-SAVED...?-

THE FIRST THING YOU SAW when you woke up was white. Pure, unsaturated white light that poured into your vision. It hurt to stare at it for too long, the hue of it being all too familiar to a hospitals jarring one.

The second thing that you saw was the outline of tiles on the ceiling. An odd shade of grey, they were. A bit chapped, really— of course. What other colour could they be? Purple? In a run-down organisation? As if.

Wait

...Were you with the organisation?

That was when a feeling akin to an ache throbbed in your heart as you threw yourself up-right. That's right, the escape plan!

You scanned your surroundings with haste, eyes darting every which way. Had it worked? Were you free? The last thing you remembered was being in the airship with kawaki...

"Ugh..." a sudden gnaw of pain entered the side of your skull, and you felt a guttural groan make its way past your throat. Everything, not only your cuffs, felt heavy to you, and there was an awful pounding in your head. Any coherent thought of yours seemed to enter your head and spill out your ear— too drowned out by pain for you to render properly.

But no matter how predominate your pain was, nothing could distract you from the faint smell of smoke that lingered in the air, along with newer...fresher smells.

You turned your head to the side wearily and found that the source of the smell was a small pot of flowers by your bedside. At first you couldn't believe your eyes. Flowers!? You're near flowers...flowers. You couldn't remember the last time you saw proper flowers. When you were five maybe? And by god, they were just as beautiful as you imagined them to be; a fluorescent shade of yellow, filled with life despite their cut roots.

If it wasn't for the fact that you were in a completely alien environment, you would've scooped the delicate thing with your fingers and observed it as though it were the most fragile object in the world. But your attention was drawn elsewhere. The room you were trapped in— and these goddamn cuffs.

Clearly your plan failed. The more you soaked in the environment around you, the more that became clear. You were without a doubt in some kind of hospital or research area of sorts. There was that vaguely familiar chemical scent, and the classic metal bed with silk white sheets. The usual heart monitor and oxygen tank was also there too, and the plastic lining for the mask. The machinery rumbled lowly as it pumped air through your lungs—typical.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Your teeth clenched together with a strength you weren't aware was present.

You were just so...sick of this. How many years did you spend cocooned in a disgusting organisation, locked behind keys and bolts only for you to fall into the arms of yet another organisation? That's if this wasn't Kara (they weren't so generous with decorations and hospitality) but at this point, you didn't think it mattered. You were trapped, no matter how you looked at it.

And for god sake, atleast Jigen had the decency to give you free arms— these bastards have you in cuffs!

You scoffed to yourself. 'Oh yes, becuase I definitely look like a dangerous subject.'

The logic behind your restraints left you perplexed and ultimately furious. So with hatred being your only justification, you clawed at the plastic mask attached to your mouth and ripped it right off. A small hiss came from the device and without a second thought, you threw the cursed thing across the room, forcing the oxygen tank attached to it to follow soon after.

The crashing sound of the machinery was satisfying to say the least. You wanted to make sure these bastards knew that you weren't going to be another willing test subject. However that took quite a bit of energy—you were a malnourished little thing after all, if only your body could keep up with the agonising hatred within you.

The thought of punching your way through the facility put a smile to your face. One day you'll become strong enough to take on the world and find your family— you were sure of it.

It didn't take much time for you to catch your breath again, so when you did, you kicked your feet over the edge of the hospital bed and wobbled upright. You needed to find out what was going on here, and you doubted staying bedridden would help. The second you hoisted your body up however, you were slunk back down by the weight of your cuffs.

A small 'Geez, what did they put in this thing?' pressed your lips in response. You could feel gravity work it's way on your wrists as you shimmied towards the metal door of your room. There was atleast 5 kilos in these things— whoever ran this facility must really think of you as a threat. Pathetic, honestly.

Once you made it to the door, you almost instantly slumped against it. The metal was cold to the bone.

"Erm— okay. Uh, h-hey! HEY! IS SOMEONE THERE!?" You yelled at the top of your lungs. A coughing fit followed swiftly after (much to your embarrassment) but it couldn't be helped with how the airship went down. That's what you assumed happened atleast— the organisation found you amidst the haze of smoke with Kawaki, passed out from oxygen deprivation.

There was other possibilities of course, maybe Kawaki wasn't even here. That kid probably escaped and left you to rot— you don't blame him, that's what you were about to do anyway.

You felt a rush of adrenaline flow within you as you waited for an answer. But let's say he was here, would it be possible to escape with him?

"Is...is this thing on? Ah it is!" Suddenly, the sound of a young girls voice erupted from one of the rooms cameras. A mic must've been hidden somewhere in it, much to your surprise. You were more concerned about the age of the girl though, she sounded no more than twelve.

"Please relax, I've sent some assistants to aid you with anything you need— they'll uhm...explain what's happening to you."

"Wait— what a-" You quickly called out but-

Click.

And just like that, the voice was no more.

You stood there in silence for a second. Well crap, it looks like you'll have to play along with these jerks. You sighed and slumped against the small table by your bed. The wood felt hard beneath you, but atleast you could get a proper look at the yellow flowers. There wasn't a thing you wouldn't give to know what breed they were.

A minute passed and the sound of the door being unlocked snapped your attention away from the flowers. A lone girl stood at the doorway, her slick black hair and bright red clothes standing out in the light. She was definitely younger than you by a year or so, her youthful face still holding that baby fat of a child. But there was a look in those large black eyes. She's definitely trained like an adult, and you have the misfortune of being 'assisted' by her.

"Hello, My name is Sarada Uchiha, what is your name?" Sarada took a few steps inside the room and closed the door behind her, officially securing your possible escape. Great.

You didn't respond to her introduction, only eying her with distrust. It looks like this facility isn't above child labour either...

Sarada took your silence as an excuse to pick up the oxygen tank you previously threw. When she took those few steps forwards you visibly tensed up— if truth be told you were expecting her to lash out or something for the mess. But instead, she simply set the tank to lean against the wall, then pushed the brim of her red glasses up. "...I hope that you found the room comfortable. You're in quite a critical condition."

You blinked.

She stared back at you, expecting an answer.

"I want to leave this place." That's all you said in return. You couldn't give any less of a shit if you were in critical condition or on deaths doorstep. You didn't trust her at all, and it felt suffocating being in this admittedly nice room. It's too nice— there has to be a catch.

Sarada didn't react at your response. She must've expected it. "Unfortunately we cannot allow that. You're currently in the land of Fires Scientific Ninja Weapons Department, and under the custody of the Hidden leaf villages Hokage."

Her gaze softened "I know this must be really confusing, and considering how malnourished you are, I doubt you were treated very well by Kara. Just know that we mean no h-"

"I want to leave. I don't care who you are or think you are." Your voice was laced with a layer of ice so sharp that Sarada flinched, her words and her confidence cut down.

You took her hesitation as a chance to speak "-In the end of the day, no matter what 'peace and friendship' bullshit you try to spew at me, it doesn't solve the fact that I'm trapped in a room, monitored like some kind of freak and with these stupid handcuffs." For extra emphasis you shook your cuffs. Sarada can admit that they looked ridiculous on you. For someone more dangerous like Kawaki who was miles healthier and taller, they were better fitted. But for you...not so much.

"W-we dont"

"—theres that 'we' again. 'We' is plural, and so is 'assistants' there's only one of you."

Sarada sighed. She hated being interrupted like this, but Sumire thought that a sympathetic female would be better at earning your trust compared to a loud mouthed boy and his ever-silent friend. Yet here she was, being villainized. She found herself wondering how Boruto and Mitsuki were doing with the other boy.

"My other assistants are busy helping the boy you were with. He needed to use the bathroom." Sarada decided to leave it at that.

Your face lightened a bit at the mention of the boy. So Kawaki was here! You bit back a small sigh of relief and instead, decided to use that information for a possible escape plan.

"...So we're allowed to be let out for toilet breaks?"

"Yes, do you need to use it?" Sarada asked.

You nodded, then watched as the girl tapped the side of her ear. Hooked around it with a black cable was a device with an extended small mic. "I'm taking the girl to the bathroom, she needs to use it too" Sarada spoke into the device, and in a matter of seconds, a small voice replied, accepting your request.

You had never seen anything like it, but considering that it belonged to your new captors, you had no interest in it. Infact, you had no interest in anything in this facility. Not this girl, and not the Hokage. From a young age you were taught that the moment you showed trust was the moment you'd be taken advantage of. And considering how pristine this place is, there's definitely some demons hiding in the cracks.

Heck, maybe there's a new Delta in this hell hole, maybe they'll like to pull you by the ear instead of the hair. Maybe they like to make you vomit with fear rather than cry, at this point you expected everything and anything— adults were ugly, ugly creatures after all.

You followed Sarada out of the room at a rather slow pace. Sarada was merciful enough to adjust to your speed with a supportive half-smile which threw you off a bit— normally Amado would grab you by the hair and tell you to "hurry up" if you took your time with things.

The hallways of the facility were something else too. They were white, of course, but there was an abundance of plants and lounge chairs in front of the entrance to other rooms. Sometimes there would even be an occasional staff member who would walk by, a small clipboard in hand and a neat smile to share with the two of you.

"This place is weird" is what you caught yourself thinking. There was something undeniably warm about the way the place was decorated. Maybe it's because this organisation likes to be mentally abusive instead? Ah yes, the art of isolation and labour— who doesn't love it.

You were about to turn the corner with Sarada until suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. Her fingers flew to her little device again, and she shrieked "He's what!?"

The girls naturally composed demeanour shattered as the conversation trailed on between her and whoever was on the opposite line. A few words here and there, and you landed on 'escaped.'

Oho...

Now you were no genius, but you bet that she was talking about Kawaki. As a former Kara member too, you understood the want for freedom like him, and by the looks of it, as Sarada turned her head away from you, too engulfed in exchanging location details with the girl on the other line, she failed to notice you slowly inching away. A shimmy here and there, and you rounded the corner.

Gone within a flash, you were.

So here you are, running down the seemingly endless corridors of an unfamiliar facility. You could've sworn you passed the bathrooms with the speed and desperation in your gallops, and thankfully you had yet to run into another researcher.

A giggle bubbled it's way up your throat as you ran— it's been a while since you've been this exhilarated, and if you managed to escape Kara, who's to say this facility will be any different?

To truly throw Sarada off your tracks (if she noticed that you were gone by now) you descended some flights of stairs and entered into some new corridors. For all you knew, you could be running in circles. Eventually though, you started to find droplets of blood on the floor.

"Are these...trails?" Your gaze followed the blood marks. Little did you know however, that you weren't alone, and that the second you went to turn the corner, someone else was also doing the same.

BANG!

"Ouch!" You yelped out in pain as you smacked right into what felt to be a brick wall. The other person also let out a yelp, though more of surprise than pain as they wobbled backwards from the impact. Pain stung your nose as you took a deep breath in— and that was when you opened your eyes, and your jaw dropped.

Smokey grey eyes stared back at you through black and blonde strands of hair.

You blinked twice.

He looked equally as stunned.

"Kawaki-"

"-(Y/N)?"

The both of you spoke at the same time, which only ushered the pair of you into even more silence. You were here too? Kawaki didn't think you'd have the chance to escape. Not that he was complaining, there was so much he wanted to say to you, to ask, and well— know. His first encounter with you left him with more questions than answers after all (it was incredibly brief and far from conventional) but he couldn't find the words, not when his arm had just been shredded by some weird lion-tiger thing. And those two idiots he managed to slip past were undoubtedly hot on his tail.

Whilst he contemplated what to do with you, you stared at the blood-stained sleeve of his hospital gown, his injury causing a small gasp to escape your lips. Though you looked surprised, there wasn't any disgust in your gaze, clearly you were desensitised.

"I— what happened to your arm? They did this didn't they? I knew those bastards couldn't be trusted!" You attempted to touch his bloodied arm, but Kawaki swatted your hand away.

"Don't touch it, now come, there's no time for small talk" Before you could retaliate, you felt his calloused hand secure itself around your arm.

Kawaki towered over you with a rare look of determination in his face "We need to leave, I only barely managed to escape my stupid babysitters."

And just like that, Kawaki began to run down the hallway with you barely keeping up behind him. Your little sprints were nothing compared to his long strides, and at times you could've sworn your feet left the ground. You knew Kawaki was strong but you didn't know he was strong enough to hold you and your cuffs like they were nothing. A few times you nearly slipped on his blood trails too— but soon you found a way to yell at him to slow down while keeping up with his insane speed.

"Stop holding me so tight Kawaki!" Kawaki was rough when tugging you from corridor to corridor— clearly he was too busy trying to find an escape to notice that he was bruising you. So you obviously yelled at him so he'd get the message. Turns out, the bastard was deaf.

"H-Hey! I don't think this is the right way!" You tried to call out to him again, but Kawaki simply ignored your comment. He didn't have time to discuss 'maybes' and 'what ifs'. He didn't even expect to find you when escaping at first. Truth be told he was going to leave you out of convenience but now that he has a chance to escape with another runaway Kara member, he's going to count his blessings— not waste them.

Just as you were about to voice another concern, that was when Kawaki spotted a purple door with a green glowing sign above it.

"Fire exit." He read in a hushed, hopeful whisper.

"-what was that?" You asked behind him, and Kawakis answer was to kick the door down with one powerful kick. The purple door practically flung open, breaking free from its hinges and releasing a wave of bright, natural light. It poured from the door, and you winced at the sheer volume of it.

The soft melody of birds singing followed soon after, and you gasped with awe at the field of green that stretched on from the horizon outside of it.

"Let's get out of here."