~KAX9N~

~Thump thump~

You can tell a lot about a person by the speed and depth of their heartbeat...

~Thump thump~

A slow heart rate doesn't always mean someone's calm or content, and a high heart rate doesn't mean someone's happy or excited...

~Thump thump~

If anything, the heartbeat is the biggest revealer of truth, for you can lie with your expressions and emotions, but the one thing you can't lie about is how your heart reacts...

~Thump thump~

"Focus boy!" My mentor yelled at me.

"I~ I'm trying," I stammer back as I attempt to keep my footing on the water I stood upon.

"This is one of the most basic ninja skills! If you can not learn to control your chakra, to bend it to your will, you won't last five minutes in battle with real Shinobi!" He lectured.

"Now..." He raised his palm.

"W~wait!" I called but he didn't hear me.

He slammed his palm down onto the water surface, sending a huge shock through it and making the water ripple violently. I snapped my head down to my feet, watching the waves grow closer before they washed under me. I groaned and whimpered as I tried my hardest to keep above the water, the waves washing over my toes and up to my ankles before I lost all control and collapsed. I took a breath as fast as I could before the water rose above my head, enveloping me in its cold mass. I thrashed around in the transparent liquid, flaying my arms as I struggled to overcome the current and rise to the surface. My throat and chest began to burn as I hadn't taken in much air when I fell and tears pricked the outer corners of my eyes, mixing with the water and floating away.

The sound of footsteps on the water reached my ears and my mentor's blurry figure appeared, bending down, he pushed a hand into the water, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up. He then solidified the water under me and dropped me down onto the new platform. I gasped before coughing up all the excess water in my throat and lungs, heaving heavily as water ran from my hair down my face and from my soaked clothing down my body.

"Pathetic..." My mentor hissed.

I slowly lifted my head to look up at him and he had a cold scowl on his face as he sneered down at me. I sighed, my breathing still slightly labored as I dropped my ashamed gaze from his disappointed one, closing my eyes as tears formed once again.

"We're done for the day," My mentor stated lowly.

"Yes Sir," I mumbled, slowly lifting my body from the floor.

My mentor watched me rise to sit on my knees, hugging my right arm to my body with my left hand as I kept my head down. My mentor then turned, calmly yet speedily exiting the training room and leaving me there. I whimpered, rubbing the warm tear from my cheek before standing and walking over to one of the nearby tables, grabbing a towel to wipe my face and dry myself off with. I then slowly made my way back to my room, keeping my hair over my face as I walked the quiet corridors. It was always like this, a harsh day of training followed by the walk of shame back to my room. But what makes it all the harder to bear, is the silence, the whole isolated facility is dead quiet. I spend most of my time in the training room these days, surrounded by various noises the equipment or my mentor and I make, so when I'm alone, with the silence, it rings in my ears. It rings like someone is blowing a whistle in my ears and it hurts. Sometimes, when I do something wrong, or when I disobey an order, they throw me into this small black room, and I'm surrounded by nothing but silence. It's scary.

When I got to my room, I paused in front of the door. Looking slowly up at it and at the KAX9N that was engraved onto it. I sighed, pushing the door open and stepping into the large room. I dropped the towel on the floor before heading over to my desk, crawling in under it and wriggling one of the stone pieces loose. I pulled the piece out and a ray of bright light shone through the hole, shining brightly into my eyes and the small space under my desk. I blinked a few times before my eyes adjusted and I could stare out the hole, looking over the valley of green and blue on the outside. I stared in wonder as I watched the trees and grass move with the wind, swaying peacefully, moving freely.

"KAX9N?" A voice sounded as the door to my room began to open.

I quickly grabbed the stone piece, shoving it back into the wall before speedily crawling out from under my desk and standing in the center of my room. One of the scientists walked into my room, pausing when he saw me standing watching him.

"KAX9N?" He looked down at me with a questionable look.

"Y~yes?" I fidget in my spot.

"What are you doing?" He asked me, looking around my room.

"Uh~ n~nothing," I mumbled looking at the floor.

"Come, it's time for lessons," He says, extending an arm out to me.

"O~ok," I walked forward quickly and he placed his hand on my shoulder, walking me out the room and down the corridors toward the classrooms.