Even as the candle brightens, the darkness redoubles, threatening closer every moment.

It was early that morning when a pair of hands roughly shook Tsunade back into reality. The Hokage's office was pitch black, save for the barest sliver of moonlight, and given the evidence, Tsunade's gut reaction was to throw a punch at the ill-fated owner of those hands. Fortunately, the sight of her wild-eyed assistant was enough to stay her hand.

"Tsunade-sama." Shizune was ghost pale, and her hands shook as she removed them from Tsunade's shoulder. "There's something you need to see, immediately."

For a moment, it didn't seem as though anything had happened at all, but then Ino noticed it – the stillness.

It was not as though the cavern had been filled with noise, but this place was eerily quiet. Not the barest hint of sound echoed through the place; even the sound of her breathing was subdued, quieted as soon as it escaped her mouth and nostrils.

Taking her hand off what had been the rock, Ino took a step back. All around her was white, stretching in every direction, as far as the eye could see. Except, of course, for the object in front of her.

The mirror was not ornate. It had no frame, just a simple glass, seemingly suspended in thin air before her. It had rounded edges, and was just the right height for Ino to be able to see her full reflection. What she glimpsed there was not what she expected.

The girl who stared out at her from the mirror was a version of herself that she was not sure she had ever been. She had bright eyes that danced with laughter, and a sharp face that seemed to change from menacing to amused within seconds.

Ino took a look at herself, her real self, outside the mirror. Her hair was messy, spilling out of her ponytail and sticking to her forehead where the blood was beginning to congeal. She felt the bags beneath her eyes, the signs of sleeplessness and stress wearing away at her flesh. When she lifted her hand, her wrist hurt like all hell, stinging as though she had stuck it into a hive of wasps.

So she hadn't gone entirely crazy – she was certainly not the immaculate girl she saw in the mirror.

Turning away, she tried to look around, but the sight stung her eyes. There was nothing to focus her gaze upon, just layer upon layer of white.

Ino put a hand to her forehead where it was injured. Immediately, she could feel the bruises developing around the open wound; when she drew her hand away, a few stray drops of blood came with it, dripping off her fingertips and onto the ground, where they disappeared, sinking into the white as though they had never existed.

Not sure whether to be terrified or simply confused, Ino turned wearily back to the mirror.

She fought to suppress a gasp at the sight that met her.

The image had changed, and this time it was certainly not a reflection. But it was still undeniably her.

Slumped on the floor was a limp figure, long blonde hair splayed out around her head. Though it was hard to tell, Ino thought she could detect the faintest hint of breath leaving her chest.

She had never seen it herself, but the scenario was easy enough to recognize. After all, there was a reason that on their very first day of training, Asuma-sensei had assigned Shikamaru to care for her body when she had to use her jutsu.

Still, the sight sent a shock through her.

Is… is this how it always seems? Am I really this defenseless?

Impulsively, she raised a hand to touch the glass. Considering the last two layers of her teammate's mind, it wasn't entirely implausible that this was a similar test – find the way out through whatever reflective surface happened to be on hand.

But when she reached out, her hand hit solid glass, cool to the touch beneath her fingers, but in no way extraordinary. There was no strange sensation like she'd felt with the gems, no shock, no sudden insight. It was just… a mirror?

Tsunade watched the monitor, frowning slightly.

"Her vitals seem to be steady."

"Yes," Shizune conceded, but her voice hemmed with barely checked panic, "but Tsunade-sama… she's bleeding."

Tsunade moved around the two figures seated in the center of the room. Neither of them had moved for almost nineteen hours, and yet one had blood slowly trickling down her forehead.

"And she doesn't even seem to feel it," Shizune added, gesturing at the gradually drying trail it had left across her temple and cheek. "If she can't feel that, who is to say that she's able to feel anything? What if this is a permanent change? She could—"

Tsunade shook her head gently.

"We're not done yet."

"Tsunade-sama!" All reservation aside, Shizune had transitioned to a full-blown screech. "She could be dying!"

Tsunade leaned closer to Ino, carefully schooling her expression. In all honesty, Shizune's concerns were more than valid, but if Tsunade was going to convince her of anything, she couldn't waver.

She examined the cut. It was bleeding heavily, but that was more a matter of placement than depth. It was a short, shallow cut – nothing life-threatening.

"Shizune," Tsunade turned around, meeting her apprentice's gaze levelly. "I understand your concern, and I acknowledge its validity. However, who are we to say that pulling her out now to treat what appears to be only a minor wound won't hurt her further?"

Shizune began to stammer a response, but then thought better of it.

"If we try to bring her back now," Tsunade continued, "we may not cause any damage to her whatsoever. But we might. We might also lose our only chance at getting back our best strategist."

Shizune turned her gaze back to Ino and Shikamaru. Though her panic seemed to have faded, deep-seated worry still shone in her dark eyes.

"I suppose you are right, Tsunade-sama."

"However…"

Shizune's head snapped back around.

"That doesn't mean that we shouldn't monitor them more closely. If you see any other signs of injury, I want to be notified immediately. Particularly if it appears to be serious. If there are any spikes in the vitals whatsoever, I expect to hear about it."

Shizune looked noticeably relieved.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

Though Tsunade offered her apprentice a wan smile as she left the room, worry sat like a rock in the pit of her stomach.

Injuries sustained from… what? Ino hadn't physically gone anywhere. So why were physical injuries manifesting themselves? In all her years as a medic, Tsunade had never seen anything like it.

With grim resolve, she left the hospital to seek out someone she knew might have a better answer.

Ino withdrew her hand, willing the frustration in her gut to dissipate, but it continued to rise, clawing through her throat and chest.

Finally, she just couldn't control it.

"What am I supposed to do, you sick sadist? Do you think this is funny? Trapping me in this labyrinth you call a mind?" She slumped to her knees, pounding her uninjured fist against the ground.

"Is this some kind of test? Because, if it is, I'm done! I concede, you win, okay? I'm tired of dealing with you and this ridiculous deathtrap, because this just isn't worth it!"

A sudden image of Shikamaru's lifeless eyes flashed through her mind, and she instantly regretted it. Angry as she was… she shook her head to clear it. She just had to calm down.

When she looked up, the image in the "mirror" had changed yet again.

While the other two had been immediately identifiable, Ino had difficulty recognizing the image when she first looked at it. The girl staring back at her looked nothing like her. Though her hair was the same color, it was limp; where Ino's normally vibrant green eyes should have been, dull grayish orbs stared out at her.

Perhaps the most shocking change was her figure itself – the Ino in the "mirror" was little more than skin and bones.

Ino lifted her hand to the glass a second time; her nails scratched the surface, but it didn't leave a mark. Hollow eyes stared back at her.

.Slowly, a hint of doubt started to claw at her. What if this wasn't the way through? What if this was merely a wrong turn, a trap for any errant intruder?

What if these white walls were no more than a prison?

For the first time, Ino began to fear that she had made an enormous mistake.

Though the dark pushes in, the flame gathers strength.

A/N: You all are... simply amazing. 20 reviews last chapter. I'm astounded and flattered, and just... wow. Thank you all.

I realize this chapter's a little short, but rest assured, it's part one of two.

Once again, I cannot thank you all enough for the amazing reviews/faves/alert adds I've gotten. I really appreciate all the support this story has received, and I hope you continue to enjoy it! As always, leave a review and let me know your thoughts.

- Senka Hitomi