When Hoshiko regained consciousness again, she kept her eyes closed. She kept them wishing and hoping that everything was just a dream and that she was back in a familiar room in her orphanage, the only place she had a little bit and not this hospital full of strangers.
She slowly opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the bright light, only to sigh in disappointment at what met her eyes. She was in the same room, same bed, and still completely confused. The only difference was the curtain was gone, and so was the beeping machine. Now it was just her lying in a bed far too big for her, and the room was full of silence.
She sat up slowly and looked around before taking a look at herself. She had a bandage wrapped around her head along with her right arm. She guessed it must be from the forest when her head started hurting; however, she wasn't sure about the arm.
The clothes she had on were not the same as the pink and blue kimono she had on in the forest. Instead, she was wearing a plain white hospital gown.
She felt like she was going crazy. She didn't feel better than the last time, but at least she didn't feel like crying or freaking out again. She just felt empty and lonely inside. As she if she was going to mental insane if she didn't get out of here soon. She was pulled out of her thoughts as the door creaked open, and her head snapped out toward the sound.
This time it was a different masked man wearing a fox mask and ANBU uniform who came into the room, followed by the same woman that was in here earlier, looking more upset this time.
The man stopped at the doorway for a second, looking at the blue hair woman as if he was about to say something to her when he noticed Hoshiko was conscious.
"Come with us!" He commanded.
Without a second waste, he walked towards her and pulled her out of bed, and quickly brought her arms behind her back, trying them tightly together, making the woman nag him telling him to be more gentle. She was only a kid.
Hoshiko took slow breaths as she calmed herself down and walked out of the hospital room with the man and woman.
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Hoshiko's arms hung behind her back as she walked between the woman and the man who came to get her. The man was behind her while the woman led the way with her arms crossed in front of her, looking upset.
As they walked out of the room, there was nothing but a long hallway barely lit by the small light bulbs that hung on the ceiling spread apart. Her Feet were cold as she walked barefoot on the cold tile floor.
She tries to stay focused in front of her as they take twists and turns through the hallway, but last track as she starts to wonder in her thoughts, wondering where she is going after so many twists and turns.
However, she was pulled out of her thoughts as the woman in front stopped at a large steel door that didn't look welcoming at all. The woman made a few hand seals before the door started to creak open.
"I'm totally against this," She muttered as the door opened wider.
"It's a safety protocol. You don't have a say in the matter," The man replied as he nudged Hoshiko forward.
She slowly walked towards the woman and through the large door. The room was just as in welcoming as the door.
The walls were grey concrete and duller and scary compared to the hospital room. It was small but large enough to fit two grown men, the woman, and Hoshiko. There was a single black chair in the middle of the room with chains on the arm and front legs of the chair, obviously set to keep the one sitting on the chair seated on it.
The man who brought her here sep into the room behind her and closed the door. As the woman cut the ropes and guided Hoshiko to the chair, she silently obeyed and sat down, knowing she probably had no other choice.
She sat down carefully, eyeing the other man inside the room. He was wearing a jounin uniform under a black coat. He was just as scary as the ANBU. Hoshiko flinched slightly as the ANBU chained her wrist and ankles to the chair. Once he was done, he walked behind the chair and stood there while the other man stood in front of her.
"Oh my goodness! You're scaring her move aside!" The woman exclaimed as she threw her arms up in the air and walked over toward Hoshiko, pushing the Jounin away. The Jounin rolled his eyes and moved back his hands up in defeat while Hoshiko felt the ANBU's impatient aura from behind her.
"Alright, calm down, child. We promise this won't hurt, okay? We just need to prove if you are safe and not to go to bring harm to the village, alright? This won't take long, I promise. Just close your eyes, and then when you open them again, you be all done, okay?" She said to Hoshiko in a sweet and comforting voice. Hoshiko slowly nodded as she saw a smile on the woman's face.
She took a step back, and the Jounin stood in front of Hoshiko again. He had shoulder-length red-orange hair and dull amber eyes. He looked at the girl and sighed.
"Just do as she says, and this will be over quickly."
Without thinking twice, Hoshiko closed her eyes shut and waited for whatever was to come. She didn't see what happened next as the jounin placed his hand on her head.
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Hoshiko came to her head and felt like it was spinning. She blinked three times as her eyes adjusted to the lighting and her head started to settle from the spinning.
She looked around as her vision cleared and saw she was back in the hospital room. She sat up and looked around to see no one was in the room. She took a deep breath as she tried to relax, hoping she get out of this endless nightmare soon.
The only thing she was thankful for was being away from the kids and her old caretakers and her head not spinning anymore. She sighed as she stared out the window seeing the bird fly around.
"You've already done what you needed to! It's been a week now, so release her. She was just a little girl!"
"There's something more to that girl!"
"She not a threat. She didn't have a single barrier! She didn't know what was happening or have any sign of connection showing that man or any memory of nothing then an orphanage. I don't care what you think you found."
"I don't know what I felt, but she is not safe!"
"Enough, the Hokage decided on what to do next."
Hoshiko heard two familiar voices echoing in the halls just outside the door. The voices stooped as Kakashi opened the door with the familiar ANBU and the blue hair women. After everything that happened, Hoshiko just stared at them blankly.
"What going on now?" She said in a voice with a small croak.
The woman took a step forward but was pulled back by the ANBU. He whispers in her ear something to her. She looked irked, but she gave a quick nod before walking past him and a Kakashi and straight toward Hoshiko. Hoshiko debated about stepping back but decided not and stood where she was as the woman stopped and bent down to meet Hoshiko's height.
"It's all over, alright? We came to get you and bring you to the Hokage. He wants to meet you."
"Actually, I came to get you. These two just tagged along," Kakashi said broadly, holding a book.
"Don't have that book out in front of a child!" The woman exclaimed, hitting Kakashi on the head.
Kakashi rolled his visible eye and muttered something like, 'alright.'
"Let's go, shall we," He muttered, and Hoshiko nodded, following him out the door and into the endless hallway yet again.
Chapter End!
Here we go; the second chapter A Lost Soul has been published. June feels like she is in an endless nightmare as the ANBU took her to get her mind checked. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If so, please vote and let me know what you think of the writing so far.
Word Count: 1448