Just a small town boy [Open RP; iNPC]

[Morishige]

My eyes caught the old man's as he stroked his facial hair. His point was valid, I suppose, if it were the fact that the cure was in such a small amount that the poison itself would just cancel out-- possibly become weaker but not destroyed. Since the beginning, I had not been drinking my tea, but the old man just continued forward. My mind raced with hypothesis. Perhaps no matter how much you drank, it didn't change the effects. Once ingested, there was no getting worse or better based on how much one took into their system. It was during these thought that my own chest felt like it was being constricted. Like a large invisible snake was wrapping ever so slowing around my torso. Naturally, I squirmed uncomfortably and pressed my hands up against my adolescent chest to make sure there wasn't some malleable force I could stop.

His words were cryptic and confusing, and I only smirked in thought. Shinobi-- being both alive and dead was impossible. How this test could test for both was beyond my reasoning. I could only assume his age was a factor in these wise words of which I understood little. My breathing grew haggard, the burn making itself apparent. There was one obvious route. I could take the bottles, and destroy them, and take this old man along with me to death. But then I would be dead, and that just wouldn't do. Mixing the drinks was my best option, but who knows how it would turn out. It would be possible that it was futile to do so and then we all die anyway... "Come on Zaku, there must be a solution..." I thought, making a fist, slightly hunching in pain.

..."This oaf will find me harder to kill than a simple poison."...

"W-what?" I said aloud with a cough. But there was no response. The burning in my chest began throbbing dramatically, my right hand coming to clutch at my skin underneath the shirt. "GAH!" I gasped in pain, the burn growing to nearly unbearable intensity. My left hand braced the floor before me as I hunched over in pain. Last I looked none of the others had such acute symptoms.

As I hunched in pain, my mind only took me to my training of pain management. I had found the mediation method to work best; to will away the pain usually made it easier. With slow, unsteady movements, I sat straight up and began forcing deep breath into my system as the pain course through my veins. It wasn't just my chest now...it was everywhere. My hands came together, finger tip to finger tip as I began focusing on the one tactic I had the most success with. "Focus on your pulse...feel it with each finger..." I chanted in my mind.

Sweat beaded and fell to the cushions below as my eyes squinted painfully together. My breathing was faster now, and less ragged-- more controlled and focused. And, in a moments notice, I could feel my racing heart in my finger tips. And in time, the burning pain, the congestion, it all left my body. I had been closed off to the others the entire time, so I wasn't sure how they were fairing. As soon as I felt like myself again, I opened my eyes took look at the state of the others.

 

[Ii Hissori]

To Noe, it defiantly seemed like this old man was playing up the fact that this was poisoned. He was trying to make them nervous, and he was trying to scare them, to make them question themselves and this frustrated the boy. He had already been trained in the ways of demon hunting, and had been told to avoid these type of classes, and these type of sensei just wanted to get their jolly’s from scaring the daylights out of the young hopeful shinobi’s. It was disrespectful to them, and Noe had better things to do than have to pick which bottle had the cure. Noe WAS better than this. He had fought to protect his village, and he had already seen friends die. He had seen them be ripped a part and formed into demons. He had seen the intestines of his teachers, of his cousins, of his father.

“This is despicable. This teaches us nothing, but not to trust the people we are suppose to be learning from. You are suppose to be a sensei, to actually teach us something and here you are playing some game. This teaches us nothing. I have faced to much to have some old man get his jollies by making kids face their death. Death is a serious subject. It IS a serious threat in anyone’s life. It shouldn’t be handled this lightly. This is disgusting.” Noe said as he tried to catch his breath. He hoped that sunk in, because this was really stupid, and more importantly this old man was scaring his friend. What also did not help Noe was there was a REAL threat in the room, and that threat seemed to be talking to him.

His blue eyes stayed stotic as he looked at the demon man. I am calm. This test is just stupid. I have worked to hard to have some sensei try and treat us like we have never faced death before. He thought replying to the demon. Could he really trust this demon? Staring at him he gave short choking grunt and nodded. Fine. Pick the antidotate. He said his attention quickly being ripped away from the demon to his friend.

“Just relax. Everything will be okay, alright Zaku.” He said a small hand going to rub the back of his friend. At this point, Noe was doing everything he could to try and catch his breath. The saying was right, humans were always worse than demons.

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

The old man seemed somewhat unhappy with the results. Noe seemed rather hysterical, repeating his words. Showing his anger, it was a simple reaction. No, he was looking for what the other boy was now doing. "Good." He smiled, at least one of them was using their skills to deter the pain. He looked between Noe and Satou, noticing their glances at one another. Of course they were conversing mentally it seemed. How interesting, the Elders curiosity was ever growing over Satou. And Noe's little speech was moving only to those who would actually care.

"To put the body under strain, to experience death. You become numb to it. You grow stronger with each experience, as my training brings my students closer to death. You will lose fear, doubt, your life will become meaningless and you will find that killing will be natural as breathing. But as your friend is experiencing. Each breath is needed, necessary and precious. Just as we are experiencing a slow death. It will be another experience in your life, you survived and you will live another day." The Elder immediately shuffled backwards when Satou lunged for him. Missing as the elder stood rather abruptly and seemed unfazed.

As Satou leaped and bound after the old man, grabbing at his coat, reaching in and pulling out a silver flask, tossing it to Noe across the room as Satou soon felt blade cutting at him. Doing his best to guard himself with his arms as blades flew from the wall. The Elderly Shinobi was a weapons user, grabbing the blades off the wall, slashing and spinning them like high speed buzz saws.

Satou had to stand in the way of the oncoming blade, smashing them away to deflect them from hitting the two young shinobi still sitting at the table. He had no choice, he had to push himself further. As one or two simple daggers pierced his chest he rushed forward, snarling like a crazed beast. Flurrying with spinning kicks and punches, blades flying left and right into ceilings and walls and strewn about the floor.

The demon closed in, raising his fist in the air poised to strike, sprawling down low to avoid one last blade that clipped his leg before his fist nailed the Elder in the gut, raising the giants body off the ground as he roared a triumphant Shoryuken. But sadly, it was lackluster then the clone popped and the demon fell to the ground exhausted from the assault. He laid broken slightly. on the ground, plucking blades from his body.

The antidote had only enough for the two drinks. Enough to cure two people. Satou knew this. He took this little game before. Then one to get the flask first, won the game and could choose someone to aid. But if there was more then two participants. Someone would suffer.

And why not him? He was but a horrid demon, even now, bloodied and weakened. His eyes burned with hunger. with thirst, to sustain himself. His body felt cold and stiff, it hurt to clench his hands. Least he could still feel pain. It made him smile a bit. Least he did something rather good today.

 

[Ketsueki Satou]

(Topic left due to inactivity)

 

[Morishige]

Topic Left Inactivity.