Restoration: Book 2/3

Chapter 8

-Sakura's POV-

The asylum building is made of stone, so we decided to camp on the roof until the fires died enough for us to safely use the stairs. After retrieving all the blankets and pillows possible from the top floor, we barred the door shut and settled down for the evening.

Ino's hand had been clasped tightly in mine until she finally fell asleep, and I could gently leave her to catch a moment alone.

The last two months were absolutely terrible. If I wasn't being forced to hear other patients hurt themselves or shout profanities, I was being forced by those awful doctors to heal myself so they could study me. They never took me out of that damned room but would send a nurse coupled with a soldier to wound me non-fatally, and then they'd record a video of how I healed. I'm not sure, but I think they did similar things to the others to try and figure out how our "gifts" worked.

By the time a month had passed, I'd be lying if I said my mental health hadn't been significantly affected.

My teeth gritted as a massive wave of guilt made my eyes water. I'd lost my temper significantly just days ago, and the consequences were as severe as possible.

Like usual, a nurse came by with one of the security officers, and I let them handcuff me. I begged and pleaded for them to stop what they were doing each and every time, but they never listened. The nurse would simply hold a camera, and the officer would shoot, slice, or stab me so they could watch me heal myself and record it.

It wasn't the injuries that bothered me the most if you can believe it. No, it was the damned nurses that stood there like they were recording their dog doing a trick so they could upload it online to show their friends.

"Please, sto-!"

The gunshot echoed off the walls of my tiny room and made my ears ring for a few moments as I looked down to see they'd shot me just above the hip bone. Agonizing pain coursed through me, and tears fell quickly from my face into my lap as I struggled to keep myself from crying out. After struggling to my feet, I realized something awful. With my wrists cuffed to the ring on the wall, I couldn't bring the injury close enough to my hands to heal it without an unbearable, gut-wrenching ache immobilizing me.

The day Shizune saw my leg get healed, I hadn't used my hands to do it, but I also don't know how I did it. Since then, I've only managed to heal anything if I can touch my palm to it.

"What are you waiting for? Heal it."

A ragged gasp left my lips as I tried again to lift myself enough, only to hunch back over in agony, "I-I can't reach-"

Another gunshot echoed through the room, and I heard the now familiar sound of one of my bones being damaged. My shoulder jerked back with the bullet's force, and this time I did cry out in pain.

"Heal it, or I'll give you another one."

I glared up at the soldier, whose face I couldn't see because of their mask, and gave every last bit of my self-control to warn them, "Don't you dare." My self-pity and patience had finally worn out, and if this man shot me again, I wasn't sure what I'd do.

The nurse spoke up this time, her voice bored as though I wasn't entertaining enough, "Just heal it already so we can move on." I was taken aback by her words and attitude but couldn't respond before the soldier shot me again, this time in the thigh.

When I say that I saw red, it's not an exaggeration. One moment I was staring at him in disbelief, and the next, I was on the offensive, beating the life out of him and crying angrily as I straddled his hips. I only froze when there was a sudden flash, and I turned to see that the nurse dared to record me.