Restoration: Book 1/3

Chapter 21

When I woke, I was in a room almost identical to the bunks I'd grown accustomed to, but there were slight differences. For example, this room was not below ground. I could tell because there was a small window in the room that moonlight was shining through. Unfortunately, I could also see security bars across it outside, so it couldn't be used for an escape, but I was grateful we'd finally be exposed to some sunlight.

There were also no beds in this room, but sleeping bags littered the room in droves. My back was sore just thinking about it.

As I looked around the room, I realized that not everyone had arrived yet. Nearly half the beds were still empty.

Ino suddenly caught my eye and I slowly got to my feet so I could cross the room. She was kneeling beside someone else's sleeping bag with a look of discomfort on her pretty face. The girl jumped slightly when I knelt down beside her, glancing at me quickly before returning her attention to the boy laying before us.

It was Deidara, the blonde young man who hadn't returned with us yesterday. His hands and chest were covered with thick gauze and bandages that looked like they'd been changed recently since they still seemed fresh. His face was bright red and his skin appeared drenched with sweat. He was suffering from a fever like Sakura.

"What do you think they did to him?"

Both Ino and I jumped as we looked up to see a redheaded boy kneeling across from us. He'd been so still and quiet that we hadn't noticed him. If I remember correctly, this person's name was Sasori. His light brown eyes were focused on the blonde man's face and his expression was blank.

My mouth opened and closed as I tried to find some way of reassuring him, but my mind was blank. Even after regaining my sight, I still have no idea what they did to my eyes or why my pupils disappeared, so I couldn't logically guess what awaited us beneath Deidara's bandages. The redhead seemed to realize this, as well, and didn't repeat the question.

My eyes drifted back down to our peer's chest, and my body acted independently as though it knew what to do. A sharp pain crawled across my face, my eyes being the source, and it was suddenly like the thick gauze was sheer. I could see through it.

A quick breath left my body, and the other two gasped when they looked at me, but I ignored them and chose to use this odd occurrence to check on the blonde before us. There was a long scar across the left side of his chest, about six inches long, with stitches holding the wound closed. Smaller, matching wounds were across both of his hands.

Pounding was starting to resonate in my ears from the intense pain I was experiencing and I let my body act on its own once more. The pain subsided as my vision returned to normal and a sudden wave of exhaustion came over me.

Ino put a hand on my back as I panted for breath, "What did you just do?" Her voice was cautious and unsure.

I closed my eyes, a headache quickly forming, "I don't know, but I could...I could see under his bandages."

The two remained silent, and I reopened my eyes to see they both didn't seem to believe me. Honestly, I couldn't blame them because if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would call myself a liar. That wasn't the case, though.

I gestured across Deidara's chest, "He has a scar this long right here and a scar across each of his palms."

"So you've started noticing changes," A soft voice came from the foot of the bed and we all turned to see Obito standing there with his arms full of items he most likely brought to help the feverish male before us.

My eyes narrowed and I rose to my feet, "What're you doing here?" The other two took my lead and got up with looks of distrust set on the new arrival.

"I don't want to be here any more than you do. Please make room."