Trial 2:

Kahou was smiling while still in her dormitory room the night before the second trials. She was all patched up, although she could heal easily heal her wounds anytime. But in a way they reminded her of her first victory today and it had kept her awoke in her made-of-stone bed with a couple of rugs that made it a lot more comfortable than it sounded. The city was even better than she had expected and Kahou felt her unquenched curiosity rise up. What was her next trial going to be?  Maybe something that requires her smarts and not so much her dexterity and perception? Something to test her brains, where she knew she would shine and could ace whatever they would put in front of her... or so she thought at least.


Kahou was reading her trial description for the second time now. She was given an "Escape the Room" type of test.Again closed, trapped as if she had again returned to her unpleasant slave days that she was so desperately trying to bury deep in her memories. "I unshackled myself once... I can do it again!" she encouraged herself, despite the fact that her first chains were not as real as the ones she was going to be wearing this time.

The room was rather small and dark with the only light coming from the open door behind Kahou. She sat on the designated chair, taking a long deep breath. The proctor had given her the moment to mentally prepare herself, although this would never be the case in a real situation.

"It is good to be prepared and try to be so, but in a real fight your opponent will never give you this opportunity. Good luck." the proctor said as he tapped her on the shoulder. Her instinctive reaction was to try and move away from his hands but before she knew it, chains had appeared and tied her up as tight to the chair as can be. The proctor was so fast and handy, she could barely track his movements as he was binding her to the door with all types of padlocks and chains of different sizes. He smiled again and Kahou could clearly hear the man's steps as he left the room and locked the door behind him, completely shutting all light to the room.


She was still so mad on the inside, holding it in with a grind of her teeth all this time. Kahou was so sick and tired of all this wanton that surrounded her, even though she did occasionaly abuse the attention in order for things to go her way... or to be honest occasionally was an understatement. It was not her fault men had enough blood for only one functioning head, was it?

Her whole body was pulsing with fire and anger, for her current situation was so much more than a simple escape the room. She felt the chains that holded her as the shackles of a mentally ill society, where she would be treated as a piece of meat. No... this trial was no mere test of strength, dexterity or smarts... this was a test of character for Kahou. She needed to prove something way much more than just being a capable shinobi. She had to unshackle herself and finally be able to become trully free. Free to make her own decisions, free to act, free to evolve... to become what she was trully meant to be.


She took a deep breath as she tried to clear up her mind once again in the now dark room. The air in the room was rather stale for it had no windows and a single door that was probably kept shut most of the time. Not a sound was to be heard for it was also isolated and in a matter of moment Kahou felt she could hear her own pulse... or maybe it was not a feeling? *LUB-DUB-LUB-DUB* the rhythmic sound of her own heart was so loud, the Karisuma was perceiving it as a never-ending echo through the empty room.

She tried moving any part of her body but soon realized that her efforts were futile. The binding were so tight and well placed she could even faint without actually dropping. The only thing that would actually change place was her head that felt like totally separated from her whole body. Kahou, the now floating head, actually started feeling a little overwhelmed by this trial, for she was neither a thief who could pick locks, nor a masculine beast who could rip them off... the Karisuma actually realized she lacked in one simple thing and it was - escape techniques or knowledge.


She felt the sudden realization hit her like a truck. She was so excited after her first win, she did not really pay attention to what se had signed up for in the second trial.

Panic attack. This is what could best describe what Kahou was undergoing at the moment in the completely dark and sound-proof room, chained tightly to a chair unable to move about ninety percent of her body. She felt like screaming but the fear of actually hearing the result of her scream in this room was traumatizing. Kahou opened her mouth and she could hear this as clear as day. *LUB-DUB-LUB-LUB-DUB* her heartbeat was not as rhythmic as before and she could feel herself skipping a beat.


She was still trying to figure what was going on. *LUB-DUB-LUB-LUB-DUB* the eternal music of her own existance was all she could hear but it was what kept her sanity still in check, for she as a medic could perfectly understand her current condition and how to counteract to it.


She started explaining it to herself in order to calm down and started feeling as if the sounds were slowly but surely losing volume and things were normalizing.

*LUB-DUB-LUB-LUB-DUB* her beat was still not in check, despite her effort to calm downm, which was strange. Kahou had regained her normal breathing in her attempt to re-evaluate her situation, and she had also lost the feeling of weight on her chest, but her heart did not agree. She focused on the fading sound of the irregular beat and was searching for a medical explanation for her condition...

"KAI!" she had decided to not take any risk and if she was trully under a genjutsu it would be one to test her limits.

She felt the shacles being released, fading away and in the same time an unpleasant sharp odor started irritating her nose and she sneezed, immediately covering her face. The room was still pitch dark but she knew where the door was supposed to be an without any hesitation she jumped of the chair into the darkness behind it, soon realizing that it would not be as easy to find the door as she had hoped to.

"Hansha Bunshin no Jutsu" she picked another strain of hair in order to survive. She was still young and hair was not a problem but in time she would have to find another way to fuel her clonings. The emotionless clone immediately threw itself forward and it was not long before Kahou heard a loud bang. It had found the wall.

The Karisuma felt dizzy with her feet shaking, she decided to trust her instincts and let the clone find the door while she tries to keep the poison in her body at bay to the best of her ability. She dropped on her knees on the floor with a cough, her choices narrowed down to none.

"Kihon Kaishū-Hō" her hands started glowing green as she started treating her chest area where the lungs are located. She figured that the odd smell would mean the poison would be inhaled and moreover there was no other way for her to be injected with it. The Karisuma was not feeling better but for a while she did not feel worse as well which was a good sign. She was able to sustain herself a little longer.

A loud click echoed through the room and a burst of light made Kahou flicker. There was a shadowy figure that was closing in from where the rays were coming and she felt its cold touch. It was her ownself, serious with a blank expression that helped her get back up and through the exit, where a group of highly trained medics got a hold of her to stabilize her condition.

As she was losing conscious she was looking at her emotionless mirror image and she could not help but wonder... was she turning into it?

---

WC: 1522
Trial 2 Completion: 1522/1500

22 words discarded.

[Exit]

Chakra 80/150: