Survival Game, Book 1: The Fool

Act Two: Chapter Thirteen

Kouji slowly awoke into a sea of pitch darkness. At first, he wondered if this was all a dream and if he should return to sleep. He almost closed his eyes once more until he was suddenly jolted awake. The test! He looked around yet all he could see was darkness. Where am I? And where is she? Did she do this? He tried to move and find some sort of light, but all he met was a solid wall. His shoulders brushed against the hard surface, only allowing him to shift his body a few centimeters. What the hell is this? Some kind of box? He uncomfortably propped himself up by his elbows, moving his hands from the velvet flooring to reach up, his hands blindly meeting another solid surface. What is this? He tried to force away the rising panic from his mind as he pushed up in attempt to open the box.
"Hey!" He called out hoarsely, his hands forming fists and pounding against the roof of his confinements. "What is this?! Where are you?!" He called out to the crazed woman who attacked him before. How long has it been? Have the others already passed? He began to pound his fists against the roof more rapidly, his pulse racing. He paused as something was set upon the roof and a rhythmic thumping sound tapped against the wall on Kouji's right side.
"I warned you, didn't I?" A familiar voice asked, the arrogant tone muffled and distant, as if she was far away from Kouji. "If our fight was a real one, I'd have taken advantage of your helplessness. I'm sure if something like that happened with Noguchi, he'd have killed you where you lay. You'd be dead! Though I was more generous, I thought I'd show you what it's like to be a dead man so you'll learn next time."
Show me what it's like to be a dead man...? Does she mean...? No... no, that crazy bitch can't be serious! "What'd you do to me?!" He demanded, pounding on the roof once more. Is this a coffin?! She seriously put me in a coffin?!
"You already know the answer. To be honest, I was going to hold a nice funeral for you and then send you off to the incinerator! But, my brother had different ideas, so you can thank him. I did, however, put up some flowers and incense for you. Just in case." She replied, the tapping continuing as she spoke. "Don't worry, I treated you with the same respect as a Grandmaster would have, so it's just a box I made last minute. Anyway, this is your second test. If you truly aren't dead, then you'll escape and continue onto the third test. If not... well, I'll make sure Noguchi isn't placed in the family grave with you."
"Yeah, thanks..." Kouji muttered, his words dripped with venomous sarcasm.  If this is just a wooden box, I should be able to just push it open, but... it must be nailed shut. I could try breaking it open, but that'd waste all my energy for the third test... still... He had no other option. With each passing second, it felt as if the walls were closing in more and more and his breathing came out in heavy gasps from the lack of air. If I don't get out of here, I might suffocate. And I'm not letting that psycho bitch kill me like this. The tapping from earlier had stopped and his mentor had spoke no more, so he assumed she'd finally left. Once he was sure of that, he kicked out his uninjured leg, hitting the roof of the box with as much strength as he could muster in the limited space. Nothing. He did it again and added another kick in to try and open the top in some way. By the third kick, it seemed his efforts were for nothing.
"Damn it!" He cursed through clenched teeth. "It's not much help when I can't see a thing..." He muttered, fumbling through each pocket to try to find anything that'd give him light. His arm began to throb fiercely, reminding him of his injuries from the attack. Some mentor... injuring her student then locking him in a box. He finally felt the plastic casing of his phone and pulled it out. The screen might give me some light, I guess. He could feel cracks in the screen from the fight with his mentor, but as it flashed on, it still provided enough light to dimly make out the wooden box the encased him. There was a velvet carpet lining the box and a few nails stuck out from the edges of the wood, but nothing more. If I could loosen the nails some, it might help me break this thing open...
With a grunt of effort, Kouji kicked out once more, putting more strength into his muscles and focusing on the corners of the makeshift coffin. This time, the roof jolted in protest as it slightly creaked open. Pausing for a brief moment to summon more energy, his smothered breathing coming out in heavy, ragged gasps, he repeated the action. This time, the nails dislodged enough to open up a small gap, allowing dim light to filter through. It's working...! He sighed with relief, leaning his head back onto the velvet flooring and wiping sweat from his brow. I can finally breathe now, at least. Maybe I can push the top open and get out of here. Then I'll tell that bitch how I feel about her!
He began working on the other edge, loosening the nails before sliding down to an uncomfortable position where his body seated against the bottom wall, his long legs folded up and knees pressed against his chest. The gash on his left leg burned as he moved it, but he forced it away, instead focusing on pushing up at the roof. Placing his hands on the roof, he slowly raised open the wooden surface. His veins pulsed as he focused all his strength into his muscles until he created a gap wide enough for him to slide through. He placed his legs through the gap first, wincing as his injury scraped against wood, and maneuvered the upper half of his body afterwards. Splinters tugged at his jacket and dug into his hands and face as he passed through the gap. Once outside, he collapsed onto the floor, panting as he breathed in and out fresh air. Sitting up on his hands and knees, he noticed the same checkered floor from the fight and looking up, he realized he was in the same room as before.
"I see you got out. You must be tougher than I thought." His mentor commented, looking at him with her usual smug expression. She approached him with a casual gait, the sound of her steel-toed boots clanking against the hard floor. Her scythe was out once more, its handle tapping against the fabric of its owner's dark blue dress as she draped it over one shoulder. Looking at it now, Kouji thought the dress looked like some Victorian Gothic cosplay people would wear in the streets on Halloween, sharing the same dark colors and puffed up sleeves with black frills at the hems and a pattern of black roses etched into the knee length skirt. The same pattern made up the pair of gray nylon stockings she wore underneath the dress, one of them clearly noticeable by the long slit in the fabric at her right leg, revealing one stocking and a flash of her upper thigh. Covering the stockings from her knees down was a pair of black boots with several buckles and dangling thin chains, and Kouji wondered how she could walk—more or less fight—in something so heavy to walk in. The only thing that slightly stood out for her outfit of dark blue and black was a large emerald ring placed on the middle finger of her right hand.
"Did you think I was going to die that easily?" Kouji shot back with his own snark, limping up to his mentor and meeting her halfway. "If I'm going to die, I'm taking Noguchi with me. And as far as I see," He nodded towards the wooden box he was previously confined in. "He's not in that box."
"Don't get so cocky." His mentor warned, looking up at him with the same coppery blaze she always had. "You may have passed the two tests, but you're not even close to Noguchi's level. And from what I've seen, you'll never be. You haven't taken the drug yet. So, tell me, how are you going to kill Tsutomu Noguchi?" When he didn't reply, she went on. "See, you can't answer. Until you pass my next test, you won't see the day you have powers. And believe me," She gave an arrogant chuckle before finishing. "I don't think the last test will be as easy as you think."