Restoration: Book 2/3

Chapter 6

-Matsuri's POV-

Not a single person from Group B was released from the asylum. All the girls from Group A were released, leaving me, Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Temari in the dust. Ino suspected they spilled the beans about everything, given their tendency to be loose-lipped.

We all were given one room to share with two bunk beds, but Sakura wasn't allowed to join us. Feeding into Ino's theory that the other girls had thrown everyone under the bus, those who'd been given body modifications were kept separate from the facility's general population.

Once the evaluations were complete, we were escorted to our new room, and we hadn't seen our pink-haired friend since. That was just over two months ago.

Since Dr. Shizune Kato had been the first to welcome us upon our arrival, I thought she'd be the person primarily interacting with us, but I was wrong. After that first day, we didn't hear from her again. The nurses and doctors who oversaw our care changed every few days, so I stopped trying to memorize names.

Each day consisted of the same routine. First, we'd wake up, freshen up, and then be escorted to the cafeteria for breakfast. After that, we alternate between lessons and therapy sessions that are supposed to help prepare us for our return to society, but it was apparent that wasn't going to happen, or else they wouldn't have kept us here at all.

After lunch, we go to the gymnasium for two hours for our physical health. After dinner, we're given a few hours of free time in the common area so long as we behave. To my surprise, we're permitted visitation with the boys during this time, and that's what we do.

On day sixty-four of our residency, something changed the course of everyone's actions. All of us were sitting in a tight circle: me, Ino, Tenten, Temari, Kankuro, Naruto, Sai, and Neji. Sasori was usually with us, but he'd started a fight with a couple of male nurses because they wouldn't tell us about our separated friends and ended up in solitary confinement.

Tenten, once again, was trying to get information on Neji's behalf without the young man asking her to, something she did back during The Program as well, "So...have you sensed anything yet?"

Most of us, including myself, shot her a stern warning. Naruto wasn't handling things very well. He was irritable and unfriendly, the complete opposite of his usual personality. The longer we were stuck here, the worse it got.

During the first month of our stay, he claimed to be able to feel that she was alive but that something was off about her. Days after that, though, he'd dropped to the ground in the common room in tears, saying he couldn't feel her anymore. Since that day, he's been asked about it a few times, but asking just puts him in mental distress. It wordlessly became taboo to bring her up in an effort to keep the young man calm.

The man in question jerked his head to the side to meet Tenten's eye with a glare, "Don't you think I'd say something if I had?"

The girl put her hands up in defense, "I'm sorry. I'm just worried. None one's telling us anything."

The rest of the group sighed in defeat, and Naruto got to his feet as his voice raised, "Are you trying to say that I'm not worried, too? You don't have a clue what this feels like!"

A few security personnel started heading in our direction to get him under control, but the entire room froze when an odd siren sounded outside. It seemed to be the storm siren, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it wasn't the time for them to be tested.

One of the friendlier guards, who we learned was named Shikamaru, clicked on the television and flipped through several channels until it landed on the local news. Everyone slowly got to their feet when thick red and black alerts started running across the bottom half of the screen, with a loud alarm sound blaring over the newscaster's voice.