard her say his name to herself multiple times, so I didn't know who else it could possibly be. I yearned to tell the man about my discovery but hadn't come into contact with him since the day of our relocation when he'd told me about his family's capture.

In the middle of dinner, when I was sure Kabuto wasn't looking, I activated my byakugan and visually searched his heavily clothed body for pockets. My eyes widened when I saw a small gun tucked into the back of his trousers, but suddenly a sharp pain shot through my head, and my vision went black.

I could feel my eyes return to normal, but I still couldn't see anything. My breathing picked up, and I covertly tried to alert one of my friends so Kabuto wouldn't realize I'd been spying on him. Tears rose when I felt Naruto's calloused fingers interlock with mine. My eyes were wide as I tried to look at him, but I couldn't see a thing.

He whispered as he'd undoubtedly realized I was trying to be discreet, "What's wrong?"

My voice trembled, "I-I can't see!"

I heard footsteps coming nearer and pulled my hand from his so I could pretend to be focused on my meal.

"Hinata, why are you not eating?"

I forced my expression into annoyance as I glared down at what I hoped was my tray, "I'm taking a moment to digest if that's okay with you."

There was a pause before I felt a hand lay on my shoulder. Goosebumps dusted my skin as he spoke, "Go ahead and eat."

Gingerly, I lifted a hand to the table and attempted to appear casual as I blindly searched for my fork, but it took multiple moments to find it. I was pulled steadily to my feet and would've tripped over my chair had the health expert not held my shoulder firmly. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

My eyes shot to where his voice came from, and I guessed confidently, "Two."

Lord, please let me be right.

"Come with me."

Damn it.

I heard whispers from the table as I was led past the iron door in a few random directions before being guided into a chair. Relief flooded me when Kabuto's hand finally left me, and I heard him leave the room. My body still trembled in fear as I waited silently for something to happen.

Please don't let me be blind. I'd been distraught upon realizing how odd I looked without pupils, but at least I could see!

The door to whatever room I was in opened, and I turned my head in its direction on instinct, "Who's there?"

My body jolted slightly when Obito's voice surprisingly met my ears, "Please stay still so I can look at your eyes." A tiny bit of relief came over me since it was just him, not Orochimaru or Madara. I still panicked when I felt him place a finger under my chin to guide my face so he could better inspect my eyes.

After a quiet moment, he said, "You've been overusing your Byakugan, haven't you?"

My face warmed, and I struggled to come up with a response. I didn't want to just come out and say what I'd been doing because I wasn't sure if he'd tell Madara about it, so I diverted the topic, "I know where your wife is."

He froze for a moment before lowering his voice and continuing his work, "Tilt your head back, " I did as I was told and felt him put some eye drops in each of my eyes before speaking quietly, "Is that what you've been doing?"

I didn't respond because I heard the door to the room open again, and Obito's hands disappeared from my face.

"I heard you've temporarily lost your sight, Hinata. Is it true?"

It was Madara's voice, and he sounded genuinely concerned. My mind whirled with confusion. Was he worried about me or his precious experiment? It was becoming harder and harder to tell. He approached, and I felt him put a hand on either side of my face. I could smell his familiar aftershave and fought to keep my expression neutral to avoid offending him.

"It's temporary, then?" Even I could tell I sounded relieved.

There was a pause, and I heard Obito speak again from across the room, "I recommend wearing a cover over your eyes for the next twenty-four hours to keep them closed. Your vision should return by then." He paused before continuing in his professional voice, "I also think you should keep your eyes closed for half an hour after each use of your Byakugan going forward to prevent this from happening again."

Madara made a disappointed sound before placing a hand over my eyes so I'd be forced to close them, "You've been reckless with your gift, Hinata. Take better care of yourself."

If we weren't in the situation we were, his words would've sounded like a parent scolding their child. My teeth grit when I felt him briefly leave before returning to tie what felt like a blindfold over my eyes. Tears rose, and I felt my chin quiver as a sickened feeling arose in my stomach.

He knew how much I hated those things, especially when it was him putting them on. He's probably happy to torment me like this.

After that, I returned to the dining area, and Matsuri helped me to my sleeping bag with her voice drowning in concern, "What'd they say?"

I sensed multiple people were nearby, "They said I overused my Byakugan, and if I don't start resting my eyes after using it, this'll happen more often."

Ino sounded guilty when she spoke again, "I'm so sorry, Hinata. We've been expecting too much out of you."

I shook my head frantically, "N-No! This is nothing but a small hiccup. It barely even hurts!"

So I was telling a teeny tiny white lie. My head throbbed with a tumultuous migraine, but they didn't need to know that. It'd only make them worry more.

As I lay down, attempting to fall asleep a bit later, I heard Naruto speak clearly, "...such a liar."

My head turned in his direction, "What'd you say? I didn't catch that."

The boy was silent for a few moments before responding in a more hushed voice than before, completely ignoring my question, "Have you been feeling weird lately?"

I was a bit thrown by the change of topic but decided to answer sincerely, "Honestly, yes. I sometimes feel these emotions out of nowhere that I don't understand… Do you think I'm going crazy?"

Naruto's voice was cautious as he responded, "No. I've been feeling the same things. Do you think… Do you think we're somehow…" He trailed off as though finishing the thought would solidify that he's gone crazy.

I squeezed his hand with a frown, "I don't know."