Chapter 7

I did my best to blend into the crowd of young adults as we were led through the freshly constructed home, past a thick bunker door, and finally down a concrete staircase.

My eyes danced around anxiously. This was the first time I'd been down here. I'd noticed the heavy door and had wondered what it could lead to but hadn't had the chance to investigate.

We were in what was supposed to be a dining room area. There were no appliances since our meals were to be provided for us, but there were a few refrigerators that I assumed were filled with water and two long tables with a few dozen chairs.

Stark white tiles lay clean and shiny on the floors, and once we were all down the stairs, Madara spoke again, "This is the eating area. You'll notice four doorways."

As he said it, I noticed there were, indeed, four doorways exiting the room, not counting the one we'd entered through. There was one on the left side of the room and one on the right, both of which had no door but a wide walkway leading to a hall. The other two were on the wall behind where Madara was addressing us. These two had heavy steel doors, like the one at the top of the stairs.

"To your left is the bunking area. Your arrangements have been assigned, and we'll go over who is sleeping where momentarily."

There were a few murmurs in the group, but I ignored them as the dark-haired man continued, "To your right leads to the bathing area. Please keep in mind my warning about inappropriate behavior."

A few snickers came from a pair of boys behind me, but I didn't dare turn to see who it was, afraid that Madara would notice me not giving him my full attention and get angry. The man in question moved on with his tour, motioning to the door behind him further to the left, "This leads to the physical training rooms, while the other leads to the mental training rooms. You'll get more acquainted with each in the coming days."

A nervous sheen of sweat started to dust my skin as I tried to imagine what we'd be doing behind either of these doors. About an hour later, after being assigned beds, we were given the rest of the afternoon to get to know each other and change into our new clothes so they could be rid of our old ones. After we were dressed in matching black shorts and tee shirts, Masumi and Madara collected our discarded clothing and disappeared upstairs.

The sound of the thick door slamming shut and locking made me shiver with discomfort. I thought we'd sleep on bunk beds, but I was wrong. While they weren't the most comfortable or luxurious, we were each assigned a twin-sized cot with one pillow, sheet, and thin blanket, all a dull gray color.

When they'd said that girls and boys would be sleeping in the same room, I thought they'd at least have the bed assignments with females on one side of the room and males on the other, but that was not the case. There were more males than females, so the ratio was slightly off, but beds were staggered mostly in boy-girl-boy-girl fashion.

To my discomfort, I'll be sleeping with an unfamiliar young man on either side of me for the next twelve weeks. This fact significantly increased my anxiety since I've never had a boyfriend or close male friend.

Almost naturally, once we were given free rein to mingle, everyone gathered in a loose circle and went around the room, introducing themselves. I studied everyone as they spoke and interacted, and I could already tell who would be leaders and followers, for the most part.

Since nearly thirty applicants were accepted, I couldn't remember everyone's name, but a few did stick with me.

For example, there are the Haruno sisters: Sakura and Karin. Karin screamed "leader" while her younger sister was more subdued. Both seemed nice enough. Sakura's best friend from their school in Sunagakure, Ino, had also been accepted. Sakura and Ino were the same age as me, while Karin was a year and a half older. A small smile graced my lips upon hearing that at least someone would have a friend close by to bring them comfort in this unknown environment.

Let's see, there was also a girl a few years older than me named Tenten. There was also a girl a year younger than me named Matsuri, who seemed to have a demeanor akin to mine and was the one I was most likely to get along with the best. She appeared utterly terrified to be here and had trouble speaking to the group because she was so nervous.

As for the boys, I remembered a handful. There were the Uchiha twins: Sasuke and Sai. Both were quiet, but that seemed to be the only thing the pair had in common. Sasuke had tanned skin and messy black hair, while Sai had pale skin and polished, straight hair.

There were also a few intimidating young men: Gaara, Hidan, Kisame, Neji, and a few others. There were a few loud and rambunctious ones as well: Naruto, Kiba, Deidara, and a few others.

I admit I'm probably the least experienced when it comes to boys, but I have met many in my lifetime. I was raised in the higher society part of Konoha, so not only had I been forced to attend social gatherings, but the young men were always well-groomed and well-behaved.

That being said, you'd have to be blind not to notice how attractive most of the males here were. Ino sure did; she even went so far as to flirt with a few of them. Since she's a blond bombshell, none of the recipients of her cat-calling seemed to mind. In fact, a few seemed to welcome it.

I awkwardly introduced myself when the time came and was grateful when no one asked me any personal questions, remembering Madara's threat to keep everything a secret.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted from keeping up appearances and fell heavy against my pillow, pulling the thin blanket up to my chin as I lay awkwardly on my back. The only person I've ever shared a bed with in my life was Hanabi, and she stopped doing that around age six, so it's been a while.

Of course, I'm not actually sharing my mattress with anyone, but two people I've just met were lying not three feet away on either side of me. A blonde young man named Naruto lay on one side of me, and a silver-haired young man named Hidan lay on the other.

My face warmed when I glanced over to see Hidan staring at me, panic rising in my stomach when he didn't look away after being caught looking. After an uncomfortable moment of holding his gaze, I swiftly turned my back to him and pulled my blanket up further.

Tears rose in my eyes, and I squeezed them shut. That man gives off such a terrifying aura. I heard a whisper nearby, and my eyes shot open to see the boy named Naruto had turned to face me with a reassuring smile.

"You alright?"

I hesitated to respond, worried that he would try to flirt with me, but I nodded slightly before curling into a ball and covering my face from anyone who may try to see it.

I didn't really get much sleep. A few people were up late talking, and a handful snored so loud that I couldn't drown them out.

When morning came, I rose around five a.m. As quietly as possible, I tiptoed out of the bunking area and over to the bathroom to shower, hoping no one else would be around.

To my absolute despair, Madara had not been lying when he said the showers were separated only by curtains. Not only that, but they didn't even reach the ground! If you were more than six feet tall, it'd be effortless to peer over the top of the curtains, and a gap the size of a foot or so was left open under them.

With a determined sigh, I steeled my nerves and decided I'll just have to shower before everyone woke up each morning, so the chances of an uncomfortable run-in were slimmer. To my delight, no one else was showering, and I quickly grabbed a fresh set of clothes and a clean towel from the numerous bins outside the showering room.

After stepping over the lip of the doorway, I entered the nearest shower before draping my items over the curtain rod so they wouldn't get wet. Thankfully, the water was nice and hot, and it helped ease the sore muscles I'd obtained from tossing and turning all night.

Not even a few minutes later, I heard someone else enter the area, and the water in the area right next to me turned on. My face burnt bright red as I tried not to imagine who could be over there, and when I dared to look at the floor, I could see a woman's feet. A sigh of relief flew from my lips, and I could relax slightly and continue cleaning myself.

I nearly dropped the bar of soap I was using when I suddenly heard a soft voice from the other side, "U-Um, excuse me, but can I use some conditioner? I forgot to grab mine, and I'm too nervous to go out in my towel to get it."

I immediately grabbed the bottle and wordlessly handed it to the person who sounded just as anxious as me under the curtain. After the girl used some of it, I accepted it back, and she offered a quiet thanks before we both returned to bathing in silence.

Once I was done, I turned the water off and dried my body before getting dressed and heading to the long, continuous sink near the stalls to brush my teeth. Since it was probably around five thirty or six in the morning now, people began filing into the showers, and I steadied my gaze into the sink in front of me so as not to draw attention to myself.

A few moments later, Sakura arrived and stood a few feet away from me as she, too, brushed her teeth. Her hair was wet, so I concluded that it was her that I'd lent my conditioner. She didn't seem as shy yesterday as this morning, and I wondered if something happened overnight to shake her nerves.

The pink-haired young woman offered me a small smile and said, while brushing, "Thank you. I was worried a guy would be around."

Something about how she said that made me feel uneasy. As someone who's lived her life quietly observing others, I've become quite skilled at reading people. Sakura is scared of men, or at least uncomfortable around them.

I wordlessly nodded at her and returned my attention to the task at hand. Surely, she wouldn't like it if I asked her about it since we had just met, so I'll just mind my own business. As I was finishing up, others were starting to brush their teeth, too, and I hurried to get away before I became overwhelmed with both the discomfort I was feeling and the steam filling the hot room.

I noticed large platters of food on the counters in the eating area, accompanied by plates and silverware, and helped myself to some scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee. I'd need the caffeine after the night I'd had.

I heard someone yelling at someone else about peeing in the showers and frowned. This is all a little too much for me to handle. Sure, I had a few casual friends in school, but I've always been a bit of a loner. Large crowds make me nervous, and I don't like having attention on me. Instead, I prefer to blend in and simply experience others.

Someone sat down next to me, and I looked over to see Naruto sitting there with messy wet hair, eyes still closed with sleep, and a big frown on his tanned face. He didn't acknowledge my presence and slowly started to eat his food robotically as though he wasn't fully awake yet.

As I sat stiffly in my chair, someone sat across from me next. I looked up to see Sakura offer me another smile, "Is it alright if I sit here? I don't know anyone else that's awake yet." I gave her a short nod, and she silently began eating.

Before long, the room was full of young adults eating, talking, and mentally preparing for the day ahead. Ino and Karin eventually sat on either side of Sakura, and the Uchiha brothers sat on the other side of Naruto. Matsuri sat on my other side, and she was honestly the only person I didn't feel nervous around because she simply stared down at her plate as she ate and didn't try to force anyone into a conversation.

Kiba and Hidan were snickering to Ino's right as they saw how many balled-up pieces of a napkin they could hit Naruto with before he'd wake up because he'd fallen asleep after finishing his meal.

Around seven o'clock, the door at the top of the stairs opened, and a tall man following both Masumi and Madara descended.

Once they'd reached the landing, they waited for everyone to settle down before the latter addressed the room, "Good morning, everyone! I'd like to introduce my colleague, Dr. Orochimaru. He will lead your physical training, while I'll lead your mental training. Masumi, here, will be alternating between the two when she is needed."

He motioned for Dr. Orochimaru to speak, and when he did, his voice sent chills down my spine, and not in a good way, "It's a pleasure to meet you, and I look forward to training each of you. You can just call me Doctor if you prefer."

I suddenly felt Naruto jolt awake behind me and stifled a grin when he mumbled in a still-very-asleep voice, "What's going on?"

On the other hand, Kiba and Hidan couldn't contain their laughter. Before anyone could tell what was happening, Madara was behind the pair with a hand on either of their shoulders, "Is something funny, boys?"

My blood ran cold, and I could tell that everyone around me was just as put off by the un-humorous grin on the instructor's face. The two in question quickly lost their grins and shook their heads, most likely too scared to verbally respond.

He patted them both on the head before returning to his place by Orochimaru and Masumi, "Let's continue, then. You will be separated into two groups for the entirety of The Program. The group you're with will be with you during each training session, so be prepared to get to know each other. Please finish your meals by half past seven and then come see one of us three to find out if you're in group A or B. Your first training day will begin at eight o'clock."