Nightmare Hotel (Solo)

Mission:

It had been a long day of work, and Kita was beginning to get very weary for the night. With heavy footsteps the young boy trudged through his apartment door and locked it behind him before removing his shinobi gear for the day. He'd been out on a number of smaller missions, helping old ladies catch their cats and helping some wealthier restaurants deliver orders they'd forgotten couldn't be delivered in a reasonable amount of time without the supernatural speed a shinobi possessed. Nothing life threatening by any means, though enough to where the boy was weary enough to hit the bed near immediately.

"Another day of hard manual labor..."

Kita looked slowly around his empty apartment, feeling as though something was missing. He think he knew what it was as well. Bobo was still recovering at the hospital right now. His legs were getting better sure, but he took a lot more damage than most monkeys would ever receive to the legs. He wasn't human, and his body didn't react to injuries in the same way. If Kita hadn't been there, he would have no doubt that Bobo would've died. Either bled out on the pavement or died of sheer shock. If Kita had lost him... the boy didn't even want to think about what he would've done.

Kita shifted wordlessly through his nightly routine, slowly shifting from brushing his teeth, to his nightly shower, to pajamas for bed. He curled himself up tightly under his futon to defend against the cold night, and drifted quickly off into the world of dreams. Slowly the boy's mind tumbled through unconsciousness, and it wasn't long before the boy recognized that he was dreaming. It was a foggy sort of state of mind. He knew he wasn't awake, though he wasn't so aware that he was able to change the contents of the dream unfolding before him. Every movement was slow and restrained, though his mind barely registered the feeling. The darkness surrounding him began to take shape, and visions began to appear in his mind's eye. When he came too, it was clear that night and mist hung over the strange scene painted before him, so thick that he could not see the stars above. Though while the moon was clearly visible, it had taken a disturbing red hue that sent shivers down the boy's spine. He was standing at the bottom of a hill, which had a long and winding road of cracked asphalt leading to the top. He stood just before a massive, rusted iron gate, which had a small sign across the top reading "Yugakure Hotel." Sitting atop the hill was an old brick building, clearly discolored from age. Several windows spilled yellow light across the bottom of the grassy hill that stood before the boy, illuminating the path to shelter.

"I'm so tired..."

Kita murmered those words under his breath repeatedly as he climbed up the winding path through the hill, eventually making his way to the top. He walked like a man possessed, making his way up to the thin wooden door posing as the hotel entrance, which Kita threw open casually. He stepped into the building, where a nearby bellhop stood. If the boy was more aware, he might have taken notice of the fact that the man did not possess a face. The faceless bellhop gave a deep and gracious bow to the young shinobi, and extended his hand out to present five keys to the boy.

"Your rooms sir..."


Rooms? Kita looked behind himself, taking note that many of his friends seemed to be here. Travin, Gonk, Ban, and Murata. Of course, how could Kita not remember? He'd brought his friends with him. Silly mistake on his behalf. Kita turned back to the bellhop and took the five room keys from the member of the hotel staff, before extending the keys out to each of his friends, saving the last for himself. Each key had an associated tag on it denoting the room number. Each of them had a value of at least one hundred, and each one had a second number one higher than the last. Ban got room one hundred one. Travin got room one hundred two. Murata got room one hundred three. Gonk got room one hundred four. Finally, Kita got room one hundred and five. The shinobi wordlessly made their way back to the rooms that seemed to adorn the walls, one after the other.

Ban made her way over to room one hundred and one, where another faceless bellhop silently extended a hand out for Ban's key. She handed it over to him, which he promptly turned around and inserted into the door lock. He opened the door to reveal a room filled with shadows, illuminated by the barest glimpses of light from outside the room. It was difficult to see, but it was clear that there were sharp metal objects in there, and a man with a sickening grin and a doctor's coat beckoned the woman inside. She walked within and shut the door. After that, all that Kita could hear from Ban is screaming from behind the door.

Next was room one hundred and two. Travin's room. There was a bellhop there as well, which Travin handed his key over to to open the door. It opened with a resounding click, though this one was far brighter than the first. It was in fact, completely white and barren. Travin stepped through into it, and turned around to face the group. The last Kita saw from his was a pained grimace across his face before he vomitted a mass of blood and teeth onto the ground below. After that, the bellhop promptly closed the door on him.

Next was room one hundred and three. Another bellhop, another key to open the door. It was a cold room, and a dark one at that. There were furnishings, but very little. It was dirty and nasty, and many iron bars lined the side of the room. Murata wordlessly walked inside, and shut the door behind herself.

Next was Gonk's room. As the door swung open and the young Hoshigaki stepped inside, he started to convulse violently. Black ink crept across his skin, wrapping around him and causing him to scream in vicious agony. Then, he promptly fell to the ground, where Kita knew he had died. And with that, the bellhop closed the door.

With that, Kita came to the final room. His room. This time there was no bellhop waiting at the door. No keyhole either. The door simply swung open automatically as Kita walked near. The young shinobi stepped boldly through the open door, where it shut promptly behind him. This room seemed to be barren as well, though it was dimly lit and composed of stone. In front of him was a single wooden stool, which had a lit candle atop it. The only light source throughout the room. As Kita continued looking forward, a figure stepped forth from the shadows and into the light. It was thin and pale, and scary to bear witness to. For the briefest of moments Kita swore it was a ghost, some wretched spectre that had come for his soul. Though it quickly became apparent that this was no ghost. It was him. And attached to each of its limbs, wrists, and ankles were threads, leading up into the ceiling. Kita looked upwards, bracing to bear witness to something awful. There, holding a cross brace with attached to the strings below, was the visage of the Hogokage.

Immediately Kita awoke. Covered in a cold sweat and breathing heavily. If only he could remember why...

Word Count - 1284

Exit Claims:

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