[Exam][Miro] The Tea Party

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Another day, another Raikage task. Ordinarily Kitsune would just let Yamaru handle examinations of the students, or deciding who did them, but seeing as the one up for promotion was one Miro-chan, whom Kitsune had taught, she felt the cheeky urge to take the exam and do it herself. Besides, who’d argue against it? Less work for whomever else could’ve been the proctor. Kitsune had a simple test in mind. It’d demonstrate how well Miro-chan could handle various skills that were essential to shinobi. It’d be a test of stealth, dexterity, skill… And drinking tea. It looked strange at first, but there was a reason for it.

Kitsune had set up a table in a gazebo inside a large hedge maze, and prepared a tea party, so to speak. Miro’s task was to get to the table and sit down without being detected by anyone. There were clones patrolling the maze to try and catch Miro, but if handled skillfully, Miro could get past them without confrontation. Or if necessary, a precision throw with a shuriken or kunai to the neck would take them out in one hit and clear the way forward as well.

However, the guards weren’t the biggest challenge Miro would face. There were traps inside the maze too… Projectile traps that could launch a volley of shuriken at an unsuspecting test taker… Jutsu sealed inside scrolls that could be unleashed if one were to take a wrong step... And many other similar devious devices. To begin, Miro had gotten a scroll in the mail inviting them to a tea party, instructions for how to approach, as well as directions to the maze entrance. Of course, one could easily just hop over the hedges, but that’d result in being ejected from the maze and having to start all over again.

[Good luck Miro~]

 

[Kagami Miro]

As the sun began to rise one academy student was already making her way back from a hidden training spot she took a considerable liking for. The sound of gravel shifting was a sign that Mirō was already up the hill towards the academy. Several folks were out and about, beginning their daily routine early like herself. ‘Opportunity only knocks once.’ A motto Mirō followed wholeheartedly. Before reaching the entrance a pit stop was made at the mailbox. Shuffling out a key from her pocket she curiously opened up her mailbox slot. To her surprise a scroll was present. Pulling it out without a second thought she unraveled it. Scanning it over once her excitement couldn’t be contained. The parchment felt soft to the touch. The lettering was professionally written along with the detailed descriptions of what to expect in the maze. It had a distinct smell to it,one she had smelled before but was unable to pinpoint where from. Concluding that the invitation was official her heart began to race.

Storing the invitation in her backpack Mirō quickly entered the academy. Grabbing all the necessary items she could think of. Storing her weapons neatly in her pouches, a medical kit, a kawarimi target and last but not least some protective clothing. This was the first time she’d really ever had to prove herself to her superiors, she didn’t want to forget anything. Preparations were made within the hour and soon after Mirō was already making her way down towards the maze from the location on her invitation. Making a mental checklist Mirō counted off her supplies on the way. “Weapons… first aid... “ She shook her head side to side. Taking in these things to account were meaningless. Repeating them over to herself only made her doubt her intuition. She wanted to arrive to the maze with a clear head.

Over the horizon came the green hedges of the maze. Each step got her closer to seeing the massive size of the area. The height of the maze towered over her menacingly. ‘Climbing to the top to inspect it feels like cheating.’ Running through multiple scenarios in her head to get the best advantage. With the information on the scroll she was told about what would be lurking within the maze. Stealth was her best option. If she was any good she could get to the center without any problems. Recently Mirō has learned about an organization her village had called the ANBU. Word has it that they’re the secret operations division. Something that Mirō has an interest in. Her fighting style and approach to her surrounds, her critical thinking. Mirō was the perfect candidate. Arriving at the doorway the gate to into the maze was locked tight. Standing at the front entrance she looked around bewildered. Pondering that possibility she was early Mirō has nothing better to do except wait around.​

WC:483

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Upon reaching the entrance to the maze, Miro would most likely spot the small sign sitting next to the entrance. On the sign was a message from the exam proctor who, to Miro, was still unknown. Please proceed to the center of the maze. There you will find a gazebo, and your examination proctor. it said. It seemed Miro had quite the task ahead of her, what with the inside of the maze being booby trapped and having guards roaming. Of course, all the guards were faceless shadowy figures and tended to blend in with the environments to avoid detection.

In other words, Miro would have to either assassinate the guards or in some way sneak around them. Some of the hedges had small passages near the ground to the adjacent path, and others had replenishments for thrown weaponry hanging in bundles from one of their branch. If Miro knew the golden rule of mazes, she’d be able to find the center easily enough, but the main question here was if she’d be able to do it while being undetected. Of course, Kitsune didn’t expect Miro to remain 100% undetected, but at the very least she did expect the kid to make it to the center without being hit by a trap.

If Miro were to look down the pathway from the gate, she’d see that the path ahead split in two only a few meters in, meaning she’d have to make the choice of which direction to go. Left or right? If she went left, she’d potentially find a trap that’d launch a kunai, and if she went right there’d be a shadowy guard hiding out down at the end where the path took a turn. All the guards were on fixed patrols, and this one didn’t turn towards the entrance at all, it was literally just back and forth further down on the path. So what would Miro choose?

 

[Kagami Miro]

Upon further inspection a small sign that told her to proceed to the center of the maze. “Seems easy enough.” Underestimating the complexity of the maze a sturdy hand pressed up against the metal bars of the gate. Inhaling to clear her mind of any misleading thoughts eyes opened once more to face the entrance. Slowly Miro pushed open the heavy gate, making her first steps into her genin exam.

Deciding to take things slowly golden hues looked around in amazement. The vicinity of the maze was bigger than the obstacle course. It would be easy to get lost within it and that was likely to happen. Never having heard or seen a maze before it would be hard to traverse. Her gut feeling would have to be in the driver's seat for this exam. Before even taking another step away from the gate hands quickly formed multiple seals. Performing her Active Camo to gain the advantage throughout the maze. Concealing her presence a dash was made to the nearest fork in the road. Carefully approaching Miro’s head peeked down each respective road. ‘They look exactly alike.’ Gritting her teeth feet instinctively turned towards the right, cautiously running down the maze. It didn’t take long for her to notice how little noise she mad whilst running.

Not long after, keen sight picked up on small traces of movement. The ground had prints of footsteps lined up and down the pathway. Depicting that someone had been walking up and down the path, ‘Someone’s close.’ Watching closely there was a shift in leaves against the hedge maze. Reactively pouncing on the sides of the maze hedges a kunai darted towards the direction of the rustling. Noticing not even her weight pressing up against the hedge made any sound. Slightly ahead of her initial target the kunai struck the neck of the mysterious figure that loomed within the shadows. Calculating the distance between each footstep she was able to pinpoint just how fast the figure moved. Downing the figure instantly she looked forward down the pathway. Miro had been careless, not checking to see if more people were amongst her. Off the wall whilst still in stealth, further inspection of the downed enemy took progress. It was unbeknownst to her whether the figure was real or not. However, something she had learned from being an aspiring kunoichi was ‘kill or be killed’. In her mind this was the essence of her reality. For being raised in the mines, following a horrific childhood and the loss of friends it was no wonder Miro effortlessly assassinated her targets without a second glance. She remained silent, vanishing off towards the center of the maze.​

WC:448
OOC: Used Active Camo

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

As Miros kunai hit the shadowy guard in a fatal spot, it began to fade away slowly, not letting Miro examine it carefully, but still allowing her to figure out that they weren’t real people and couldn’t handle much damage. Truthfully, as they were clones a single hit could take them out, but as they were protected by their shadowy garb, Miro was forced to hit lethal points to eliminate them properly. Now, Miro had another choice to make. Would she continue on the path with guards, or would she go back and take on the traps? Regardless of which path she chose, both would lead to the center in the end.

Luckily though, there were only the one guard on the path for now. Further down the path, if Miro scouted ahead while still stealthed, she’d see several of the shadowy figures roaming the path, almost in a random pattern as if they’d been alerted by something. Great caution would be advised if anyone were there to provide it. On the other hand, if Miro went the trap route, she’d have to deal with having shuriken and kunai flung at her as well as pitfalls and logs swinging out from the hedge.

Strangely enough, it all seemed motion based, so if Miro could hide her movements entirely she would be able to practically walk right through. Choices choices… Meanwhile, in the middle of the maze, Kitsune was just sitting on a chair, one leg crossed over the other while maintaining the chakra flows to all the traps in the maze, keeping an eye on the kid that way, to ensure she wouldn’t get badly hurt. Of course, given that it was a practical exam, she wouldn’t provide help except under special circumstances. All in all, it was very interesting for Kitsune to observe. She also wondered what Miro would think once she got to the center and saw the one that’d given her tutoring sitting there drinking tea. Heh.

[MFT; WC: 330]

 

[Kagami Miro]

Through keen sight Mirō picked up the diversion towards another path. Remaining in stealth Mirō leap up to the left side of the hedge maze. Planting her feet her body hung out horizontally from the wall, scouting out the slight turns and bends to sense any other signs of life. Having the time to do reconnaissance Mirō would spare a thought for herself. With much training she had finally began to understand and hone her newfound ability. Deep within Mirō knew she didn’t need to use it. She wanted to test her mettle and prove to the examiner she was worthy of genin and Anbu. Within a blink Mirō’s once gold hues changed into those infamous crimson orbs. Activating her sharingan her perception increased drastically and on top of that Mirō could see the aura of nearby chakra sources. Instantly Mirō was able to count how many enemies lurked down the pathway. Their movements were irregular. Was it worth it to even engage towards these foes? Glancing along the pathways and the sides of the hedges Mirō sought out for any overlooked details.

‘They’re moving too randomly… Maybe if I…’ Figuring out a way to counter their movements a few ideas popped into her head. Mirō pounced over to the next hedge on her right performing a series of hand seals, a sheet of paper appeared overhead of the pathway that covered enough of the vicinity. Creating her Origami Shower paper ninjutsu she was able to cover a wide area with a barrage of attacks. That wasn’t the icing on the cake, pouncing through the air again it was easy to track the correct trajectory of her next kunai with sharingan. Tracking the shadows next movements multiple kunai were held between each finger on her hands. While the Origami Shower rained havoc from above Mirō was nimble enough to jump overhead of the shadowy figures, breaking her stealth she spun upside down in the air. Acting like a twister Mirō spun quickly to let go of the kunai in her hands. Using those perceptive eyes and masterful techniques Mirō unleashed a Volley of kunai out in all directions striking the shadowy foes with multiple wounds while the Origami Shower finished them off. Right foot first Mirō landed on the pathway, standing in the open to watch her shower fade away.

Crimson hues hastily scanned the area for any signs of incoming chakra. The maze fell silent, granting her peace of mind as no signs of chakra or footsteps anywhere nearby. The Volley and Origami Shower took care of the sporadic movements the figures made, slightly proud of her execution. ‘Litter the place with projectiles, you’re bound to hit something.’ Raising a finger to her lips Mirō snickered. Knowing full well it would take her out of stealth that was the risk she wanted to take. The knack for gambling in her blood alongside that Uchiha essence. The shadow figures would slowly disintegrate around her. Red hues gazed down from this slightly open area towards another opening. Too proud to admit she might’ve lost track of where she needed to head her attention towards the further most body. Miro turned away figuring she started from there and worked her way down. The pathway now possibly leading her astray carefully those crimson eyes scanned for traps. Taking another deep breath Miro picked up her pace. Dashing through the maze she activated her Active Camo once more vanishing into the mazes depths.​

WC:580
OOC:
Activated Sharingan
Origami Shower, Volley casted! Stealth broke then reapplied out of combat.

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

It would appear that Miro had the skills required to dispatch a litany of guards as she headed deeper into the maze, because they were all dispatched with such ease. None of them ever saw the attacks coming which worked entirely to Miro’s advantage. And with the addition of being Sharingan-empowered, Miro had the absolute advantage, and would discover that the guards were without chakra of their own, and instead sucked it up from somewhere else. A fact that was quite pointless at this stage as there were no more guards remaining on the path Miro had chosen through the maze.

After a speedy run, Miro would arrive at the middle of the maze and spot a lavish gazebo with a person sitting inside it at a table, shrouded in shadow so their identity remained hidden. If Miro attempted an attack, it’d be deflected by the shadows themselves and fade away. But if Miro walked closer and made herself known to the shadowy figure, the shadows would fade away without incident, and reveal Kitsune sitting at the table. She’d smile and give a teasing wave ”Hiya Miro-chan.” she’d say with that cheeky smile plastered on her face ”I see you got past the shadow guards safely. Come join me.”

When Miro had joined Kitsune in the gazebo, the hedge maze would shimmer and dissolve into thin air, as if it had never been there at all. Kitsune poured herself a fresh cup of tea, and also poured one for Miro. ”Feel free to add milk and sugar as you like. And help yourself to the cookies and slices of cake.” she said, chuckling a bit as she was sure Miro had a bazillion questions at this point, ”I prefer my tea with a fair amount of both, I must admit. Just more enjoyable to my tastebuds.”

 

[Kagami Miro]

Dashing left and right through the maze it felt as if hours had gone by but it was only minutes. The effects of her Sharingan straining her eyes Mirō blinked quickly, suppressing her chakra and returning the gold vibrance back to her hues. Ever vigilant Mirō saw a light at the end of the tunnel. Tired, sore and suffering from a headache her legs continued to push toward heavens gates. Sprinting past the end of the maze the sunlight enveloped her, rendering her camo useless it broke her stealth passively. Coming to a halt a gasp for air was made resting her hands on her knees, sweat dripped down her brow while Mirō caught her breath.

Rising up soft hues gazed upon the luxurious gazebo that sat in the center. ‘Could this… be the center of the maze…’ A hand drifted towards her Heartseekers on her hips, pausing momentarily Mirō tilted her head to the side. Long black hair drifted in front of her vision yet she was able to look past it noticing an elegant figure sitting within the gazebo. Refraining from drawing her weapons Mirō cautiously made her way up to the gazebo. Peeking her head around towards the opening the vibrant red hair stunned her. “S-Sensei? I mean… Raikage?!” Her jaw dropped at Kitsunes wide smile on her lips.

Taking her Sensei’s offer to join her steadily Mirō walked up the steps and sat in the chair across the table from Kitsune. Mirō was lost in thought, mesmerized by her Raikages’ beauty, questions filled her head as to why the Raikage was even the examiner. Distracting her, the fizzling of the hedge maze took her by surprise. ‘The entire maze… was just a facade?’ Looking around Mirō turned her attention back to her Sensei. “Sensei you’re the examiner?” Her heartbeats quickened, poking her nose into her Raikage’s business. “Were you controlling the entire maze? With genjutsu?” Eager to learn more about Genjutsu and even her Sensei herself. Curiosity filled her mind once more, “How… did I do Sensei?” Besides being her Sensei, Kitsune had recently been elected Raikage. Not an easy feat to accomplish however it made her words even more impactful than they already were. Being the Raikage and her sensei Mirō was nervous to hear the run-down of her performance from someone who held the villages hearts and Mirōs respect.
​

WC: 395

 

[Shinrya Kitsune]

Kitsune chuckled at Miros stunned reaction, putting down her cup for a bit ”Yes, I’m your examiner. And yes, the entire maze was a mere fabrication. Remember the letter? I had embedded a seal onto it that’d activate on the letter being read by you, and would make you see the maze. In reality it was little more than earth walls made by ninjutsu.” she explained, gesturing to the patches of grass that looked out of place because they got raised up in the air and lowered back down again. ”Your mind handled making it seem real. As for the guards you faced, those were simple shadow clones, and I must say you did a good job expediting them from existence.”

She raised her cup again and took a sip of tea ”Your movements were skillful and above expectations for someone at Genin level. So… Long story short. You passed. You’re officially a Genin now.” she continued, smiling warmly at her student ”Not only that, but I’ll recommend that you get entered into the ANBU branch, as it would seem stealth and general sneakiness happen to be your forte. This means you’ll be worked harder than you would have been as a Genin though. But it also means you'll be an ANBU in Training.” she cautioned, albeit knowing that Miro could handle the pressure.

”So, with all things said and done. Congratulations, Miro-chan.” she finished, emptying her cup and putting the cup back down on the saucer on the table. ”I’m sure you’re curious as to why I’m your examiner, and honestly? It’s because I felt like it. Privilege of being the one in charge, you see. Oh! I almost forgot. I have something for you.” she suddenly remembered before reaching into her coats inner pocket, withdrawing a small box and handing it to Miro. Inside the box was the headband that Miro had just earned.

[MFT; WC: 316]
[Congrats, you passed the exam! Go request your new AiT banner]

 

[Kagami Miro]

Her heart never slowly down, grinning at the compliment her Sensei gave her. Ear to ear her smile widened; officially a genin level ninja. Step by step she was reaching her dream, no matter what obstacles Miro had to overcome. It had been a long time since she was truly happy. Genin opened up a little bit more of the world to her. With Genin, followed the recommendation for ANBU. A decision that she struggled with while she was training all this time. Sealing her goals within her heart it was the right decision.

Watching closely Kitsune congratulated Miro then followed by handing off a small box to her. Gently she took ahold of the box. With her thumb Mirō effortlessly pushed the lid of the box open. Within it lay a black headband with a silver plating attached to it. Engraved in the center with the symbol of Kumogakure. Holding back her more soppy emotions calloused hands took hold of the headband. Pushing her bangs back with one hand she adjusted her headband before tying it behind her head. Now officially a kunoichi of the village that took her in during struggling times when she was younger.

Those midnight black bangs fell back over her headband. Her lips curved into a wholesome smile. Looking back at her Sensei she lowered her head in respect. “Thank you Sensei, for believing in me and even recommending me for ANBU.” Her words were honest and pure. Her head rose back up, “I promise to work hard and represent our village in the best light possible.” Pearly white teeth reflected back at Kitsune before Miro rose out of her seat and bowed once more. “I’ll get out of your hair Sensei. I now have even more to accomplish now, in our villages name.” Bowing once more, Mirō picked up the box her Sensei had given her and turned away and out of the luxurious gazebo. Mirō’s now leaping into the next chapter of her life.​

WC: 332
[Topic left. Thank you Kitsune! ]