Return Of The Madness

Chapter 9

Yuma's head was pounding. There was an incessant beeping nearby that worsened her headache and nearly drove her mad- more so than usual, that is. She could feel straps of leather binding her wrists to metal, but a large, calloused warmth covered one hand as the sound of snoring danced with the beeping in an infuriating melody.

The surface her body was restrained to was stiff, and uncomfortable, and everything smelled like bleach. A bright, intense light burned at her eyelids.

Trying to figure out where she was without waking whoever was with her, she tried to think back to any other situation similar to the one she was in. Of course her mind gave her the worst possible scenario. Was she strapped to a table for torture? Fuzzy images of agony at the hands of a cruel, scarred man with a head covering and Leaf headband flit across her mind, but following it was a somewhat clearer image of him smiling down at her, a hand on her head as he ruffled her hair.

Her head throbbed, and instead she tried to recall what led to this. What did she remember last?

"What do they want?!"

"To take you away..."

"Dei!"

"I love you, imouto, un."

With a strangled gasp, her eyes flew open, and she pulled against her restraints.

"Deidara!" She screamed as the person beside her leapt to their feet.

"Yuma!" They yelled in a deep tone, filled with panic, and a head of spiked silver hair appeared over her, a lone, dark eye searching her face as she recoiled from him.

Gruesome images of torture and agony fought with memories of fun and laughter, sending her heart rate through the roof as her head felt ready to split open. That aggravating beeping was going a mile a minute as she fought even harder, screaming as her bonds began to stretch and grow weak.

"DEI! SORI!" She cried, jerking away every time the man tried to hold her shoulders down, speaking softly to her and yelling over his shoulder as more people filtered into the room. "KISAME! TACHI!" She screeched, rust colored orbs beginning to burn crimson as a man in a white lab coat approached her with a syringe. "HIDAN! KAKUZU!" The needle sank into her flesh with a pinch, and she felt her muscles begin to betray her. What was this? Sedatives hardly worked on her! Crimson tears bubbled in her fading eyes. "Tobi! Zetsu!" She sobbed as she began to grow weak. "Pein... Konan..." The rare crimson tears leaked from her eyes, only to be tenderly wiped away by the silver haired man who was sending such panic into her confused heart. His eye was shimmering, sad, and he spoke to her soothingingly as her body slumped to the uncomfortable mattress. Hands were re-securing her restraints, adding more for maximum security.   "Someone..." She whimpered as the edges of her vision grew dark. "Help..."

Her eyelids slid shut, and darkness consumed her.

Her dreams were ones of terror and confusion. Contradicting memories starring the silver haired man and his teammates. Love and hate, horror and joy, torture and care.

It was maddening, not knowing what was real, what was fake, what to believe.

By the time she awoke again, she was too exhausted to struggle. Her eyes opened, and she sluggishly turned her head to face that man. He was still by her side, his hand over hers as his head rested in the other.

"Why am I here?" She croaked, and the man jolted, lifting his head to stare at her. She noted the darkness under his visible eye as he sat in silence for a moment, too stunned to respond immediately.

"Y-Yuma..." He finally stammered, squeezing her hand gently as he stood, reaching out to her, but hesitating when she cringed. "Do... you know who I am?" He asked softly, slowly, as though fearing her answer.

She winced as her head throbbed with conflict, and scowled slightly. "I'm not sure..." She admitted, watching his face for any sign of malice, deceit, or ill-intent. She found nothing but sorrow, guilt, and relief, but she didn't let her guard down. "Answer my question."

He hesitated a moment more, then sat down with a heavy sigh, running a thumb along the back of her hand. "You're in the hospital in Konahagakure. We wanted to make sure you were okay, you've been missing for so long," the raw emotion in his voice confused her. This was the man who despised her enough to cause her bodily harm, as well as mental, on a daily basis? This is the cruel man that held her captive for so many months out of obligation to keep an eye on her? None of this made any sense.

"What do you mean 'missing'?" She demanded. "I... I escaped..."

His brows furrowed. "Escaped?" He echoed softly. "Yuma... What do you remember?"

"I... I don't know what's real," she growled in frustration.

"Kakashi," a soft voice called as a door slid open, and Yuma tensed as a pretty young woman in a white lab coat entered, holding a clipboard and smiling comfortingly at her. "From what Sakura gathered, her memories have been warped. What really happened is by no means what she remembers. Sasori said they'd done it to turn her against us- no doubt she thinks her life was horrible here."

Yuma jolted at the mention of her puppet loving companion. "Where's Saso-chan?" She snapped, beginning to struggle against her bonds again.

With a soft sigh, the woman looked sadly down at Yuma. "He fell in battle, Yuma, as well as the blonde one, the other member that was with you."

"No..." Her blood turned to ice in her veins. The beeping beside her picked up, and she struggled harder. "No! NO! YOU'RE LYING! YOU BITCH!" She snarled as the man beside her stood and took her shoulders, holding her to the bed and pleading with her to calm down. Her eyes welled with crimson tears.

His words fell on deaf ears as Yuma glared at the woman, who only stared back with pity. It made Yuma angrier, and she stopped struggling, closing her eyes as the ruby liquid fell.

"Leave me alone, both of you..." She rumbled coldly.

A moment of hesitation.

"Yu-"

"Leave. Me. Alone."

The woman sighed. "Alright, but don't think of escaping. We have guards posted, as well as surveillance. Kakashi, come."

"But-"

"You haven't left this room in three days, some sunlight would do you well, and your other students need you, too."

Another beat of tortured silence, and a large hand tenderly cupped her face, a thumb brushing away some of her rare tears before she turned her head away from the warmth of his palm.

"I'll be back soon, Yuma," Kakashi promised with a soft sigh before leaving behind the woman once the bound teen refused to respond.