Yuu-hen

Testing

"Now..."

My eyes widened in surprise when I woke up in a tank full of clear liquid, which I assumed was water. I couldn't breathe. I hit the glass walls of the tank again and again, but it ended up meaning nothing. My arms soon grew tired, but I didn't stop. I felt myself start slipping as the liquid entered my lungs.

Suddenly, I had an urge. The urge to hurt. I felt empowered, like nothing could stop me. I let the liquid seep into me, and slipped away.

Asuramaru.

I saw him standing there, looking triumphant. He smirked, and walked over to me.

"What have you done now? Stupid. How could you get captured? Now we're both stuck here."

"You think this was my choice?"

"Of course not. Now, how are we going to get out of here?"

"Use our power to beat them, obviously."

"You mean my power?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"I don't feel like it."

"What?"

"I'm gonna go to sleep. Deal with this yourself."

"Asuramaru?!"

Before I knew it, my demon faded away and left me alone. It was hopeless.

I'm never getting out of here, am I?

I felt myself forcefully kicked from my own mind, back into real life. I was on the ground, glass shards all around me. I looked around, and noticed Miyagi running towards me, a furious look on his face.

"Endo won't mind if you lose one nerve, right?! Breaking our equipment like that...how dare you!"

"Ugh...what?"

"Shut up! Just...shut up!"

I looked to my left, and watched as Miyagi grabbed a glass shard and proceeded to tear my arm open. I looked on in horror, but did not feel pain. The liquid had numbed my senses. I stopped caring fairly quickly as Endo walked over, a sneer decorating his menacing features. He took a syringe they had used on me from before, and put me back into sleep.

"Mika...where did you go? Why aren't you here? Mika?"

I walked toward him, wishing with all of my might to be closer to him. It didn't work. I tripped over glass, and fell into Endo's arms, Miyagi standing next to him. They laughed over me, and pointed to my heart. It was missing. I knew then that they had cut it out of me. There was air where a heart was supposed to be, but I did not stop living. I stayed, in pain, fear taking over my senses.

Endo left the room, and Miyagi stayed. He dropped the equipment he was carrying earlier and started stabbing me with several hospital supplies, which I found truly ironic.

I watched as Miyagi's face started to change. First, his eyes. The purple eyes I loathe. Then, the mouth. The sneer was more menacing than I thought possible. He soon turned completely to Ferid, and Endo came back as Crowley.

I hate dreaming. I hate dreaming. I hate dreaming. I want to wake up. I don't want to wake up. Wake up!

I woke up with my arm trying to hold onto the ceiling, and bullets of sweat running down my forehead. I wiped them off, and replaced them with tears.

I'm alone. I'm so alone. How could humans allow this? I don't want to be a test subject! I just wanted to get stronger!

The tears wouldn't stop. I remembered my friends, the way Shinoa would always be a smartass; the way Kimizuki would always want to fight. How Mitsuba would get flustered over the smallest thing; how innocent Yoichi was. And Mika.

Oh, God, Mika. I look so pitiful. I couldn't even save you. How can I save myself?

I was in a room with no windows. There was only a door with a ten-digit code lock. I stood up, and walked over to it. I stared at the door for minutes on end, my mind racing. It was to no avail. There were no numbers or clues I could use to get out of here. They would only take me back as soon as I escaped, anyway, so what was the point? There was none.

It would be better if I was dead. I can't even protect anyone. I'm so useless.

I sat down, and heard Endo's fake stutter through the megaphone. "Y-Yuichiro, I-I think it is time w-we use more...f-forceful measures. W-we only want to test h-how long you can s-stay underwater without s-suffocating with our new d-drug. T-then we'll t-test you without it. R-really, t-there's nothing to w-worry about! We know you h-have the s-salt a-angel in you, after all. Y-you won't be a-able to break out of t-this one."

Angel...? What...?

I felt a familiar liquid at my feet, and knew what was happening immediately. Gallons of the liquid started filling up the room, and was soon at my neck. I took one last breath before I accepted my fate and let it happen.

I felt my body try to drift back to my unconscious reality, but Asuramaru had made it so I was not welcome there. I was kicked back time and time again, knocked against the sides of the room. The total time I was in there with the drug was half an hour.