The Experiment [ Class ]

[Sato Daigo]

There was an announcement that the raikage had returned from his diplomatic journey to Stone continuing Shin’s fight for peace. If Shin were careless he would have asked Shu to present him to his dear old friend but they both knew better. It was too soon for Akira Saito to know that Shin had returned besides Shin's time in the physical realm had passed. He should not interfere at least with the word he left at least not directly. Despite all of this, there was one thing that Saito could do for Shin --- continue to teach the young minds of this village that Shin's loved so dear.

A lesson that would developed using a facility that had not been in focused since the days of Enishi and Takao --- Takao's insane asylum. It was a morbid place to arrange a class but for this particular lesson it was perfect.

Shu picked one the largest rooms designed to blocks outside noise and induce a more claustrophobic feel. The wall were plastic white with the occasional holes. There was a matrix of chairs and desk lined up for at least twenty students. Shu stood with his back at of the wall at the front of the classroom. Occasionally, Shu would hear the curling screams of the inmates in the other side of the hallway as they were forced down their daily medication. He remember during his days such a place like this would be a mockery of a shinobi's strength but at the same time at least resource were quickly wasted in fact most shinobi who held any illness would be cast aside aside. Hopefully, the students would prove not to be the case. The students were expected to be escorted into the ward with several ANBU due to the extreme conditions they would be in. Shu insured his superiors that no real harm would come to them as least not to the student's knowledge.

• Max of 72 hours each round to post.
• Enjoy

 

[Uchiha Keiko]

"Alright, we're here now, I think..." he thought, as he and other students were led into a large classroom where, what seemed to be the teacher, was stood. Satoru inspected the room and almost liked it. The occasional noises put him off but he liked everything else about it.
He assumed that he was meant to take a seat by the seats and desks placed and took a set to rest, looking over at what he was sure was the teacher. He was ordered to come here with everyone else present and they were guided in by ANBU members, which made him question what would be happening but if he saw his brother here, he would assume it was just a normal thing to happen.

Satoru continued to inspect the room, looking at the walls, the cracks, the condition and everything. He figured the building was at least quite old and was used for things that weren't meant to be seen by the entire world but that was just him assuming things because he was bored while waiting. It could have simply been an old room that no one used anymore, who knew. Well, the people in charge knew, but that wasn't what he meant.

 

[Kumori]

He still did not know what he was supposed to be doing in the mental institute. He hated the place. He had only been there once, for an errand, to check on an old ANBU that had gone crazy after a mission. The whole ordeal was supposed to be both an errand and a lesson, to teach him what the different scenarios of failure looked like. Supposedly, it happened a lot. A log of ANBU often ran into powerful genjutsu users who completely destroyed their mind, rendering it to the point of insanity. This was one of the reasons Kumori detested genjutsu. He feared it, since the physical could be easily replaced with his new powers, he could live forever, but the mind was unique… and if he lost that, he lost everything.

Today was a special day, not for him though. He had been instructed to go to the Takao Mental Institute, and meet a man, whose name was yet unknown, at a specific room. He did not know why he was supposed to be there. Or what the whole purpose of this ‘mission’ was. Probably another lesson. He simply did not look forward to have his mind tampered with… and hoped that was not the case.

“Otsuki Kumori, reporting in.” – he said, walking into the room that looked surprisingly similar to an academy class room. He quickly scanned the place and was surprised to see his brother there. “Satoru…” – he said with a forced smile. He wasn’t sure how to feel about having Satoru in the mental institute, even if they were together. He cared for his brother. He cared enough to be afraid of having him close to the mentally unstable. But most of all, he cared for him enough to be afraid of the small possibility that they would be experimented on with genjutsu. It was not unknown in cloud… they did it before. A man by the name of Kushin, if he remembered right. He was sure as hell that he wouldn’t go down easy if that was the case.

Whatever.

Kumori stepped forward, and proceeded to take a seat next to his brother. Hopefully they wouldn’t be the only ones there.

 

[Tsuyoshi Amori]

As she walked through the hallowed walls of the insanity ward, she could hear the ear rattling shouts, and maniacally laughter of the mentally insane. This would be her first class since being inducted into the ninja academy, and into the Tsuyoshi clan. She wondered how Junko could ever work so diligently in an are which was prone to loud, blood curdling screams. Then it dawned on her, the work of a medical chief couldn't discriminate who they wished to heal, or who they healed; they just did. Their goal was to make sure they stayed alive until they could be cured from their ailment. She respected and admired Junko's profession, and maybe one day she would see herself becoming a promising medic just like him... She aspired to akin herself to the man that selflessly let her into his family, and gave her a means to survive in the village and even thrive if she succeeds through the academy.

Two other students of the lesson were already there; one was stoic and silent, and barely made a noise. The other had a rather somber feel to him, yet she could see slight glimmers of light radiate from him; a shadow masking a light so to speak. He promptly introduced himself as Otsuki Kumori, an referred to the silent individual as Satoru. A duo dynamic made her feel slightly outcasted from them, but she was just happy to participate in her first lesson, S...Stu...Student Tsuyoshi Amori, a pleasure... She could hear the timidness and shakiness in her voice as each word rolled off her tongue and into the next, Wha.... What is today lesson? Curiosity finally had gotten the better of her, and she popped the question she was sure the others were curious about also; what was the lesson plan for today.

 

[Ikeda Shiori]

There it was, yet another scream. Shiori shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. This had been a bad idea. A very, very bad idea. He sniffled quietly, eyes scanning the walls nervously. That shadow- Had it moved? His eyes widened as stared at it for a long moment. Nothing happened, but... He shivered once more and forced himself to trudge onwards. Each step was reluctant, like a man walking to his death. Or, more aptly, a really small child walking to what he was beginning to believe was his death. Shiori couldn't recall if it had been said what the lesson was, and that served to scare him further. For all he knew, lessons involved fights to the death. He'd thought that kind of talk was just a whole bunch of exaggeration made up to scare people, before entering this building. Now, he wasn't so certain. Every lie had some basis in the truth, right?

And then, far quicker than he'd been expecting, he was at the door. He glanced behind himself longingly, before facing the door. He could do this. Or well, he'd try, at least. Shiori rubbed at his watering eyes with one of his overly large sleeves. Then he shuffled in the classroom.

His eyes hurriedly scanned the room, taking in the other occupants. Everyone looked years and years older than him. Even the youngest looking one, the only girl, seemed maybe five years older. At least, he was almost certain that was the youngest one. He couldn't see the face of one of them, not really. Briefly, Shiori entertained the possibility that this guy didn't have a face at all. Maybe he was like some kind of demon pretending to be human, and the cloak and bandages and... a whole bunch of other clothes really, were all to hide demonic features. It made sense, kind of. Then his eyes strayed towards the one sitting near that one. Shiori quietly gasped.

Oh wow. Shiori had never seen anyone like that before. This guy, he looked like he'd been a canvas for somebody, with all the patterns on him. He looked like living artwork. It was awesome! He wanted to call it pretty, as he would call art, but he didn't know if that would be right. Fear forgotten, he just stared in awe for a long moment. Shiori really wanted to say something out loud to compliment the patterns, but he just couldn't find any words.

After a long moment, he ducked his head as he realized he was just staring at this guy. He futilely hoped this guy hadn't noticed, even though he'd been staring for a while. More than that, Shiori really hoped that the guy didn't think that Shiori had meant something bad with the staring. Shiori didn't dare to look and see if the guy actually had noticed, instead he hurried over to one of the seats, one a distance away from the others. Every moment or so, he shifted, trying to make himself comfortable. Occasionally, his eyes darted back over to the guy. Shiori was quiet, still unable to find his voice, so he just tugged some thread away from one of the holes on his sleeves. It wasn't long before fear began to trickle back into him.

 

[Sato Daigo]

The white room was silent for a while until the metallic door creaked open with an ANBU and a young boy entered the room. The young boy looked around as pensively inspect his surroundings. He continued his observation for a few minutes before taking a seat. The ANBU bowed his head as he departed. For another set of time, neither Shu or the boy said a word. The silence was broken once again as metallic door creaked open.

It was another boy perhaps the same age as the other. He introduced himself as Otsuki Kumori. He walked across the matrix of chairs as he sat by the first student. Kumori apparently had some familiarity with the other boy as he whispered Satoru which possibly was his name.

Once again there was a brief silence before three more student entered the room -- two girls and one boy. One of the girls sat down and said

“S...Stu...Student Tsuyoshi Amori, a pleasure…” She could hear the timidness and shakiness in her voice as each word rolled off her tongue and into the next, “Wha.... What is today lesson?”

“It is a pleasure to meet you Amori-chan”. Shu said underneath his mask. His voice was deep and commanding despite his age.

“Today's lesson is one of a kind. Each hour you will be asked to offer one of your own to be sacrificed. How you decide is up to you. The person to be sacrificed will be taken out of the room.” He said as he lifted his finger. Then, he flicked his right hand as a small needle appeared between his fingers. He lightly tapped the sharp pin onto his right index finger letting bleed a little. His hands and fingers began to move swiftly like a whirling hurricane before stopping. He slammed his hand on the ground as a puff of smoke appeared and as the smoke dissipated a large hourglass appeared. All of the brown sand rested on the top.

“Once all of the grain has reached the bottom an hour has elapsed and for those who are not old school there is a digital screen on the bottom.” He pointed to the bottom front where a protruded metal plate could be seen with the words 0:0:00 highlighted in neon green. “I really should not explain how a clock works. If you do not comply each hour you will all die. The lesson will end with the last person in the room.”

“Begin.” And with those final words the sand began to trickle down.

• No one is going to die but your characters don't know this so write accordingly
• The IC hour will end after have reached a decision or after 48 hours. Whichever comes first
• Those who are sacrificed will be taken to another room and you will be able to observe the progress of everyone else. No you can not detect the cameras.
• One of the students is an NPC so I will be using her.

 

[Uchiha Keiko]

"Today's lesson is one of a kind. Each hour you will be asked to offer one of your own to be sacrificed. How you decide is up to you. The person to be sacrificed will be taken out of the room."

Satoru looked up in shock at the teacher and then glanced straight over at his brother, ignoring all the others who had come into the room with them. "If only one can get through this test, that means that Kumori or I must die to let the other live. But..." He stopped for a few seconds to gather his thoughts and relax but he couldn't. "I cannot let my brother die, not after everything we've been through... I must make sure he passes this test. But, what if I sacrifice myself and then they choose to sacrifice him after..?" He pondered more in his thoughts but Satoru knew if he didn't start talking to people now, this would be a very long hour and he just wanted to get this over and done with.

Death wasn't something Satoru dealt well with and he most certainly didn't want to see his brother die either. Satoru would stand up and look at everyone around him in the group before taking a deep breath. "I'll go first." He said, quietly. He didn't dare look at his brothers face after saying this, he just sat back down, not taking no for an answer. At least this way, his brother would survive slightly longer and have a chance at seeing what the result of the test was.
Satoru felt a wave of overwhelming sadness rush over him but he didn't show it. His brother probably knew that though, he was always good at reading exactly how Satoru felt despite not being able to see his face entirely.

 

[Kumori]

Just what the hell is this?
Sacrifice?
Only one will remain?

The class had turned into a nightmare. It did not make sense in the slightest. The first decision would be a hard one; no one would want to point fingers first since that would probably get people to want to get rid of them instead. The second would be easy, the students would have gotten used to it. When only two people remained, the outcome would be decided with a battle. If only one could survive, Kumori would damn make sure it was an Otsuki.

He smiled, but chose to remain silent, lowering his head and closing his eyes to calm his mind and think of something. It was a test. It had to be. Kumogakure was far from turning into a deathmatch… that would destroy all memory of the late Raikage, Shin. There was just no way they would kill off all the students… was there? There was simply no way to be sure.

"I'll go first." – said Satoru, a miserable, tearless expression adorning his face. You couldn’t see it properly because of all the clothes and bandages hiding it, but he did not want to do it. Kumori knew. He knew his brother more than anyone. After their parents died, Satoru was the only one that remained. It was just them two for the longest he could remember, seeing that they did not receive any help from the rest of the clan. This could not be the end.

“As if.” – he said as he stood up, shooting a serious look at his brother. Satoru did not want to look at him, but he would have to. Kumori looked around, scanning all the faces of the other students. They were afraid, some on the verge of tears. Of course they were… they were kids. He was the oldest one; he had lived more than anyone else in the room except for the teacher, who stared at them intently like he hadn’t just read their death sentence. "You will live.” – he said, moving towards his brother and giving him a hug. “That’s an order… and don’t even think of going against it. Sacrifice does not bring honor. What use if being loved or honorable if you are dead? Only the strongest survive. That is the law of the world. Make sure you remember that. It is a shinobi's duty to persevere... even if you have to execute the better judgement.” – he raised his voice.

Kumori stepped forward, all traits absent from fear. He was not afraid for his life… no… he was excited. It was finally time to test how far he had gotten. He could not die. He would not die, because it did not matter if he was killed once, he was prepared to rise again. No one knew this yet. If someone tried to kill him. He’d let them, and then he would stand up to take the life of his murderer like he did before to that boy and his family after the 3 years of pain he had made him endure. He knew that Satoru would probably offer himself right next… but there was no way he’d let him die.

“Don’t let our name vanish, brother! Do you understand?”

He smiled. It's time.

 

[Ikeda Shiori]

It seems his original thought that it might be a fight to the death hadn't be too far off, but somehow it didn't make Shiori feel any better to know that he was right. The knowledge of his impending death was a bit distracting.

Shiori stared wide-eyed at the teacher, waiting for this to all be declared a joke or something. A couple fruitless moments passed like that. Nothing changed. He glanced around desperately, searching for something, anything. Then Shiori's gaze fell upon the hourglass. A chill ran down his spine, and he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the device. Shiori watched the sand trickling down. It looked so harmless. If he'd seen it anywhere else, Shiori wouldn't have thought much of it. He might've even thought it cool or interesting. Maybe he would've wanted one for his own.

The stillness was broken when he jerked his head away, staring down at the desk instead. He couldn't bear to keep watching. It seemed harmless, sure, but each grain that fell just meant someone in here was closer to dying. It was awful. Absolutely awful.

It was further unnerving when Shiori suddenly realized that he was shaking, and he didn't have a clue about how long he'd been doing so far. He wished that it would stop, but it just wouldn't. Shiori pulled his legs up close to his body and wrapped his arms around them, curling in on himself. He just wanted to disappear. He sniffled and began to tear up. This had been a bad idea. He'd been right about that. That didn't bring him any comfort either.

All he wanted to do was cry. Shiori was terrified, more terrified than he'd ever been. When he was scared, he'd always cried. It would make sense if he started sobbing right now. His life was on the line here. And that was exactly why he didn't let himself cry. His life was on the line here and he wasn't going to let himself die. If he broke down, they might just choose to sacrifice him because of his obvious weakness. He knew that the weak didn't last long, not in anything. He took a shaky breath, attempting to calm himself. It didn't really work, but it was enough.

His head lifted and he surveyed the room. Shiori felt like throwing up. Here he was, looking around to try and figure out whose life he could end, in a desperate attempt to steal another day for himself. It was wrong. His shaking got worse. He couldn't do this, he couldn't make a decision like this.

Before Shiori could break down and force himself to continue, someone else spoke up. Shiori's head snapped towards the guy, the one whose face he couldn't see, and he stared at him wide-eyed. He didn't understand. How could this guy just offer himself up?!

He watched as the other guy near him stood up. Shiori couldn't look away as things went down. It was kind of... inspirational. Shiori found in awe of the one that could talk like that, but only briefly. Then reality set in.

Nearly everyone here would die, and it seemed like this guy was volunteering to go next. He'd just preached on about sacrificing oneself for others, and not to do it, and now he was just doing it himself. It didn't make sense.

Shiori bit his lip. This guy, he had a brother that he cared about, and his brother probably cared about him to. How could he not? If Shiori had a brother like that... But he didn't. That wasn't the point. This guy, he would be missed. Shiori mattered less in the end. There was no one that would miss him. Wouldn't it be better if it was him?

His lip started to bleed. Shiori didn't notice.

Shiori had always wanted to be a hero. In his stories, that was always the role he'd given himself. Sacrificing himself for this guy, it'd be heroic. Now, he really could be a hero. Except, he'd never wanted to die! Now, given the choice between being a hero or living, it didn't even take him a second to make his decision. His awful, awful decision.

Shiori just wanted to live. It shouldn't feel wrong, wanting to live. It shouldn't.

...It was a shinobi's duty to persevere... right?

He didn't speak up. He couldn't. He was just going to go along with what had been decided.

If he lived, was this what was waiting for him after graduation?

Shiori felt like he was going to be sick.

 

[Sato Daigo]

The students took their situation pretty well besides the clear signs of dread in their faces. In fact, one of the boys stood up and volunteered to be the first to be sacrificed. Of course, there would be contention as another student who quickly embraced him and stating that his sacrificed would be dishonorable. It was clear that the two boys had some bonding relationship which could be the cause of his bias. The other children remain quiet as the somberness of their situation continued to rest on them. Throughout the rest of the hour, there were no more discussion no more exaggerate rhetorics, nothing.

“One hour has passed. Let the first person to be sacrificed please please the room. You have thirty seconds.” Shu said as he glanced at the hourglass. All of the sand had nestled on the bottom waiting and the neon green lights on the panel flashed 1:00:00.

Once the person had left the room Shu began to reset the clock as the levitated for a moment before flipping over and slamming to the ground.

“Umm..excuse me Sensei. Do we really need to continue this?” One of the girls said with a slight quiver in her voice.

“Please continue the lesson.” Shu said calmly.

The girl fell back in silence defeated at a chance of getting out of this hell. It was not clear if the students were afraid of being killed by either the sensei or some unknown force but they felt that they had to comply because he was the teacher.

-----

On the other side, the student who was selected would be escorted through the bleak corridors of the asylum with two ANBU directing him, as if he really need two. He was led toward a flight of stairs where he could see a beacon of light emanating from a closed room, perhaps the execution room. He was surprised to find out the room was an exact replica of the classroom except there was no teacher and no students. There was a large black monitor that rested on a desk at the front. The color was in black and white but the student would recognize that it was a live video of the classroom he was just in. What was going on? Whatever the answer was the student was not going to get it because the ANBU guards that were with him could no longer be found.

 

[Uchiha Keiko]

Satoru looked at his brother as he stood up in defense and clenched his fist. There was no way he could argue with his brother but he didn't want to see him die. Did it have to be this way? God dammit. It couldn't end this way.
But... in the end, he couldn't do anything but sit in his chair and clench his fist until his brother had gone away. He wouldn't look over at his brother going, he wouldn't.

He sat in his chair, unmotivated, undetermined to do anything. Satoru just wanted the classroom teacher to kill everyone in the room right now including Satoru but he remembered what his brother had said about protecting the name of the family and so, regardless of his anger and upset, he would push on through this test. "Why did he have to do that? Why? It's not fair. He needs to live. He's a much bigger presence when it comes to our family, why'd he just throw his life away like that?! It's not fair!" he thought to himself in hatred and anger.

After a few moments, and after Kumori would have left the classroom, Satoru looked around the room at everyone and then back at the teacher. He took a few minutes to collect himself and then waited for the teacher to say something about the timer and then he would get the next hour with everyone over. He was determined to win this now. He wanted to see everyone in this room killed. No one would live. That's what he promised himself.

 

[Kumori]

What now?

Kumori’s mind raced with a hundred ideas on how to make his escape. Was he really gonna get killed? Was this only a test? There was only one way to find out. He couldn’t act yet, he had to wait. He glanced at his brother one last time before heading out, unable to meet his demon eye and say his final goodbye. He wanted to tell him that it did not matter what sort of jutsu he had, or how he looked, or how he acted, that in the end the only thing that mattered is that they were brothers, and would continue to be even after death. He wanted to say so many things to him, but it was too late. He had said what he could to keep him from getting the idea of sacrificing himself next… now it was too late for tears.

Two ANBU escorted Kumori out of the room and towards another. The execution room? No. Can’t be… there’s no such place in this building, we would have to go out to the prison. Kumori readied himself for the worst. If they went out of the building and towards another, he would make his move and attack. The attack wouldn’t be anything fancy, just enough to be a distraction and give him a couple of seconds to flee. The Raikage office… that’s where he had to go. Either the Raikage office, or the medical building. But nothing happened. He didn’t have to fight, because the room they took him to was not an execution room, it was another classrom… it had TV’s… and in the TV he could see his brother.

“What is this?” – he asked, turning around to face the pair of ANBU. But they were gone. “A test then…” – Kumori sighed in relief, feeling like he could cry at any moment. Did I pass? He asked himself… but that didn’t matter. What mattered at the moment was Satoru. What would he do? Kumori hoped he didn’t actually kill anyone now... yet he couldn't help but laugh.

 

[Tsuyoshi Amori]

(OOC: Sorry I was not able to post in the second round. Ill try to be more active from now on.)

This was supposed to be just another day in the academy. Life had been tough for the little girl with the golden hair. Ever since she was brought to Kumogakure, things had been happening, things that she couldn’t categorize as good or bad, simply odd. The balance of events that followed their daily routine would eventually shape her into a fine kunoichi, or at least that was her dream. But during an average afternoon in the village, her dream had been shattered into a million pieces as the teacher announced that only one person would remain alive to see the end of the class. She smiled in face of the death sentence, but in her smile was hidden an air of suicidal depression. She had been taken into the Tsuyoshi family. She was Tsuyoshi Amori now. She couldn’t just die… yet that was the only thing her destiny had saved for her.

Tears wetter her cheeks as she tried to figure out what to do. A hundred ideas and voices troubled her mind, impatiently debating on her resolve to live or die. Then someone spoke. She did not know his name. It was a boy, who was oddly dressed, clothes covering his skin head-to-toe, and the only visible parts were his hair and his toes, sticking out of the usual sandals all shinobi wear. She was wearing them too. The boy said he would go first, but before he could step forward another stood up and spoke up. They were brothers it seemed, or at least closely related, and it was evident the older one, who looked even stranger than the first, loved him very much. He loved him enough to be willing to sacrifice his own life for that of his brother. Amori wished she had a brother like that… or anyone really. In the end she did not have any family, so it was worthless to hope. Perhaps Junko would become a brother to her? Or a father. Hope… that an odd thing that was.

Two ANBU came into the room and took away the older boy, who had earlier introduced himself as Otsuki Kumori. Otsuki Kumori; if Amori survived, she would be sure to remember that name. If she survived of course, but her chances were looking grim. Just as soon as the teacher announced the next hour beginning, the previous boy, the young Otsuki, yelled the fact that his brother did not deserve to die, and that he should have been the one to make it through. It was true perhaps, but what was done was done. No one could bring back the dead, or go back to the past. Amori had learned this firsthand.

Today would be the day she died. It was obvious. She had just recently begun her shinobi training, and she was older than most students. Shinobi are trained from a young age, but she had started too late. Her fate was doomed, so what would be the difference between dying that day, or dying some other day? She turned to look at a young kid in the back of the room, someone she did not recognize. The kid hadn’t said much for the entire duration of the class, but he was crying. He was young, perhaps the youngest in the room, and Amori couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He was so young… and yet that day would be the day he felt the kiss of death. Did the Raikage really only recruit people for the academy only to kill them off? Amori did not know what to think anymore. Even though she knew it would happen if it came to it, she knew only one thing, she did not want to die that day. The only thing left then was to hope…

“I- I don’t want to die!”

 

[Sato Daigo]

There was no argument after the young man who volunteered. He left the room promptly without any disturbance. The room was quiet but Shu could feel the children's restlessness, especially the boy who showed the most concern for the sacrificed student. The boy sprouted a speech about honor and loyalty but it was fruitless against the ultimatum ---sacrificing the entire group or a single individual. It was not certain what the boy was trying to accomplish only resting in deaf ears.

Now, the second hour had gone as the last grain fell toward the ground. No one had spoken perhaps shocked at the lost of a comrade but a decision must be made.

“It is now the second hour. The next person to be sacrifice please leave the room.” Shu said.

“Please sensei. Why are you doing this?” One of the girls exclaimed as tears ran down her face.

As much Shu wanted to answer the young girl's request it would ruin the lesson. He turned toward her with mask still converting his countenance. “It is required that you continue the lesson”

“But why?” She responded.