Chapter Four

-Hinata's POV-

Days passed in a dull blur of four white walls. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't to be left in this room twenty-four hours a day. No books or magazines were provided to occupy my mind during the day, and whatever medicine they were feeding me in the mornings made it impossible to have any dreams at night.

It was like someone had used a "soften" filter on my senses. Anything they fed me tasted like sand. No conversations with the therapist visiting me every few days held my interest. It felt like my mind was slowly eating itself away.

After two weeks, I stopped trying to get information from the few people coming to my room, and I gave up trying to convince anyone that I wasn't insane. It didn't matter if I was or not. They were going to find some reason to keep me here in this drug-induced haze one way or another.

I sat on the edge of my bed, bare feet on the ground and hands on my lap as my vision dazed out on the blank wall across from me. Dissociating was the only thing I could do anymore, and I've gotten quite good at it. I could go for hours without moving.

When I first came here, I tried to do small exercises like pushups and situps to maintain my physical strength, but I was scolded every time and had no choice but to stop trying. The camera in the corner of the room showed the nurses and doctors each second of every day.

So, I was left to zone out and get lost in my thoughts. Hanabi was a popular topic my mind dwelled on. I couldn't get anyone to confirm they knew I had a sister, much less have them find out if her whereabouts were known. For all I know, she and Masumi could've bought plane tickets and left the country to flee the police. My poor sister…Her future's undoubtedly been affected by all this, and she didn't even know something terrible was happening in her house.

Besides Hanabi, my mind traveled to Naruto and my other friends, Neji included. After waking up and realizing I'd been separated from everyone else, it became hard to convince myself I'd ever see them again. So I eagerly looked forward to seeing Naruto in my dreams like I had those last few weeks of The Program. Loe and behold, though, the sedatives they keep feeding me prevent me from dreaming, so I can't even desperately clutch to that.

If I'd known that was the last time I would see everyone, I would've done anything to let them know how much I appreciate them. I would've hugged the girls and even some of the boys. I would've somehow overcome my anxiety and kissed Naruto at least once to say I did it.

If I'd known Neji was my brother from week one, I would've realized how much I don't hate the idea of us being family. Now that I've had weeks to think about his confession, I've come to that conclusion, but it's too late to let him know that I'd love to learn more about him and his life so we can truly become siblings.

The tears didn't stop for almost the entirety of my first week here, but when they finally did, they never started back up again. In the furthest crevice of my mind, I realized something was happening outside my room, but I was in too deep a haze to bother addressing the fact and allowed myself to stay unbothered. Hours passed as I ignored the commotion before falling asleep at the same time as I do every day.

Come morning, I awoke, showered, brushed my teeth and hair, and then waited for a nurse to arrive with my breakfast and daily medication. Only after hours had passed did I finally snap out of it and realize no one had come.

My limbs felt weak and heavy as I trudged to the door and peered out of the small square window. I should've been scared. I should've been downright terrified at what I saw, but the emotion barely even registered as I stared at the corpse of a nurse lying on her back on the floor outside with a massive puddle of blood around her body. Instead, I slowly turned the handle on my door to verify if it was still locked.

It was.

Still in a daze, I walked back to my bed and sat down with my bare feet on the floor, hands in my lap, and my glazed-over eyes dissociated on the white wall across the room. I didn't really move for the rest of the day and went to bed as usual, as nothing had changed. Another day passed in the same way, but then I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of explosions in the distance.

My eyes widened as I realized my thoughts weren't nearly as hazy as before, but I had a throbbing migraine and was extremely hungry. It was like a weighted blanket had been lifted off my entire being, and I could suddenly feel everything.

Slowly, to make sure I didn't immediately collapse, I got to my feet and looked out the window of my door again. Bile rose in my throat as I saw a few mice nibbling on the now days old corpse outside my room. The rest of the facility I could see seemed in utter disarray, with no other people in sight. I hurried to the toilet but couldn't throw up because I had nothing in my stomach to be rid of.

When I turned the sink handle, I was relieved that the plumbing was still working, and I lowered my head to drink to my heart's content. Then, I filled the sink just in case the plumbing gave out so I'd have some water available before turning it back off.

According to Orochimaru's training, a person can survive up to about three weeks without food if they can stay hydrated but will die in less than a week if they don't have food and water. Since I was in too much of a daze the past two days to worry about drinking water already put me behind on keeping hydrated.

What even happened out there? Did a crazed patient get loose and massacre everyone? No, that couldn't be the case, or the police would've arrived to investigate by now. Something serious must've happened outside the asylum since the place was abandoned entirely.

I tried to open my room's door again, but it remained locked. Even if the plumbing continued to work, I'd eventually die if I didn't get out of here and find a food source, so getting past the large steel door was priority number one.

I slid onto my knees and wiggled the handle again to see what type of lock I was working with. To my dismay, it was the type that I'd need something thin like a credit card to unlock. With a wistful glance around the room, a wave of helplessness came over me. There wasn't a single small object I'd be able to use. I looked down at my hands. My nails wouldn't grow long enough in time to use them, either.

Panic was steadily quickening my heart. The past two months were almost worse than the twelve weeks I spent in The Program. At least in that damned basement, I had my friends and tasks to keep me occupied. This place was a whole different type of torture.

My hands pressed against the window's glass, and my brow furrowed as my eyes landed on a set of keys pinned to the dead nurse's belt: so close yet so far away.

After mentally wearing myself down trying to come up with a solution, I had no choice but to sleep and recuperate some energy. Just after I fell asleep, an overwhelming explosion of complete shock and relief flowed through me.

He was there, waiting for me in my dream: Naruto.

Unbearable emotions shot through me, some my own and some seeming foreign. "Hinata! Is it really you?"

If I'd been awake, I would've fallen into a heap on the ground with happiness. I missed him, that fact I already acknowledged, but I'd underestimated the unbearable amount I'd yearned to at least hear his voice.

He appeared before me, and I was stunned to see tears falling heavily from his beautiful blue eyes, "You're here!" His naturally raspy voice was almost unintelligible because he was crying so hard.

I didn't care anymore about what I told myself about being selfish in my dreams with him. If I didn't hold onto every piece of his memory I could, I was afraid I'd forget all the incredible little details. I threw my arms around him and buried my face in his shirt, finally letting myself fall into sobs.

Strong arms returned my embrace, and I held on as if my life depended on it. It all felt so real. His naturally attractive smell overwhelmed my senses, and I allowed myself to drown in him.

Once my tears slowed enough that I could speak, I croaked out, "I wish I could tell the real you how much I miss you. I hope you're safe. Please be safe, Naruto."

He pulled back, and I frowned up at him as he stared down at me with the expression he makes when he's thinking hard about something. My brow furrowed as I selfishly held his face in my hands. God, what I'd give to actually do this to him. Not even that. I'd give anything just to see him one more time, so I could tell him how I felt.

"I think, I hope, this actually is real." His larger hands gently grasped my wrists, and he leaned closer to look me in the eye, "I haven't sensed you in over a month, Hinata. I thought you were dead."

My eyes danced quickly as I studied his face, and my mind raced a mile a minute. The dots began to connect. I woke from my coma and started taking Dr. Uchimaki's prescription around a month ago.

My face quickly burnt with a wild heat, and I tried to pull my hands away from his face, but he held them there and argued in a panicked voice, "No, don't! Please stay!" He was close to crying again, and I stopped struggling in surprise.

He pressed his hands over mine and closed his eyes, "You have no idea how much I've missed you."

My tears returned and started to fall once more when he reopened his eyes and gave me an incredibly desperate expression, "Please don't disappear like that again."

My blush refused to falter, but I gently moved my thumbs over to brush away his tears, "I-I'm…I'm so sorry. I swear I didn't do it on purpose."

He finally let me lower my hands but kept them grasped within his own as he looked over my appearance, "Something crazy's happening! Explosions and sirens were going off earlier. Are you safe?"

I nodded, "I haven't been outside yet, but I'm pretty sure the building I'm in has been abandoned."

He frowned, "It's impossible to get around town with a car right now because the traffic's so bad, but where are you? I'll come to get you on foot if I have to."

My predicament came to mind, and his face fell as mine did.

"You won't make it in time."

If what he said about the terrible traffic is true, no one can drive to Oto and free me. Traveling by foot would take too long. I'll starve to death before they get here.

His brow furrowed, and he shook his head slowly, "What do you mean?"

My chin quivered, and I forced myself to look away from his face in defeat, "I'm locked in my room at Otogakure Asylum."

Naruto was silent for a long time before his grip on my hands tightened, and he forced me to meet his eye again, "Well, can't you break out? Surely there's something in there you can use."

I shook my head, "I have a bed bolted to the floor. That's it."

His face reddened, but it wasn't because he felt bashful. He was distraught. "I don't care how you do it, Hinata, but you have to survive. I'm coming to get you no matter what!" His fingers shook as they intertwined with mine, "Promise me."

My chest ached as I tried to keep myself from crying once more, "Naruto, I can't-"

"Promise me, damn it!"

My eyes widened in shock, and my mouth clamped shut. Naruto's dark blue eyes were narrowed angrily, but I could feel the desperation flow from his mind to mine and couldn't bring myself to deny him.

"Okay."