Midnight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Since Hatake Kakashi became Hokage many things changed in the way Konoha operated. One of them was the cells the prisoners were held. The old caves with water leaking from the cracks, the inhuman ways the people were tortured, were abandoned and their place took a construction less inhuman. The looming atmosphere was there still as Hinata approached the large building at the northeast of the village. Security guarded the entrance and they nodded when she came close. They moved to the side as their hands performed a sign and a barrier lifted, opening the door for her to pass. They were informed of her arrival beforehand, nobody entered past this point if the Hogake hadn't given the order.
She walked inside, the walls were pitch black, an endless void that had the feeling of no exit, no escaping. Yet the place was well lighted and it had a distinctive smell of cleaness. The opposite of a hospital, she thought.
She stopped when another guard came to her side and greeted her.
"Hello." He bowed. "Please follow me."
She bowed back and walked beside the man who showed her the way. After many closed doors, that contained sorrow and bad decisions, they stopped in front of a door at an upper floor.
The man search for a key and put it in the lock. The noise of a click heard, yet the entrance didn't open. He performed a hand sign and then touched the wall.
"Please put your hand in here." He said, showing the spot he had previously touched.
She followed his order.
The conditions had changed but so did the security. The place was extremely heavy guarded, with new steps and measures to stop anyone from entering or exit.
"I wish you good luck." The man said before the metal cracked opened. Something in his voice told her that he didn't believe that.
"How many had come?" Hinata said as the man turned to take his place beside the opening.
"A few. Five or six." He answered. "But she is a mute bastard." He concluded.
Hinata bowed again and walked inside the room, leaving the black corridors and the man behind.
The cell had the same black walls. A bed, a sink and a toilet were visible under the lamp that offered light. A chair was at the center of the room, she didn't know if it was placed for the interrogation or if it had always been there.
The woman turned at the sound of the door closing. She was on her feet, her back against the wall. The capture had taken its toll. Her hair were messy, black circles decorated her face. Yet her eyes held the same judgment Hinata had seen the day, she was captured. The day she left death to return to the living.
She saw her surprise at her appearance that was quickly followed by a smirk. The chains that restrained her chakra were on both her wrists, visible as her hands were folded on her stomach. They were thin, almost like a bracelet, yet Hinata could recognise them.
"Hello." She said but the woman didn't care to return her words. She moved to the center, sitting on the chair as is she was the one that held the power in here. Hinata remained unfaced, taking her place on the bed. The light brown eyes, more like the brush gold of the sand, were examine her. And hers did the same.
"My name is Hinata Hyuga." She said even if the woman knew her name, more than her name. "I'm here to talk to you." She chose the words cautiously.
The woman continued to stay in her silence.
"Your full name is Sachi Maeda as I've been informed. Kazekage-sama provided us that information."
Her brows slightly arched at the mention of the leading figure of the village she had abandoned.
"It wasn't difficult to find after your capture." Hinata continued. "Everyone had been identified. Even the dead." Her voice remained soft as she spoke of the loss of the woman's comrades.
The information echoed in the room but the face across her didn't seem to change.
"Okay." Hinata said as she got up. "That is all for today."
Finally she got a reaction. Her eyes widened, her lips parted, but the paler face turned as if nothing had happened. She brushed her clothes, a move she made without thinking when she felt anxious and turned to leave. She was at the door when she heard the other voice from her back.
"Are you so desperate to leave Hinata Hyuga?"
She seemed entertained.
Kakashi didn't know when he sent her here. No one knew, even if Naruto kept saying that she was the reason they won, he didn't know either. They couldn't understand how the weak, shy Hinata had managed to stay alive. And as many things people don't understand, are turned away in the back of their minds. She was lucky. They came just in time to save her.
She didn't blame them. She had fed that belief for years. She was lying into their faces, with her blush, and her eyes on the ground. She was losing purposely, with a calculating precision.
And she didn't want to tell them about their mistake. She was afraid that they would fear and question about why and how. They would discover it eventually. She was done hiding.
Only he knew, still. Only he, with the piercing eyes had discovered the lie.
When she turned her eyes were cold. All the training she had done was placed into that last look she gave to the woman. The one she knew she had when she fought seriously. The one that Sasuke had mentioned many times, since he was the only one that had seen it.
"I have more important things to attend to."
She said and closed the door behind her.
When she was finally out, she took a breath. She hoped, the way she had chose to approach this was right.