Restoration: Book 1/3

Chapter 8

I waited until a few others had approached the three program leaders before I nervously rose to my feet and approached. This odd-looking Orochimaru man seemed the safest bet since he was the only one I had yet to meet. Matsuri did the same as me, but not in a weird way that made it seem like she was following me. As he requested to be called, the doctor stood against the wall beside one of the doors to the training rooms, and his serpentine grin widened when our eyes locked.

He spoke as I approached, "You must be Hinata. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A few other participants heard him and gave us inquisitive looks, making me anxious. Madara threatened that if anyone found out about my relationship with him or Masumi, he'd murder my younger sister, Hanabi. The doctor's amused smile told me he knew of this and was trying to gauge my reaction.

I clasped my hands together to stop myself from fidgeting with my fingers, a bad habit I've had since childhood, "What group am I in?"

He beamed down at me as though it'd been a test, and I passed, pausing only momentarily to look at the papers on his clipboard, "Group B. At eight o'clock, your group will line up near the mental strength training side of the room."

Something about his aura and character made me want to shiver like I was in a snowstorm in a bathing suit, but I held it together and returned to my seat to wait for eight o'clock.

So I'm in Group B.

My vision zoned out on the table, and the chatter from the other participants dulled slightly as I internally fought to control my nerves. We'll line up on the mental strength training side of the room, so it's safe to assume our first lessons will be on that subject. Madara will be leading that training, and that fact did nothing to calm me down.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

Someone's warm hand touched my arm, and I nearly jumped out of my skin as my trance was broken. My bed neighbor, Naruto, was looking at me with a curious expression now that he was finally awake. Most others around us also looked at me, and I sat up straighter. Have they been trying to get my attention the whole time?

I put a hand to my chest in surprise, and the blonde young man let out a small laugh, "I thought we lost you for a minute there! Your name's Hinata, right? What group are you in?"

My face warmed slightly, and I tried to keep from making eye contact with the friendly man, "Group B."

A few others around us perked up, and Ino spoke with a pretty smile, "Hey, us too! Let's all be friends, alright?"

When eight o'clock arrived, we were successfully lined up on the right side of the room. Madara raised his hands to silence the room, distracting me from my thoughts, "As I said, the people you've been sorted with will be your peers for the length of The Program, so do what you can to get along. With no further ado, let's begin your first day of training. Good luck!"

We were then led by Madara himself through the steel door and down a hallway lined with even more doors before opening up to a large, completely empty room with the same gray walls and white linoleum floors as upstairs in the house.

"Follow me so I can pair you up. Quietly, now."

We did as told, and I could tell I wasn't the only one who suddenly had a terrible feeling in their gut. The doors we were walking past each had a small rectangular window, just big enough to look inside. Each one had two chairs with odd wires hooked up to them, but I couldn't get a better look at any of them because of the pace we were moving at.

For lack of a better word, we gathered in a crowd before our teacher and waited for him to pair us up for whatever training exercise he had planned for us.