[Chuunin-level and equivalent Exam] A Different Take [Kiri as Proctor]

[Kiri]

As he watched the confusion mark on their faces, Kiri grinned. Now he would settle to see if the participants were truly right to the task. He braced himself as he saw them take into their stances. They were quick-witted, that he observes well enough to approve, but he’ll have to consider the kinds of choices they made with such quick reactions. For now, he took no little effort to cancel his jutsu, sending those black flaming dragon heads soaring across the sky. One second less and Mishiku would be stuck in the hospital for quite some time.

Here is when things took an interesting turn. A rapidly ascending water dragon jutsu clashed with his, sending a shockwave of power that blew across the area. Water sprayed like an unwanted rainfall as the remaining of the black flames evaporated some of the moisture in the air before truly settling into nothingness. And in the midst of it all, Kiri brought up his arms in defense before him as he caught sight of Ryuichi raising his hand to aim at him. He grinned at the prospect of playing with these kids.

But just then, he suddenly felt a foreboding presence. Vines appeared from beneath his legs and gripped on to him with sheer power and chakra suppressing qualities. A glance to the side made him see that Tetsu kid having turned to him in an attempt to stop him from his plan. This was bad, considering he had become an open target, and that he did become. In the brief span of time when he concentrated his senses and will power to be freed from this binding, Ryuichi shot out a chakra-filled assault at him. He didn’t see it coming for it didn’t have any shape, but he felt the impact of the blast and that sent him reeling back, freed from the binds and hurling across the ground, rolling up a bit and crashed to a halt a few meters away.

At the end of it, Mishiku even successfully landed with a bit of his jutsu prowess.

Worried as is, Piucca the giant slug would quickly go over to the fallen ninja as both Tiki and Tomo reappeared once more in a twin poofing smoke just to the side of the battlefield. Quick in action, Piucca let a large dollop of ooze to drop onto the form on the ground, Kiri remained unmoving.

Then, after a minutes, the proctor rose to an idle sit on the ground, though looking different. Not that he was covered in ooze, but that he was in a smaller boy’s body. He had a pouty face and was already in the process of wiping off the ooze of his body when Puicca voluntarily picked him up from behind by one of the elastic ooze that formed much like a hand. Brought to a stand, Kiri thanked the slug before he started walking back to close in the distance with the rest of the kids.

“Alright. That was good. And that should be enough for today,” said the boy Kiri as he raised a hand up, gesturing for the stop. “I know you’re all probably wondering what had just happened so I’ll give you all a quick rundown. As you may all know, a shinobi, once attaining the ranks beyond genin, will be undergoing more important missions. As such, they will not only need knowledge, theory or physical prowess, but a combination of common sense, wit, and quick thinking. It is not uncommon for things to change during a mission, nor is it rare that you’ll be suddenly left in the dark during a complicated task. What is important is to act out accordingly. While others may went to go about a defensive action to correct the scenario…” he said, eyeing Ikko, “… and others foregoing to help the damsel-in-distress…” he went to look at Tetsu, “… and then others quickly joining the fray to overwhelm the opponent…” he shot a glance at Ryuichi, “… it should also be noted that to decrease the chances of failure, one must also step up their game,” this, he looked at Mishiku. “I would say that from an outsider’s observation, the reactions you all did was rather sudden and yet also coordinated. This, I tell you, is what your shinobi instincts had taught you and you trusted. It may not go smoothly like this in the future, but for now, it did the trick. Trust to each other is as important as trust with yourself.”

Kiri made a few handseals and the something poofs right in front of the participants, all except for Mishiku. From the cloud of smoke emerged scrolls in an elaborately designed cover. “Congratulations for passing the exam. Here’s your approval scroll. Please hand it over to your respective branches as proof of today and you’ll be given instructions on the induction and stuff,” said Kiri with a smile as he clapped his hands. The treatment ooze was working wonders as he was beginning to feel less of the pain from the attack, though he could almost tell that he’ll be having a sore back tonight. “In any case, you three are now dismissed. Tata!”

Then, when the three would have left, he walked up to Misihiku with a neutral expression and crossed his arms over his chest. “While I admire your spirit and your potential to grow, I would digress to promote you beyond your current status. There is still much that you lack. Putting you on the front line now would only be a burden to the village. You’re young, so you’ll still grow though. Don’t be in a rush. Your choice of changing between branches is proof of your own insecurities and indecisive state of mind…” he paused for a moment as he Tiki and Tomo came closer to them and started to squirt out some healing jutsu ooze on Mishiku for any bruises he’d suffered. “I’ll give you one chance to change my mind, however. Right now, at this very moment, look me in the eye and state what you truly desire. Tell me what you wish to be, what is your Shinobi Way. Tell me your flaws, your merits, your darkest secrets and pains. Tell me what who is Mishiku why you should pass this test.”

[WC: 1,056]
[TWC: 3,928]
[Post: 5]
[Notes: Ikko, Tetsu, Ryuichi passed. Been given approval scroll and asked to leave the area and give the scrolls to their respective branches. Mishiku is asked to stay longer.]

 

[Omoi Tetsu]

Tetsu shot an annoyed glance in the direction of Ryuichi, wishing he had been able to kick him into the thorned pit, as he watched the other boy immediately thrust their teacher out of the bind that Tetsu almost landed. What the hell was this spiral-eyed freak even doing attacking Kiri? The instructions seemed to pretty heavily imply that saving Mishiku from his imminent danger was everyone's primary objective, or at least that they would probably fail if the boy was burnt to a crisp. Now, it was true that Tetsu himself ignored this dilemma, hoping to gain some teamwork points when Akira (who was currently twiddling his thumbs) jumped to Mishiku's rescue, but that was not valid as a self-criticism since Tetsu came up with the idea of attacking as a defense first. In other words, without the novelty of his idea, there really wasn't much that the boy could dependably bank on for getting a pass in the exam.

What a disaster this was all turning out to be. Tetsu had had this suspicion ever since he went back to the academy to kill a student during class, that it seemed like there was some failure on the part of the village to properly incentivize ranking up among the shinobi that lived there. It was almost as if the villagers weren't eager to put their lives in incrementally increasing danger for a middling income and almost no prestige. In any case, there was no way what he was seeing around him represented the average genin, was there? Between that "Shinra Tensei", whatever it was, the giant whale summon, and the ice mirrors, it was slowly dawning on the boy that he had been privately feeling relief that the prerequisite for passing the exam didn't require any kind of direct confrontation with his cohort here, because he was beginning to suspect that he didn't really have an answer to those techniques.

The boy stepped back, preparing for his next technique, and almost wanting to throw out another bind, if not for the fact that he could fairly dependably expect it to be broken again, when the proctor, having taking a nice hit on the chin, flopped around before anticlimactically sitting up to give his assessment for how the students had performed. Now, granted, Tetsu supposed that he maybe wasn't the most veteran shinobi, but if this was really the end of the exam, it was nothing short of a bizarre circus. Was he supposed to have learned something? Well, he sort of did, even something incredibly uncharacteristically humbling, but that almost seemed incidental? Was it supposed to test certain qualities? Well, Kiri did mention something about taking the initiative and foregoing rescuing the damsel in distress, but... What was with the slugs then? The only logical conclusion he could come to for why the test was structured in the way that it was would be to make the event so chaotic, so indecipherable, that students taking it would be unable to properly predict which criteria they would be judged on, and so would need to act... In some way, naturally, just based on the bizarre stimuli that newly emerged in each passing instant. But then, some of the criteria they were told they were being judged on, like self-sacrifice, was obvious to figure out, even given the strange context that the lessons emerged in. However, if you were trying to disguise which criteria you were actually marking students on, you would obviously leave them bait to allow their minds to rest easy instead of obsessively trying to understand just what it was the examiner wanted to see. Yes, that must have been the case. God was in heaven and all was well with the world. Surely, it wasn't all random. The boy was somewhat impressed with the teacher's unorthodox application of an insightful examination method that would allow him to conceal the rubric they were being marked by. Why he would want to do that, Tetsu had no idea, but that was obviously part of the point too.

Sweating, huffing, with a confused look plastered on his face, the boy silently walked forward and grabbed the scroll from the examiner's hand. He would have liked to have leave with his typical snide comment, but he was too tired and confused to bother. Besides, he had ultimately gotten what he came for, and was ultimately feeling like he wanted to become strong enough to dunk on these other losers before he rubbed anything in their faces.

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Word Count: 757
Thread Word Count: 3,685
Posts: 5

OOC: So long suckas

 

[Mishiku]

Mishiku prepared himself and waited for the black fireballs of doom to get closer for him to dodge the attacks but before that was even necessary a large wave of water clashed with the fireballs, creating a massive cloud of steam and moisture that Mishiku passed through harmlessly. By the time Mishiku emerged from the massive cloud he noticed that the proctor was laying on the ground as if he was reeling from an attack. What exactly had occurred in that short amount of time? Rainfall continued to shower the area from the clash of water and fire as Mishiku gracefully floated to the ground beside his fellow examinees as if he had the ability to fly. The large slug rushed to the proctor’s side, blocking Mishiku’s view and then spit out a large droplet of ooze that landed on top of Kiri. Minutes later the slug moved out of the way to reveal that the proctor had transformed into a young boy. The boy had a pouty face and was already in the process of wiping off the ooze of his body when the large slug voluntarily picked him up from behind by one of the elastic ooze that formed much like a hand. Mishiku was completely at a loss for words, but then again he had seen stranger things on various missions as an AIT. “Alright. That was good. And that should be enough for today,” the young proctor said as he raised a hand up, gesturing for examinees to stop. “I know you’re all probably wondering what had just happened so I’ll give you all a quick rundown. As you may all know, a shinobi, once attaining the ranks beyond genin, will be undergoing more important missions. As such, they will not only need knowledge, theory or physical prowess, but a combination of common sense, wit, and quick thinking.” The proctor said as he went into further detail on how in missions the objective may change rapidly and that a skilled shinobi will adapt to any given situation and accomplish the mission.

Kiri casually made a set of handseals and three scrolls poofed in front of the examinees, everyone but Mishiku. “Congratulations for passing the exam. Here’s your approval scroll. Please hand it over to your respective branches as proof of today and you’ll be given instructions on the induction and stuff.” Kiri said as the three examinees ran off in celebration of their promotions. Mishiku could feel his anger begin to slowly engulf him internally,his face was neutral but internally he was burning with rage knowing that his father had something to do with this in some capacity. “No matter how hard I try to forge my own path, he always seems to be one step ahead of me! How’d he know I was attempting to leave the ANBU!?” Mishiku yelled within himself. He was on the verge of turning around and walking off before Kiri could speak but he wanted to hear the proctor had to say before he left. Mishiku’s face was neutral but deep down there was a firestorm. He had only arrived not even 30 minutes ago and wasn’t even a participant in the battle, he only answered one question before being thrown into the air. Kiri walked over to Mishiku and crossed his arms. “While I admire your spirit and your potential to grow, I would digress to promote you beyond your current status. There is still much that you lack. Putting you on the front line now would only be a burden to the village. You’re young, so you’ll still grow though. Don’t be in a rush. Your choice of changing between branches is proof of your own insecurities and indecisive state of mind…” The proctor said. Mishiku’s suspicions were confirmed, the real reason why he failed this test was for his desire to depart from the ANBU. However, before Mishiku turn his back to Kiri, the proctor continued. “I’ll give you one chance to change my mind, however. Right now, at this very moment, look me in the eye and state what you truly desire. Tell me what you wish to be, what is your Shinobi Way. Tell me your flaws, your merits, your darkest secrets and pains. Tell me what who is Mishiku why you should pass this test.”


The question threw Mishiku off. It was uncommon for one of his Dad’s connections to inquire on what Mishiku wants, let alone desires, perhaps Kiri wasn’t influenced by his father. “All my life, I was told that it was my duty to join the ANBU and continue the family line in the corps. My father’s side of the family had been part of the ANBU for generations and it was a tradition that my father intended to keep. My two older brothers are in the corps and I joined because I was told too and I thought it was what I wanted.” Mishiku said before he paused to ponder on why he was telling his life’s story to a complete stranger but he nonetheless continued. “However, over the years I realized I wasn’t in the ANBU because I wanted to be but because it was expected of me. I want to forge my own destiny and not walk the life that was planned out for me. My desire for joining Main Branch is because if I stay in the ANBU then I am not being honest with myself and only staying because it is my so called “family’s duty”. I want to forge my own destiny as a shinobi of the hidden cloud. My fear is that if I remain in the ANBU then I am doing a disservice to myself and not reaching the full potential that is within me and that is why I have remained an AIT for so long, not because of my skill but because I wouldn’t be honest with myself nor my comrades if I became a full fledged ANBU but my heart was not in it. I would merely be playing the role that was already planned and for me that is unacceptable.” Mishiku explained before putting his hands in his jacket pockets.

“That’s the truth of the matter. My shinobi way is to do what I feel is right and achieve my goal, no matter the opposition before me. If I can’t be true to myself and merely following someone’s else’s plan for my life then I’d be betraying who I am to my core.”

WC: 1,084
[MFT]

 

[Otani Ryuichi]

Ryuichi raised an arm to wipe a spatter of mud that had found itself thickly stuck onto his cheek. His breathing, while irregular at first, eventually evened out and found itself at it's chillingly slow, and drawn out pace that didn't put the fact that he was on edge to justice.He wasn't entirely certain if this was a trick from Kiri, but he eventually found himself easing once the young-looking man started passing around scrolls, marking the end of the exam.

While he seemed to get a scowl from a few people due to his actions, his expression didn't dare falter. He had decided to use the shinra tensei the moment an opening was available, since...it was nearly impossible to avoid. Certain enemies can easily slip through binds, genjutsu, or any physical attack, but not so much the Shinra Tensei as it controls a law that all matter must follow- gravity.

With glance back at Omoi, and the now nearly begging Mishiku, who Ryuichi had not forgotten from their training a long while back, he went to Ikko to give a friendly congratulations, and a small comment on how they would make a good pair should a mission call for it.

Regardless of if Ikko wanted to continue talking, Ryuichi had to leave with scroll in hand. A simple flurry of one-handed seals was all he needed to vanish into the earth, and leave entirely.

Ryuichi had a lot to prepare for now...a new mask, and some preparations were in order.


[Thread left. sorry for the delay!]

 

[Siu]

OOC: </COLOR><COLOR color="#FF0000">Due to unforeseen OOC circumstances, I have been requested from the current Proctor to complete this exam on their behalf. Further questions may be inquired via Discord.

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Lucid perception of upcoming shinobi's intentions was of crucial importance for those administering from the upper-echelon of the forces — Yet, honesty was also a trait rarely displayed among those within the grisly profession. The aspiring Uchiha's speech radiated with sincerity.... However, would it be enough to not only advance him in rank, yet also grant him transfer through branches? Touching as his words were, his future within the Kumogakurian forces would, unfortunately, not find immediate disclosure; For, the current ANBU-In-Training would afterwards find himself sent right back home, days passing with continued silence from the Academy; Until, one morning....

Knock, knock...

A sudden deliverer afront the door possessing a packet would finally end the suspense; Its opened contents revealing the Academy's verdict, the single paper within reading the following:

Dear Mishiku,

We have carefully examined your Chuunin-exam performance and taken your request to transfer from the Kumogakurian ANBU-Branch to the Main-Branch into careful consideration. In result, the following has been ruled:

Congratulations! You have officially been deemed qualified for promotion to the rank of Chuunin—Welcome to the Main Branch! Please arrive at our office this afternoon in order to fill the necessary forms finalizing your promotion and transfer, and pick up your appropriate equipment. May Raiden Further Guide Your Path!

~The Academy

<i></i>

The bottom of the letter would contain all the necessary stamps of official approval...

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Conclusion: Mishiku has passed the exam, and been granted promotion into the rank of Chuunin.