[I]Beep...Beep...Beep...[/I]
"[I]U...Uh? What...What's that noise?[/I]"

Having drowned in an ocean of the abyssal, black void of unconsciousness, Kuhaku was finally breaching the surface of his 'slumber'. An odd, steady [I]beeping[/I] sound being the method of his awakening. Eyes slowly opening, his vision was blurry and distorted at first. Blinking, he found himself staring at a ceiling.

"[I]Wh-...where am I?[/I]"

In an attempt to sit up, he realized he was laying down. He also realized that he couldn't sit up, a shocking wave of disorientation rattling through his body as he tried. Okay, then. But, he could still look around. Looking around him with his golden hazel eyes, there was...a curtain surrounding him where he lay. Odd, what was that for? Looking to his right, he discovered what was making the [i]beeping[/i] noise. It was a monitor or some sort, with a jagged line flashing across its screen. A heart monitor? What were those called, EKGs? Kuhaku frowned and took a breath when he heard a new sound as he did. A sort of wheezing/hissing sound. There was something on his face. Reaching up, he attempted to touch his cheek when instead of touching flesh, he felt cold, hard plastic. Blinking, he realized it was an oxygen mask. Why was he wearing an oxygen mask? Looking at his hand, he then noticed something odd clipped to one of his fingers that had a red glow to it and saw a cable leading from it and up to the heart monitor.

His heart rate rising, questions rapidly flooded his mind. Why was he on oxygen? Why was his heart being monitored? What else was he connected to? As the beeping from the heart monitor grew slightly quicker, he looked at both of his arms and was mortified to learn that his gloves were gone and replaced by white bandages. As he examined the bandages closer, he saw something in his elbow. Another long, clear tube. Touching it, he winced when he felt something sharp and metal in his arm. Tracing the tube, he saw it led to an IV drip that hung above his head. Panicking, his breathing grew more rapid. The heart monitor began beeping faster.

Moving his head, he looked down at himself and saw that he was laying in a hospital bed and that he was covered in uncomfortably warm sheets and blankets. Pulling them down slightly, he saw that his clothes were replaced by a set of white hospital pajamas. Where were his normal clothes? While at it, where were his weapons Kladenets and Perun? Panic rising, he turned his head and was slightly relieved to see that his clothes sat neatly folded in a chair to his left. His sword and shield set leaning against the same chair. Finding the strength to finally sit up, his head spun. Dizzy with questions.

What in the hell exactly happened to him? Where was he? Why was he connected to a heart monitor, IV drip, and oxygen mask? What was the last thing he remembered? He remembered flying into Beacon on an airship. A student orientation and address from the Headmaster Ozpin. That night everyone slept in the same room together. The...test. Wait, the test! What happened with the test? Did he not make it? Did he fail? What happened to him? To his teammates?

As he tried to force himself to remember, his head began to painfully ache. Frowning, he began to break out in a cold sweat as his panic and anxiety grew. Was he back at Beacon? In its Infirmary? Why can't he remember anything else? He felt alone, his fear began to set in. Pressing his hands against the sides of his head, and closing his eyes shut tightly, his breathing grew more and more rapid. The heart monitor's incessant beeping invaded his thoughts and only made things worse. He wanted to rip off all of the medical equipment and run.

He was scared. He was tired.
"[I]S-...so...ti..red...[/I]"
Opening his eyes, he realized how heavy they were becoming.
Laying back down, he closed them sleepily.
Unable to process any further information, his mind and body began to shut down.
The heart monitor's beeping slowed.
Before long, the shackles and chains of his exhaustion snaked over his body and began to drag him down.
Dragging him down into the black ocean of his dreams.
Sleep bringing a temporary peace.
Or so he hoped.

[I]It was the same recurring dream he's had for years now. He was submerged in a vast, empty, and never-ending ocean, floating on his back in the middle of its inky-black depths. Its dark waters were cold and drained him of the energy to move, limiting him to merely existing within its icy embrace. Vision blurred from being underwater, he knew what he should've been looking at was the moon or night sky above the surface, but there was no such image. It was as if the stars were stolen away, hidden by dark clouds. His eyes peered at nothing but more darkness. Sometimes in his dream, he was able to turn his head slightly to look over his shoulder. To stare at the abyss beyond him. But, he never had the courage to gaze into the void in his dream. He never found the courage or energy to save himself from drowning and swim to the surface. To him, the darkness surrounded him from both sides. It was inescapable, his death within the dream inevitable. 

As his body slowly sank towards the black behind him, he knew it was only a matter of time. Lungs burning from having held his breath, he always wondered why he didn't just give up immediately. To embrace the cruel and cold darkness. His lungs unable to take anymore, his body forced him to cough out in an attempt to take in more air. Only for his body to be filled with the same dark water that surrounded him. As his chest filled with liquid, the horrible sensation of drowning gripped him. No matter how many times he tried to fight and struggle to change the outcome of things, it always ended the same. With his quiet and lonely death. As the darkness filled him, he could feel the last bit of warmth and life he had left slowly leaving his body, his eyes glazing over. As he slowly died, his hand reached out towards...anything. Only for nothing to be there. His heart felt heavy with sorrow, but it didn't matter anymore. The vast ocean swallowing him whole as he sank.[/I]